Pushing For A Better Farm Bill

The Farm Bill has traditionally been a bright-spot of bipartisanship. For decades, Republicans and Democrats have set aside their differences to produce a bill that does right by our farmers, ranchers, and rural communities; that provides food assistance to low-income families; and that promotes conservation. The process was never perfect, but it was conducted in good faith — an example of how Congress can and should work.

Then came this year’s Farm Bill, which was written behind closed doors, with little opportunity for meaningful debate or input from most members of Congress and, by extension, those we represent. I joined with colleagues from both parties in voting against the bill, which failed to pass the House.

At a time when more than four million Texans — including one in four children — are struggling with hunger, this bill would have cut more than $23 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps provide food assistance to low-income families. If these cuts had become law, 125,000 Texans would have lost access to their benefits, which for many El Pasoans and Texans are the difference between having a meal and going without. The Farm Bill also would have made deep cuts to one of our country’s largest land conservation programs, undercut investments in bioenergy and renewables, and added administrative burdens that would slow the release of broadband grants to small communities.

Were there some good provisions in this bill? Yes. It would have reauthorized important programs that support farmers facing falling commodity prices; given farmers greater flexibility in responding to droughts and other extreme weather events; and allowed the Secretary of Agriculture to help farmers and ranchers who have been impacted by unfair trade practices. These are good ideas that I support. But measured against the harm this bill would have inflicted upon some of the most vulnerable people in our communities, those provisions weren’t enough.

With today’s failed vote, we now have a chance to come back to the table and reach a compromise that protects the farm, nutrition, and conservation programs that are so important to communities all across Texas; that returns a spirit of compromise and bipartisanship to this process; and that helps rural communities and families across Texas do what they’re known for: producing the food and fiber that help feed and clothe people in this country and around the world.