Congressman Bob Goodlatte released the following statement after voting in support of the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act, which included only the farm provisions of the Farm Bill.
“The legislation passed by the House today is a true, reform-minded Farm Bill. This farm-only Farm Bill eliminates outdated and duplicative programs, provides regulatory relief for America’s farmers, and reduces the size and scope of the federal government. It moves commodity programs away from direct payments and towards the farmer insuring themselves, taking concrete steps to moving the federal government’s agriculture programs in a more market-oriented direction. Furthermore, traditional farm policy is cut by almost $23 billion – a record 36 percent reduction. These are much-needed reforms that will improve American agriculture policy, help create agriculture and agriculture-related jobs, and reduce federal spending.
“I voted against the FARRM Act last month because I could not support its level of spending on nutrition programs. Over the last 10 years the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has grown by 270 percent. Spending on these programs, which made up roughly 80 percent of the bill’s spending, was only cut by around 2 percent over the next decade. By splitting the farm programs from the nutrition programs, as we have done today, the House will now have the opportunity to act on the nutrition programs within the Farm Bill separately, where the House will have the chance to make much-needed cuts and reforms. As Congress works to rein in federal spending, the House must make serious efforts to significantly reduce and truly reform these programs.”
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