News

Noem on House farm bill failure

South Dakota Congresswoman Kristi Noem says this was a “disappointing day” because the House failed to pass a farm bill.  She says both Democrats and Republicans are to blame. And she faults President Obama.

“The president really weighed in with the Democratic members and lobbied them against this Farm Bill,” said Noem,  “So, we lost a lot of Democrats that we thought were going to support the farm bill and who traditionally – in the past – have supported the farm bill. With the Republicans, they wanted to see more cuts. They thought the three-percent reduction in spending in the food stamp program enough.

Senior administration officials said earlier this week that the president would veto the farm bill if it came to him with the level of food stamp cuts that were in the House Ag Committee version.

Noem told reporters a good opportunity was missed today to pass a truly reformed farm bill and food stamp program. She told reporters, “We put in reforms that we really felt like brought integrity back into the program. It held the states accountable for having families prove their income in order to qualify.”  She’s referring to an amendment that would have given states the option to apply federal welfare work requirements for food stamp recipients.

Noem, a member of the House Ag Committee, says another extension of the current farm bill is NOT a good option.

AUDIO: Kristi Noem (11:00 mp3)

  • What is Rep. Noem talking about? If 47 of the 62 Republicans in her GOP caucus had voted yes, then you would have had the 218 votes to pass the bill. Fuzzy math Kristi.

Add Comment

Your email address will not be published.


 

Stay Up to Date

Subscribe for our newsletter today and receive relevant news straight to your inbox!