News
Could this be the last farm bill?
The process of passing a new farm bill has been a long and difficult one—and it’s not over yet. It has fueled speculation that this could be the last comprehensive farm bill we’ll ever see—that future farm and nutrition programs will have to be considered as separate pieces of legislation.
But Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack believes separating farm and nutrition programs is a bad idea.
“It gets back to the math,” Vilsack says. “Connecting the two makes it easier for folks, particularly in urban and suburban areas—representatives who represent those areas—to vote for a farm bill. So they can go back home and explain to folks why they voted for that legislation—because there are things in it that benefit all Americans.”
Vilsack says removing that 1949 permanent law provision from the farm bill would also be a mistake.
“If the House gets its way of ending the permanent law and making this farm bill sort of ‘it’, you run the risk of not ever having another opportunity because that permanent law is a good impetus for getting something done,” he say”.
Vilsack made those comments during appearance in Lincoln, Nebraska on Tuesday.
Add Comment