Walz Opposes Partisan, Broken Farm Bill

Press Release

Today, Representative Tim Walz voted against the partisan, broken Farm Bill that is bad for producers and consumers alike. The broken Farm Bill is also opposed by hundreds of agriculture, conservation, credit, rural development and forestry advocates including the Minnesota Farm Bureau and the Minnesota Farmers Union.

"I am disappointed that instead of working together in bipartisan fashion to pass a Farm Bill that works for producers and consumers alike, Tea-Party Republicans have yet again chosen to push a partisan, broken bill to nowhere," said Walz, Ranking Member of the U.S. House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy, and Forestry. "This partisan, broken Farm Bill is bad for producers, bad for consumers, bad for sportsmen, and bad for America."

Walz continued, "Instead of this partisan approach, we should work together to pass a bipartisan Farm Bill that works for everyone; a bill that reforms outdated programs, cuts through red-tape for farmers and ranchers, and ensures hardworking Americans won't struggle to put food on the table."

The partisan, broken Farm Bill was proposed in the middle of the night yesterday and also repeals the 1938 and 1949 Farm laws, key mechanisms to ensure that Congress periodically updates agriculture and food policy to serve the American people.

Furthermore, with this move, there is no clear path toward getting a Farm Bill passed by the House and Senate and signed by the President. Tea Party Republicans are endangering this critical legislation that works to support our nation's farmers, ranchers, food security, conservation, rural communities, and the 16 million Americans whose jobs directly depend on the agriculture industry.

The bill is also opposed by farmers and ranchers and their advocates, including the Minnesota Farm Bureau and the Minnesota Farmers Union.

"The "marriage' between the nutrition and farm communities has been an effective, balanced arrangement that has worked for decades, both to protect farmers and ranchers from disaster and to ensure all Americans can put food on the table," said Kevin Paap, President of the Minnesota Farm Bureau. "Yet today, despite broad, bipartisan support for keeping the Farm Bill intact from the nutrition community and over 530 agriculture, conservation, credit and rural development groups, the House voted on an approach that seeks to affect a divorce of this longstanding partnership. It is frustrating to our members that this broad coalition of support appears to have been pushed aside in favor of interests that have no real stake in this farm bill, the economic vitality and jobs agriculture provides, or the consumers farmers and ranchers serve."

Paap continued, "Furthermore, we are concerned that without a workable nutrition title, it will prove to be nearly impossible to adopt a bill that can be successfully conferenced with the Senate's version, approved by both the House and Senate and signed by the President."

"There is absolutely no upside for farmers to have a split farm bill. Splitting the farm bill would lead to the dismantling of the United States Department of Agriculture and would lead to disruptions in delivering rural development services and a sound nutrition policy for consumers," said Doug Peterson, Minnesota Farmers Union President.

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