U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) blasted the U.S. Senate Agriculture Chair over her comments Tuesday on passing a new farm bill this year.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), who chairs the Committee on Agriculture, said she is not willing to negotiate with Republicans on changes to the Thrifty Food Plan or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
“I’m not going to do it,” Stabenow said at a White House anti-hunger event. “So, if that means we continue the policies of the 2018 farm bill, which were pretty good if I do say so myself, then that’s okay.”
“That’s okay with me,” Stabenow said, “Because we’re not going to go backwards on feeding people, and we’re not going to go backwards, by the way, on the climate conservation money that we also have there that is so critical.”
According to Politico, Republicans said plans to limit updates to the Thrifty Food Plan wouldn’t impact current SNAP benefits for the more than 40 million low-income Americans who rely on the program.
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“As Alabama’s voice on the Senate AG Committee, I know how important the Farm Bill is to not just our agriculture community, but our overall food security,” Sen. Tuberville said.
“It’s ridiculous that the Chair of the Agriculture Committee would suggest delaying a Farm Bill any longer when we’re more than a year behind, and farmers are struggling now more than ever. This goes to show that Democrats care more about climate change and welfare handouts than domestic food production.”
“Our farmers, foresters, and producers are struggling in Joe Biden’s economy. The American Farm Bureau Federation has estimated net income for farmers will drop nearly 40 billion dollars from last year, and 70 billion in two years – the largest decline in the farm economy in history. Democrats need to wake up and stop putting left-wing climate change agendas ahead of our national food security and farmers’ livelihoods. I’ll keep fighting for a Farm Bill that puts our farmers first, so we can feed, fuel, and clothe America.”
The current farm bill authorization is set to expire at the end of September, and the House Committee on Agriculture is working on getting a farm bill passed.
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
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