Indiana Farm Bureau is among a group of 532 organizations that today urged House leadership to bring the farm bill back to the House floor for a vote as soon as possible. The groups also urged against splitting the nutrition title from the legislation. In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, the vast group – which includes agriculture, conservation, nutrition, rural development, finance, forestry, energy and crop insurance organizations and companies – said passage of the farm bill (H.R. 1947, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013) is vital. “We signed on because this important legislation supports more than just our farmers,” said IFB President Don Villwock. “It also impacts forest owners, food security, natural resources and wildlife habitats, rural communities, and the nearly 190,000 Hoosiers whose jobs depend on the agriculture industry.”
“Farm bills represent a delicate balance between America’s farm, nutrition, conservation, and other priorities, and accordingly require strong bipartisan support,” the letter stated. “It is vital for the House to try once again to bring together a broad coalition of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to provide certainty for farmers, rural America, the environment and our economy in general and pass a five-year farm bill upon returning in July.”
The groups also stood in united support for keeping the farm bill intact, noting that splitting the nutrition title from the rest of the bill could result in neither farm nor nutrition programs passing. Current law expires again on Sept. 30, 2013.
The American Soybean Association (ASA) also joined organizations in a letter urging House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to bring the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 back to the House floor for a vote as soon as possible. In the letter, ASA and its fellow organizations noted the benefits of a unified farm bill and cautioned that nutrition and farm program bills may fail to pass as standalone bills. ASA President Danny Murphy, a soybean farmer from Canton, Miss., issued the following statement on the effort: “In our nation’s capital, where so many efforts are poisoned by party-line bickering, the farm bill has long been a resoundingly bipartisan symbol of both parties’ ability to come together to pass legislation that benefits all Americans. The farm bill supports our farmers and ranchers, and rural Americans; but it also helps our friends and neighbors in urban and suburban communities as well. That responsibility—to provide for all Americans—is one that farmers take seriously. We are proud to stand alongside such a wide range of organizations to call on the House to recommit to passing a single, unified farm bill this month.”
For a full transcript of the letter, please click here.