Farm Bill advances in Congress; Steve king says will help rural economy

WASHINGTON, D.C.- The U.S. House of Representatives passed their version of the 2018 Farm Bill.

Iowa Congressman Steve King, a member of the House Agriculture Committee, released the following statement following House passage of HR. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (Farm Bill). The Farm Bill contains several of Congressman King’s initiatives, including legislation he introduced, the Protect Interstate Commerce Act (PICA), which prevents activist states like California from unconstitutionally regulating interstate commerce in agriculture by imposing regulatory hurdles on other states. The Farm Bill passed the House of Representatives this afternoon on a vote of 213-211 with Congressman King voting in favor of the bill.

“The rural economy is hurting, and we need to get the House’s Farm Bill enacted into law as quickly as possible to ensure a vibrant farm economy that will protect our family farms,” said King. “This farm bill safeguards the Crop Insurance program, increases funding for important export programs, and furthers agriculture research being done at Iowa State University. It also includes my PICA provision that will ensure Iowa’s agricultural products are not denied access to some of the nation’s largest markets. This bill is too important to our rural communities to be left sitting on Senator McConnell’s desk. I encourage the Senate to pass it quickly so that President Trump can sign it into law and bring rural communities the assurances they seek.”

In addition to PICA, the Farm Bill also contains several initiatives championed by Congressman King:

– The House-passed Farm Bill contains a King amendment which strengthens the EQIP Soil/Water Conservation Program by making Drainage Districts eligible for EQIP Contracts.

– The House-passed Farm Bill includes “Genome to Phenome” language that allows universities such as Iowa State University to further research weather, environmental, and production system impacts on crops.

– The House-passed Farm Bill includes provisions creating and funding the Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccine Bank.

– The House-passed Farm Bill makes important changes to the SNAP program, placing work requirements of 20 hours a week on some food stamp recipients.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue also issued a statement after the House of Representatives passed their version of the 2018 Farm Bill:

“I applaud Chairman Conaway and the House Agriculture Committee for their diligence and hard work in passing their 2018 Farm Bill through the House of Representatives. American producers have greatly benefited from the policies of the Trump Administration, including tax reforms and reductions in regulations, however a Farm Bill is still critically important to give the agriculture community some much-needed reassurance. No doubt, there is still much work to be done on this legislation in both chambers of Congress, and USDA stands ready to assist with whatever counsel lawmakers may request or require.”