Brown Votes Against Extreme GOP Farm Bill in Agriculture Committee

Washington, D.C. – Today, the House Committee on Agriculture held a full committee markup of the Farm Bill (H.R.8467) introduced by the Republican Chair of the Committee, Rep. Glenn Thompson (PA-15). Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11) voted against the bill and encourages the Chairman to adopt a bipartisan approach to this must pass legislation. In April, Congresswoman Brown co-led a bipartisan Ohio delegation letter outlining key state priorities.

The Republican Farm Bill includes a $30 billion dollar cut to future SNAP benefits.

According to the USDA and Census Data, 79,993 households in Congresswoman Brown’s district participate in SNAP, 22.6% of the district, the highest percentage in Ohio. Statewide 614,125 Ohio households participate in SNAP.

The Republican Farm Bill adds between $37 and $39 billion to the deficit over the next decade according to the Congressional Budget Office and includes harmful provisions to:
 

• cut funding to The Emergency Food Assistance Plan, which provides support to local food banks
• undermine the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines process
• wrongly prioritize commodity support for regions inequitably and in a way that disadvantages new and small farmers
• reverse and weaken climate and conservation programs
• exempts the Farm Credit system from an industry standard requirement to collect and report demographic data on their customers, reducing transparency as it relates to supporting Black farmers and those from underserved communities  

“Sadly, this Republican Farm Bill is an insult to the people I represent and the people I fight for in Congress, slashing nutrition assistance so that we can subsidize Big Ag. This Republican Farm Bill does the impossible, dramatically cutting funding for the critical SNAP program yet somehow also exploding the deficit. This partisan Farm Bill punishes the poor, picks winners and losers in commodities, undermines climate and conservation programs, and fails to properly support Black farmers, farmers from underserved communities, and new and family farmers,” said Congresswoman Shontel Brown. “I am strongly opposed to this bill and disappointed that Democratic amendments to make it more balanced were rejected. In addition to being bad policy, this legislation is simply going nowhere: it cannot pass the full Congress. The Farm Bill is too important to be subject to partisan games. Another path is possible – one where we work together. I co-led a state delegation letter on the Farm Bill and know there’s a lot of common ground. We need to return to that place, and pass a bipartisan Farm Bill that supports families, farmers, and our future.”  

VIDEO: Brown – This Farm Bill Will Sow Seeds of Hardship

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