Rep. Angie Craig Opposes Partisan House Farm Bill in Ag Committee
House bill would de-prioritize traditionally midwestern crops, roll back climate-smart ag policies, add nearly $40 billion to the deficit while cutting $320 million in SNAP funding for Minnesota families
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Angie Craig voted against the partisan Republican Farm Bill in the House Agriculture Committee.
While Rep. Craig is supportive of many policies in the bill – introducing 12 pieces of bipartisan legislation she authored to strengthen the bill – she cited serious concerns with the funding mechanisms, the bill’s de-prioritization of traditionally midwestern crops, as well as concerns about the bill’s path forward.
The House bill would roll back the climate-smart ag policies Rep. Craig championed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, prioritize traditionally southern crops like cotton and rice over midwestern crops like corn and soybeans and cut $320 million in nutrition assistance funding in Minnesota.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) also this week estimated the bill would add nearly $40 billion to the deficit.
“A Farm Bill that will never become law won’t help a single Minnesotan. I’m disappointed that Washington Republicans turned the Farm Bill – which is usually a place for bipartisan cooperation – into just one more political football,” said Rep. Craig.
This week, Rep. Craig called a meeting with Chairman Thompson and a group of Ag Committee Democrats in an attempt to reach bipartisan consensus, but Thompson refused to negotiate the bill’s funding mechanisms.
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