Farm Bill Passes Congress
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today hailed the passage of the 2019 Farm Bill. The House of Representatives approved the conference report on the bill this afternoon, following the Senate’s passage yesterday. “The passage of the 2019 Farm Bill is good news because it provides a strong safety net for farmers and ranchers, who need the dependability and certainty this legislation affords. This Farm Bill will help producers make decisions about the future, while also investing in important agricultural research and supporting trade programs to bolster exports. While I feel there were missed opportunities in forest management and in improving work requirements for certain SNAP recipients, this bill does include several helpful provisions and we will continue to build upon these through our authorities. I commend Congress for bringing the Farm Bill across the finish line and am encouraging President Trump to sign it.”
The United Fresh Produce Association also applauds the House and Senate for approving a Farm Bill, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018. Today, the House voted on the Farm Bill 369-47 and the Senate voted on the legislation yesterday with a vote of 87-13. The Farm Bill will now go the President for his signature. As part of this Farm Bill, the fresh produce industry secured major victories around increasing access to fresh produce in federal nutrition programs, breaking down trade barriers, focusing additional resources towards research priorities, and combating pest and disease challenges. Overall, the Farm bill represents over $3 billion in resources and policy changes dedicated to these and other important programs targeted by the fresh produce industry.
“United Fresh applauds the House and Senate for the passage of a Farm Bill that includes the priorities of United Fresh and our members. We thank Congress for approving this legislation and we are proud that it has strong bipartisan and bicameral support. The Agriculture Improvement Act is vital to the ability of the fresh produce industry to ensure Americans have access to nutritious foods. We look forward to the President signing the bill before the conclusion of the 115th Congress,” said Robert Guenther, Senior Vice President of Public Policy for United Fresh.
The Organic Trade Association is just as thrilled. The trade association said on Tuesday that the Farm Bill as proposed by the conference committee makes momentous steps to move organic agriculture forward, and urged quick passage of the bill. The association said the organic priorities contained in the legislation represent a “major policy win” by organic champions, who included association members and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
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The National Grocers Association, which represents independent grocers, said the Farm Bill will strengthen the public-private partnership between the U.S. government and supermarket operators in the SNAP program. “This legislation addresses important issues for independent grocers, including the protection against harmful processing fees and the increased investment in the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) program,” the NGA said in its statement to the press. “We were especially pleased to see the Farm Bill contain NGA offered language that would direct significantly more FINI funding to independent supermarkets. It’s been a long road to get here, but NGA and its members were engaged with Congress every step of the way to achieve our shared goals.”
What the Farm Bill left out was a provision to protect store-level SNAP sales data from disclosure requirements under the federal Freedom of Information Act. “Despite these positive inclusions in the Farm Bill, a top priority to protect store-level SNAP sales data was not included in the Farm Bill. We will work closely with Congress and industry stakeholders to identify viable solutions to ensure that private information that could be used to give competitors an unfair advantage, particularly over many small and medium size grocers, is protected from public disclosure,” the NGA said in a statement.
