Washington, DC - Rep. Ron Kind stood with conservation organizations and agriculture groups from across Wisconsin and the country, in opposition to H.R. 6233, the disaster assistance bill on the House floor today. 

 

“This disaster assistance package is just another partisan attempt to prevent us from taking up five year, comprehensive farm bill. One year extensions and ad hoc bills aren’t going to get us a farm policy that better serves our family farmers. 

 

“We do need to provide relief during this historic drought, but that should not come at the expense of already under-funded conservation programs that better prepare farmers to withstand the effects of future natural disasters.  Instead we should look to wasteful spending that already has bipartisan support. Members of both houses and both parties agree that millions of dollars in direct payments going to very few large agribusinesses does nothing to help our family famers and is a misuse of taxpayer dollars.

 

“A five year farm bill would allow us not only to eliminate outdated direct payments, but continue to provide the conservation funding our famers rely on and make important updates to programs that support agriculture in our state and across the country.”

 

This bill is opposed by a number of state and national conservation and sportsmen’s groups and in addition lacks the support of major farm organizations.