WASHINGTON, DC —Congressman John Carney today released the following statement after the House voted 251-166 to pass a five-year Farm Bill:

“I am pleased that despite regional and party differences, the House finally passed a five-year Farm Bill. As I’ve traveled the state over the past several years, I’ve heard over and over from Delaware farmers about the urgency and importance of passing this legislation.

“The bill ends direct payments and other outdated forms of support that most farmers say they don’t need. It uses part of these savings to improve federally subsidized crop insurance to create a better, market-based safety net for farmers. This is a historic change that will improve the farm safety net, make our growers more secure, and save taxpayers money. The legislation also increases funding for research and development by $1.1 billion, which will benefit programs like the University of Delaware Cooperative Extension to help farmers grow crops and livestock that are healthier, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly.

“The bill makes significant changes to make sure the conservation resources that our farmers rely on are used as efficiently and effectively as possible. It also creates the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, which would allow those in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed to compete for resources with other critical conservation areas across the country.   While this new program is not perfect, I am confident that the Chesapeake Bay Watershed will be able to continue to get the resources it needs. 

“As with any legislation, there are elements in the Farm Bill that I do not like. In particular, I am concerned by the $8.5 billion in cuts made to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).  Though these cuts will not affect Delaware due to the way our state implements SNAP, many across the country will see their benefits reduced during a period of continued economic hardship. This summer, I lived off a $31.00 food budget for a week, which is the average food stipend of a SNAP recipient, and saw how difficult it is to eat on such limited funds. I have advocated that Congress pass a Farm Bill that protects SNAP from harmful cuts.

“Additionally, we need to do more to provide farmers who grow fruits and vegetables with the same kind of support as those who grow commodity crops like corn and wheat.  I was disappointed that this farm bill did not do enough in that area -- we need to make specialty crops more of a priority going forward. 

“Despite these drawbacks, the Farm Bill on the whole reauthorizes a number of critical programs that Delaware farmers rely on. I look forward to continuing to support our state’s number one industry as the Farm Bill is implemented.”

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