Agricultural News
Rural Stakeholders in Dire Need of Quick Farm Bill Passage, Vilsack Says
Tue, 03 Dec 2013 17:40:37 CST
At a news conference this afternoon, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack once again urged the House and Senate farm bill conference committee to come to an agreement on their various differences quickly.
"These are obviously difficult issues, but, at the end of the day, we don't want to make perfect the enemy of the good. There are tremendous opportunities in this bill for reforms, for savings, for new opportunities in rural development and economic development, for new research opportunities, for an extension and commitment to conservation, for a support structure and system that is defensible to folks across the country. All of that is the result of a comprehensive approach. And what's being lost in the debate and the conversation on this bill and in this conference committee is the extraordinary good this bill could do to our country and to the economy in rural America."
Vilsack said it is imperative for the conferees to finish their work. He said that everyone from small town chambers of commerce to land grant universities rely on the farm bill and the knowledge of the programs they will be operating under for the next three to five years. Vilsack said that certainty among rural stakeholders is what is needed most and an understanding of what the rules will be.
"There are multiple reasons which are often lost in the discussion about SNAP and subsidies, there are multiple reasons why this needs to get done and get done quickly- Those who are working on this are fully aware. I think it's just important for the leaders to finish their work to have conference support and to have the leadership of the Senate and the House then engaged in making sure this gets voted on and gets passed in a very expeditious way. And I can assure you that once it's done, if it's done well and it's done properly-and I'm hopeful it will be-the President will be anxious to sign it."
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