Congresswoman Susan W. Brooks (R-Ind.-05) provided the following statement on the passage of H.R. 2, the Agriculture Improvement Act, also known as the 2018 Farm Bill, through the U.S. House of Representatives:
Brooks
“Indiana’s agriculture economy supports more than 107,000 Hoosier jobs and unfortunately, the agriculture economy nationwide has trended downwards over the past several years. Now more than ever, we need to strengthen food security for millions of American families by providing hardworking farmers the relief and resources they deserve as they work to produce our food supply and ensure that it is safe, abundant and affordable.
“Many farmers from the Fifth District have shared with me the importance of crop insurance, conservation programs, strong trade deals and ensuring rural communities have the support they need. I am proud the 2018 Farm Bill is heading to the President’s desk to be signed into law because it protects top Hoosier priorities like crop insurance, upholds vital commodity programs, including corn, soybean and other top commodities produced in Indiana and provides certainty to Hoosier families and farmers.”
Background
The Farm Bill is the federal government’s primary tool for agriculture and food policy. Every five years, Congress must pass a Farm Bill to ensure critical agricultural and food programs are updated and reauthorized.
The 2018 Farm Bill:
- Provides farmers with the reassurance they need to continue producing and delivering the world’s safest, most abundant and affordable food supply in the world;
- Renews and protects crop insurance, a critically important safety net for Hoosier farmers;
- Supports and enables significant investment in emerging conservation practices;
- Reauthorizes crucial commodity programs;
- Lays the groundwork for improved Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Policy (SNAP) policy by focusing on improving program integrity and otherwise incentivizing work to move people toward self‐sufficiency;
- Addresses the predatory trading practices of foreign countries, including unjustified retaliatory tariffs leveled by foreign governments like China, and strengthens promotion of U.S. agricultural exports through the Market Access Program (MAP);
- Helps rural communities to combat the opioid crisis and improves broadband delivery;
- Repeals the harmful and burdensome Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, providing regulatory certainty and relief; and
- Is part of a comprehensive response to natural disasters, including provisions to support communities still recovering from the devastating impacts of the recent hurricanes and wildfires.