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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and Farm Bill conferee, joined congressional members appointed to hammer out the differences between the House and Senate bills in the group’s first meeting today. The 41 members of the Farm Bill Conference Committee are tasked with crafting a compromise bill that can pass both chambers and be signed into law.
“We still have some differences to work out, but this is work that must be done. Rural America, our farmers, ranchers, forestry stakeholders, manufacturers, retailers, and the most vulnerable members of our communities are counting on us to settle these differences and provide the five years of certainty they need to plan for the future. Of equal importance is the impact that this legislation has on our nation’s economy, and the economies of all our states and districts,” Boozman said in his opening statement.
The Farm Bill lays out our nation’s agriculture policy, defines and authorizes funding for agriculture’s safety net and provides certainty for agri-businesses as they plan for the future of their business. This hearing marks the official beginning of the conference process.
Boozman is confident the committee will find common ground for a five-year Farm Bill that includes safety nets for agriculture producers nationwide.
“Our safety net needs to responsibly invest in the future, enable the next generation to enter farming, and provide opportunities for our veterans who would like to work the land. We need to make sure that our research and scientific infrastructure is strong to protect our families and crops from bacteria, weather, and disease – and we need to make sure that our programs protecting the most vulnerable members of our communities maintain integrity and the support of the public, while meeting the needs of those that they are designed to serve,” Boozman said in his statement.
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