Chairwoman Stabenow Statement on the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act

WASHINGTON (Monday, Nov. 18, 2024) - U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, Monday spoke on the Senate floor to introduce the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act.

Chairwoman Stabenow's remarks as prepared for delivery are available below:

For more than 2 years, I have been working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass my sixth Farm Bill and the third I have led as either Chair or Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.

I have met with farmers across the country who have made clear that crop insurance is the #1 risk management tool they have.

Farmers who made clear that the farm safety net must be the backbone of support for all farmers, and not just a handful of mostly southern commodities.

I have met with families who are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet as food insecurity in our country continues to rise.

And I have met with rural communities who are struggling to access the basic things they need to thrive like access to health care, including mental health, and childcare, clean drinking water, and high-speed internet.

The Farm Bill has always been the place where we put the power of the federal government to work in a bipartisan way to support farmers, families, and rural communities.

That is the coalition that has always been the foundation of a successful, bipartisan Farm Bill.

In May, the House released a proposal that would put immense taxpayer resources into a handful of mostly southern commodities.

I am not saying that these farmers do not need support - they do - but it cannot come at the expense of the millions of other farmers and ranchers in this country, farmers in the middle of the country - farmers who grow our fruits and vegetables, who run smaller and diversified operations, or lack access to the tools and support that is overwhelmingly favored in the House Bill.

And the large increases in farm subsidies should not be paid for on the back of our families in need or the broader needs of our small towns and rural communities.

In the Spring, I unveiled our Democratic proposal, a ninety-page section-by-section bill, to try to refocus our negotiations on holding together the Farm Bill coalition, not robbing Peter to pay Paul, but instead taking a balanced approach that supports all of agriculture, and families, and rural communities, across the country.

But unfortunately, this did not spark the serious negotiation I had hoped in order to put forward a bipartisan Farm bill that can pass both the House and the Senate and be signed by the President.

Today, I am introducing my Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act - 1397 pages of hard work by my great staff and staff and colleagues on both sides of the aisle. This includes $39 billion in new resources beyond the Farm Bill baseline.

This is a robust bill that puts more farm in the Farm Bill for all of our commodities, but not at the expense of rural communities and American families that are critical to holding the Farm Bill coalition together.

It provides farmers with the certainty of a 5-year Farm Bill - so they can plan for the future - and the assistance they need to manage the urgent needs they have right now.

It authorizes a permanent disaster program to ensure that we have a process in place when disasters like hurricanes Helene and Milton strike.

This new program will put a consistent process in place so farmers have certainty, and USDA can get the money out the door.

No more scrambling. No more leaving farmers behind.

It also makes a significant investment in Title 1 for the 22 row crops that receive the lion's share of the resources available in the House proposal.

It moves up Agriculture Risk (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program payments by six months, so farmers receive the assistance faster that they need to keep their operations going.

And it increases effective reference prices by as much as 15%, with all 22 commodities getting at least a 5% increase, for the first time in a decade.

The Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act continues to improve crop insurance by making it more affordable and ensuring that all farmers have access to this critical tool. It provides more coverage to more farmers at a lower cost.

Importantly, I include a provision that will partially reimburse farmers' crop insurance premiums and NAP fees to put cash in their pockets to address the urgent needs they are facing right now.

The bill strengthens support for specialty crops and ensures that farmers have the support they need to put American grown fruits and vegetables on the table.

This is a significant investment in all farmers and all of agriculture because farming is one of the riskiest businesses there is, and it is getting even riskier with the climate crisis.

How many "once in a generation" storms or droughts need to hit our farmers over the head before we take this crisis seriously?

This bill will roll the historic investment we made in the Inflation Reduction Act into the Farm Bill baseline for the future. These dollars put cash into farmers' pockets to put popular, voluntary conservation programs to work.

This will make our farms more resilient by putting carbon in the ground, which is good for crops, and taking it out of the atmosphere, which is good for all of us.

That is what I call a win-win!

I am also including new investments in biofuels, loans, local foods, trade, and the list goes on and on, including a down payment on a much-needed ag research moonshot

But a Farm Bill is not just about investing in farmers. It's also about investing in the communities they call home.

We know that rural communities are shrinking, and it's getting harder and harder to pass the farm onto the next generation.

In this bill we are betting that rural prosperity is American prosperity.

It improves quality of life for rural families by improving rural health care, including mental health, and childcare.

It grows the middle class by creating good-paying jobs in manufacturing, entrepreneurship, and small businesses in rural America.

It increases our investment in connecting rural communities to high-speed internet, which everyone in this Chamber agrees is essential to their success in the world we live in today.

Whether it's a child being able to do their homework, or a farmer being able to see a doctor, or a small business being able to access new markets beyond their rural Main Street, that all starts with reliable, high-speed internet access.

And importantly, this bill makes sure that rural communities are not left behind when it comes to accessing the resources of the federal government.

When it comes to securing federal grants, I know that my hometown of Clare can't compete with Detroit or New York City when it comes to staffing. So, we level the playing field by investing in the resources rural communities need to compete by hiring grant writers, planners, and advisors to provide technical assistance.

And finally, it is discouraging to me that the needs of families have been lost in this debate over the last two years.

Yes. The Farm Bill must be the backbone of support for farmers and ranchers across the country.

Yes. The Farm Bill must ensure that farming and a rural way of life can thrive today and into the future.

Yes. The Farm Bill is where we put the support of the American people behind the women and men who feed, clothe, and fuel this country.

I challenge anyone to look at my record as a leader on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee and say with a straight face that I am not a stalwart champion for farmers and ranchers.

But a Farm Bill must also be about the single mother in Michigan working two jobs who needs just a little bit of help to put food on the table so her children can thrive.

At a time when food insecurity rates in our country increased for the second year in a row, it is absolutely unacceptable for anyone to attempt to cut SNAP and other nutrition programs.

I refuse to leave this mom behind. Not on my watch.

We should be investing in the Farm Bill nutrition programs that are at the heart of the family safety net in this country.

My Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act does that and lays the groundwork to see a future where we end hunger in America.

It protects nutrition assistance and draws a clear line in the sand that we will not walk away from the progress we have made to keep families fed in this country.

This is a bill that keeps farmers farming, families fed, and rural communities strong.

And it is a robust bill that is paid for using the same resources that my Republican colleagues in the House used to pay for their bill - without dividing the broad, bipartisan coalition that has always been the foundation of the Farm Bill.

In my time leading Democrats on this Committee, I have locked arms with Republican leaders like Pat Roberts to defend programs that may not have been my priority because it meant holding the coalition together.

Farm Bills failed to pass the House in 2012 and 2018 because Republicans included cutting food assistance and did not have the votes to pass the bills on their own.

In 2018, the Farm Bill passed the Senate with a historic 87 votes. The 13 "nays" were all Republicans.

Looking to the future, Project 2025, the road map for the incoming Trump Administration, proposes eliminating ARC and PLC - the very same programs the House Republican bill makes their top priority.

It would also gut crop insurance, terminate U.S. sugar production, and slash trade promotion programs.

This is why it should be no secret why the House Farm Bill has yet to receive a vote on the House Floor - it does not have the Republican votes to pass.

And the last time I checked, that Chamber will be similarly divided in the 119^th Congress.

So, I would encourage my Republican colleagues to rethink their proposal to make the largest cut to SNAP in more than 30 years, and join with us to pass a meaningful five-year Farm Bill now that includes immediate assistance that our farmers need.

The Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act is robust, adding $39 billion to the Farm Bill baseline. It is bipartisan with over 100 bipartisan bills included, and it balances the needs of farmers, ranchers, families, and rural communities.

It holds the broad Farm Bill coalition together, which is critical for the future of farm bill, and I firmly believe it is the best and probably only path forward to pass a 5-year Farm Bill this year.

I urge my colleagues to consider it seriously.

I yield the floor.

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