The bill, authored by Chairwoman Stabenow and Ranking Member Sen. Pat Roberts, is a bipartisan bill that reforms U.S. food and farm policy to save taxpayers $23 billion while strengthening and streamlining programs to continue allowing the agricultural economy to grow. The bill was adopted by the Committee last month on a vote of 16-5, with broad bipartisan support.
“The Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012 represents the most significant reforms of agriculture policy in decades. The Senate’s farm bill will save taxpayers billions of dollars while helping America’s agricultural economy continue to grow. By eliminating duplication and streamlining programs, the Agriculture Committee was able to continue investing in initiatives that help farmers and small businesses create jobs.
“This bill has strong bipartisan support from Senators across the country and I am looking forward to beginning floor consideration soon. We look forward to continuing to build on the Senate Farm bill’s broad bipartisan support to enact a Farm Bill this year before the current one expires. Agriculture supports 16 million jobs in our country, and it is absolutely critical to provide farmers the certainty they need by passing a Farm Bill this year.”
Stabenow concluded, “The time for reform has come.”
