House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig released a statement criticizing a new Republican proposal she says would reduce funding for essential farm bill programs in order to pay for tax cuts. According to Craig, the proposed plan includes cuts to nutrition assistance, conservation efforts, and rural energy investments.
Angie Craig
Craig points to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as a primary concern. She argues that reducing SNAP could hurt both food-insecure families and farmers who depend on stable demand for their products. In her view, less SNAP funding would mean fewer people buying the food that farmers grow, manufacturers package, truckers deliver, and grocery stores stock.
She also highlights the plan’s impact on conservation. Funds from the Inflation Reduction Act currently support programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). If these funds are taken away, Craig warns that more farmers and ranchers could be turned away from conservation initiatives, potentially affecting their profits and the environment.
Lastly, Craig criticizes the proposal to remove rural energy funding from the farm bill. She believes cutting these resources would favor larger utility companies over smaller rural cooperatives, leading to higher energy costs for households in rural areas.
Craig expresses willingness to work with Republicans on a bipartisan basis but warns that this proposal would shift funds away from farmers in order to benefit wealthy individuals. She concludes that moving forward with such a plan would, in her words, “take money from farmers to pay for tax breaks for the already super rich.”
Sabrina Halvorson
National Correspondent / AgNet Media, Inc.
Sabrina Halvorson is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and public speaker who specializes in agriculture. She primarily reports on legislative issues and hosts The AgNet News Hour. She was recently named the 2024 Farm Broadcaster of the Year by the National Association of Farm Broadcasting and serves as a Council Member on the World Agriculture Forum. Sabrina is a native of California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley and now divides her time between California and North Dakota.