Republicans love to pay lip service to rural voters, and farmers especially. But actions speak louder than words.
So I was especially troubled to see that House GOP leadership and Republicans in the House Agriculture Committee ignored decades of tradition and did not bother to gain bipartisan support for their farm bill proposals. Why is this important? Because bipartisan legislation is typically more thoughtful, resilient and more likely to stand the test of time. Remember, Republicans aren’t right all the time and Democrats aren’t wrong all the time.
In a press release, Rep. G.T. Thompson of Pennsylvania claims his committee’s section of the House’s new reconciliation bill is “strengthening the farm safety net and delivering critical support to the farmers, workers, and communities that keep America fed.” I argue it’s a prime example of one-sided, partisan deal-making.
And Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., agrees. “Instead of working with Democrats to lower costs from President Trump’s across-the-board tariffs, House Republicans have decided to pull the rug out from under families by cutting the SNAP benefits that 42 million Americans rely on to put food on the table — all to fund a tax cut for billionaires. That’s shameful,” said Klobuchar, the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
…
House Republicans want to push through their reconciliation bill as quickly as possible. And they don’t seem to care whether it’s actually good for the American people. My advice would be to go back to the drawing board. Maybe then, they could actually come up with a modern proposal for the 21st century that would both help feed our nation and boost our agricultural production.
