Newsletter - No Farms, No Food

Statement

Friends,

Traveling through our communities, I am continually reminded of our strong agriculture roots. Agriculture is the leading industry in North Carolina, employing one-fifth of our workforce and generating nearly $70 billion annually to our economy. Through the years, the tools our farmers and ranchers use to harvest their crops have drastically transformed and expanded to accommodate America's growing demand for food, forest products and livestock. As the ways we harvest our lands and provide for our nutrition needs have changed, so should the policies that govern them. We owe it to our farmers to equip them with the tools and certainty they need to produce an affordable and stable food supply.

My top priorities have been and will continue to be advancing policies that save your hard-earned tax dollars, create jobs, and bolster the economy. Every policy decision made in Washington should be filtered through this lens. The farm bill is no different. As we face an enormous debt crisis, we need a farm bill that strikes the right balance between fiscal responsibility and providing certainty to our farmers.

For the past four years, the House Agriculture Committee has worked to craft a bipartisan farm bill that is critical to our agriculture communities. Unfortunately, it didn't pass the House this past week. Although the bill wasn't perfect, it contained significant reforms that save taxpayers' money, reduce spending, improve farm policy, and replace wasteful government programs with commonsense reforms. Specifically, the farm bill cut $40 billion in mandatory spending, consolidated/eliminated more than 100 duplicative USDA programs, ended direct payments, and significantly reformed the food stamp program to eliminate advertising and include work-requirements and drug testing for applicants. I supported these reforms and will continue to do so as the Agriculture Committee heads back to the drawing board to draft a new bill and implement more conservative reforms.

The ballooning food stamp program is a serious problem that is crippling to our economy. The farm bill offered the first reforms to food stamps and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) law since welfare reform in 1996, modernizing SNAP programs and increasing program integrity and accountability. As is, the program suffers from waste, fraud and abuse and takes away from those truly in need. As good stewards of taxpayer dollars, we must ensure that every nutrition dollar is being spent wisely and being spent on those who actually need our help. I successfully introduced an amendment to the farm bill that would allow states to administer drug screening programs for food stamp applicants. It is our moral obligation to give the states the tools they need to discourage the use of illegal drugs and protect and provide for the needy.

Moving forward, my hope is that now we can advance a conservative farm bill that's even more fiscally sound, cuts more money, and focuses on the priorities of rural America. Ideally, I would like to see upwards of $150 billion in nutrition funds cut, nutrition split from the farm programs, and a robust safety net in place for our farmers. Time will tell if we can get this done. I look forward to serving the Eighth District of North Carolina and representing you and your concerns in the Agriculture Committee to ensure that our farmers have the tools they need to continue to provide food and fiber to our country and to the world.

Until next week,

Richard Hudson
Member of Congress (NC-08)

Source