Griffin: Farm Bill "A Good First Step' Toward Protecting Taxpayers, Providing Security for Arkansas Farmers and Ranchers

Press Release

Congressman Tim Griffin (AR-02) issued the following statement after House passage of the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act (H.R. 2642):

"This farm bill represents a good first step toward protecting taxpayers and providing security for Arkansas farmers and ranchers, so I support it. It will reduce spending, cut unnecessary and overly burdensome regulations, eliminate duplicative programs and modernize farm policy by ending direct payments and establishing a new risk-management system to protect farmers who suffer significant losses. It ensures the agricultural community isn't taken backwards to a law passed over half a century ago, and it guarantees affordable food for American families."

Reduces spending: By nearly $23 billion, a 36 percent reduction.

Cuts unnecessary and overly burdensome regulations: Eliminates a duplicative permitting requirement for pesticides (H.R. 935) and a duplicative reporting requirement for seed importers, stops the EPA from implementing unscientific opinions of the National Marine Fisheries Service until a scientific peer review is completed, and requires regulatory agencies to use scientific data when developing any new regulations.

Eliminates duplicative programs: Streamlines 23 conservation programs into 13, saving more than $6 billion.

Modernizes farm policy: Repeals Direct Payments, Counter‐Cyclical Payments, the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program, and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE). Ensures no payments are made to those who don't farm.

Source