Walz Supports Farm Bill Conference Report

Press Release

Today, after signing the Farm Bill Conference Committee Report, Representative Tim Walz, a Farm Bill negotiator and Ranking Member of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy, and Forestry, released the following statement.

"After years of procedural hold-ups and opposition, we're finally on the cusp of passing a badly needed, new, five-year Farm Bill into law. With compromise no one gets everything they want and there are certainly things in the bill that I do not like. That being said, this bill saves taxpayers approximately $23 billion, works to help new farmers fulfill their dreams of working the land, conserves critical wildlife and hunting habitat, and works to give consumers certainty at the grocery store and producers certainty to make long-term planning decisions in order to feed, clothe, and fuel the world. I urge my colleagues to support this common sense compromise so we can finally get this bill signed into law."

Enacting the Agricultural Act of 2014 will reform agriculture programs, reduce the deficit, and help farmers, ranchers and business owners grow the economy. The legislation:

Repeals the direct payment program and strengthens risk management tools
Repeals outdated programs and consolidates duplicative ones, eliminating nearly 100 programs or authorizations
Helps farmers and ranchers create jobs and provides certainty for the 16 million Americans working in agriculture
Strengthens conservation efforts to protect land, water, and wildlife for future generations
Maintains food assistance for families while addressing fraud and misuse in SNAP
Reduces the deficit by billions of dollars in mandatory spending

Source