Ernst Supports Senate Republicans’ Farm Bill Framework

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, issued the following statement in support of Senate Republicans’ new Farm Bill framework:

“Farmers, especially our producers and folks in rural communities across Iowa, are long overdue for an updated Farm Bill, and Senate Republicans are working to deliver one.

“Instead of Democrats’ far left agenda that fixates on Green New Deal priorities and out of control spending at the expense of the farm safety net and producers, Republicans are truly putting more ‘farm’ in the Farm Bill,” said Senator Ernst. “I am proud to see my efforts for Iowans included to safeguard domestic farmland from our foreign adversaries, provide resources to prevent animal disease outbreaks, reverse California’s left-wing Prop 12 regulation, improve the affordability of crop insurance, and conserve our beautiful lands and taxpayer dollars.

“Our work here is not done; I will keep fighting alongside my Republican colleagues to bring Democrats to the table and pass a Farm Bill that actually focuses on the folks who feed and fuel our nation,” said Ernst.

Multiple Ernst measures were included in the GOP Farm Bill framework, including her:

• EATS Act to prohibit state and local governments from interfering and dictating the agricultural production of another state and address California’s disastrous Proposition 12;
• FARMLAND Act to address foreign land ownership and stop China’s malign influence that threatens American security by modernizing the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act;
• FARMER Act to improve the affordability and coverage of federal crop insurance by increasing premium support for the highest levels of coverage, shrinking producer deductibles, and reducing the need for ad hoc disaster assistance in the future;
• Expanding Agricultural Exports Act to ensure farmers have strong commodity markets and export opportunities through the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development Program;
• Expanding Local Meat Processing Act to reduce regulatory red tape, allowing livestock auction market owners to invest in small meat packing operations and bolster both domestic meat processing capacity and local food systems;
• Animal Disease and Disaster Prevention, Surveillance, and Rapid Response Act to strengthen resources for animal disease prevention, management, and preparedness including Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, African Swine Fever, and Foot-and-Mouth Disease that continue to pose a significant threat to Iowa’s agriculture;
• Snap Back Inaccurate SNAP Payments Act to rein in fraudulent and inaccurate payments within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which have totaled to roughly $1 billion in erroneous spending each month because of poor state administration of the program; and the
• Streamlining Conservation Practice Standards Act to speed up the approval process for new technologies and innovative practices that can be used by landowners to improve water quality and soil health.

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