Hinson disappointed Congress left for October recess with no new Farm Bill passed

MARINO — North-central Iowa congresswoman Ashley Hinson says she’s disappointed that a new Farm Bill was not voted on before Congress left Washington for the October recess, but she says she would not be in favor of Congress coming back to address that before the election. A one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill expired on Monday night.

Hinson says the new Farm Bill would address a number of issues Iowa farmers are concerned about. “Earlier this year, House Republicans introduced a strong Farm Bill that provides certainty and support for Iowa farmers and producers. From expanding access to precision agriculture technology to pushing back against California’s overreaching Prop 12 mandates and protecting American ag land from the Chinese Communist Party, this legislation addresses challenges that I frequently hear about from producers in the district and makes good investments in our food security, which is national security.”

Hinson says Senate Democrats are stalling on the Farm Bill.  “Senate Democrats have only released a framework of the Farm Bill, they haven’t even put out a Farm Bill test to support our farmers. Enough is enough year. I believe the Farm Bill would receive bipartisan support on the House floor  from members who understand food just does not grow at the grocery store. That is why I led the majority of the House Republican conference, 139 of my colleagues, in a letter urging  Republican House leadership to bring the Farm Bill up for a vote as soon as possible.”

Hinson says if Congress were to come back to try to hammer out a deal on the Farm Bill, pre-election politics would likely get in the way.  “We should vote on it as soon as we can after the election. I think election politics probably could get in the way of moving it forward, which is disheartening to me, because farmers don’t have time for these politics. I hope that President Biden will step in and show some leadership here. It is costing our producers money and it’s going to be devastating to the American economy at a time when the Biden administration policies have already hurt our economy, so I think that people need to come to a fair agreement, the key word here is a fair agreement, and I hope both sides continue to negotiate in good  faith and that we get this resolved as soon as possible.”

Last year, a one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill was passed in mid-November.