The U.S. House of Representatives voted 251-166 this morning to pass the nearly $1 trillion farm bill. Representative Marlin Stutzman, a fourth-generation farmer who represents the 3rd District of Indiana, shared his reaction to the news:
This farm bill is just more business as usual in Washington.
Last summer, the American people won an important victory for common-sense and transparency when we ended the unholy alliance between food stamps and farm programs. Together, we defeated business as usual by passing the first farm-only farm bill in nearly 40 years.
Business as usual fought back and here we are today.
Not only does this farm bill recombine food stamps and farm programs, it actually spends even more than the bill the Senate passed. This is exactly the kind of logrolling that we fought to prevent this summer.
Congress works best when we do our work in the full light of day. Unfortunately, this farm bill was written behind closed doors. It was stripped of long-term reforms. It spends money we simply don’t have.
As a farmer and a conservative, I will not vote to take a step backwards.
