Clock is ticking on desperately needed farm bill.Delaney
Last week, as you gathered around the Thanksgiving table, you may have had a political argument or two. I strongly doubt, however, that you let a political position dictate when you ate, how you cooked your turkey or whether or not you used canned or fresh cranberries. That’s because food isn’t a partisan issue. At least, it didn’t used to be.
With one week left on the House calendar in 2013, we still haven’t passed the farm bill. This could have profound impacts on both Frederick County and the nation. Nothing is more elemental than our food supply. But if Washington fails to compromise this December, we could seriously damage the economic recovery, hurt our nation’s farmers, and send supermarket prices soaring.
The House and Senate have each passed versions of a farm bill, but unprecedented partisan bickering has left us with only a handful of legislative days to do the right thing. As I told a group of farmers in Smithsburg earlier this year, I’m prepared to vote for a compromise. This compromise isn’t likely to have everything that I want, or that my party wants, but I’m ready to accept the best deal for the country. And I urge my colleagues to do the same.
The farm bill has traditionally acted as the primary agricultural and food policy tool for the federal government. It has funded food and nutritional programs, crop insurance, research and rural development programs. This legislative approach was born in the Great Depression, when our nation’s farms were devastated by both a financial and a climactic crisis. Since then, we’ve ensured that farmers can operate without worrying that a single bad season destroys their livelihood. . .
Washington chaos makes proper planning impossible.
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/economy_and_business/business_topics/agriculture/article_10de3331-2bc9-5aad-af15-8bba69990306.html
