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Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY), member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following statement regarding the passage of H.R. 2642, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act. The legislation was introduced overnight and voted on despite the majority’s own “three-day rule” that requires all legislation to be posted online for three days before scheduling a vote on the House floor. H.R. 2642 passed 216-208 with only Republican Members of Congress voting in favor of the legislation.

“The legislation offered in the dead of night by the House Majority endangers American farmers, ranchers, rural communities, producers, and our own national food security,” said Tonko. “We had an opportunity last year to pass bipartisan legislation in the House that promoted good farm policy and supported jobs in our rural communities, but it was never given the up-or-down vote it deserved.”

“The political circus around what should be a routine 5-year extension of responsible agriculture policy represents yet another failure in leadership by House Republicans and the Speaker of the House. This legislation only serves to balance the budget on the backs of the working poor. If we truly want to spend less on the SNAP program, we need to focus on jobs and growing the economy to get people off food stamps instead of playing reckless ideological games on the floor of the House of Representatives.”

The FARRM Act offered today by the House Majority dropped the entire Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) program from the historically non-controversial farm policy legislation. It was opposed by groups across the political spectrum, including The White House, Club for Growth, Heritage Foundation, American Farm Bureau, National Farmers Union, American Sugar Alliance, Dairy Farmers of America, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Corn Growers Association, and National Pork Producers Council.

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