Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) encouraged incoming lawmakers to support more farmer aid in future bills considered by Congress.
“We needed one last vote to give farmers a lifeline after losing 150,000 family farms over the past few years under Democratic administrations,” he said in a post on his social media platform on Saturday. said. ×.
“We're happy to finally secure economic aid for farmers, but we must make farmers a priority in the next Congress by passing a farm bill that focuses on farmers, not food stamps.”
Every five years, food stamps provided through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are reauthorized by Congress as part of the Farm Bill. Program benefits can be redeemed at farmers markets that support the state's agriculture and provide people with access to fresh produce.
Snap removed 144,000 From 2014 to 2018, Alabama had an average of 65,000 people living above the poverty line each year, including children, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
But Tuberville, the state's representative, said lawmakers need to repeatedly support farmers with specific provisions in the bill, rather than relying on federal benefits.
The comments came after days of controversy over the addition of farmer aid to the year-end government spending package. Several Republican lawmakers said farmers deserve more aid.
The bill approved Friday and signed by President Biden on Saturday allocates $10 billion to help farmers and $21 billion in agricultural disaster relief.
Livestock producers are expected to receive $2 billion through disaster relief designations.
