Press Releases

The US Senate today passed a five-year Farm Bill by a vote of 68-32. The bill includes a number of reforms that will reduce the deficit by over $16 billion, with much of the savings coming from reforms to agricultural subsidies, such as the elimination of direct payments. It also includes two initiatives led by Congresswoman Suzan DelBene: 1) An Employment & Training (E&T) pilot that will create programs across the country modeled after Washington state’s Basic, Food, Employment and Training (BFET); and 2) An amendment that ensures states can be reimbursed by the USDA for resources expended in another state for wildfire management. The final Farm Bill passed today also includes significant increases in investments and funding for specialty crops and organic farms that will support Washington state’s fruit and vegetable farmers.

DelBene, the only member from Washington state on the Conference Committee, gave the following statement:

“Today’s vote by the Senate brings us one step closer to finishing a Farm Bill that is good for Washington’s farmers and families, and I urge the president to sign the bill as quickly as possible.

“I want to thank Senators Murray and Cantwell for their efforts and leadership in support of this critical legislation. The Farm Bill will help Washington’s families and strengthen our state’s agricultural industry and the approximately 160,000 jobs it supports. This bill was a compromise, and while I am disappointed in the reductions to SNAP benefits, we were successful in stopping the much more severe cuts proposed by the House and preventing anyone from losing SNAP eligibility.

“As the only member from Washington state on the Conference Committee, I’m pleased that a number of provisions that I fought for are in the final bill, including unprecedented levels of investments to help our specialty crop farmers and $200 million for my job-training proposal, based on Washington state’s innovative and successful program.

“The Farm Bill that passed today reflects what’s possible with genuine bipartisan efforts to focus on delivering results for our families and farmers.”