Farm Bill: Another Lost Opportunity to Find Savings

For Immediate Release

After passing the Senate by a vote of 87 to 13 yesterday, the House is expected to vote on the Farm Bill this afternoon. Despite months of negotiations between House and Senate conferees, the bill fails to make any significant effort to find savings that help reduce rapidly approaching trillion-dollar deficits.

The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:

Once again, Congress has missed an opportunity to reduce our deficit and eliminate unnecessary spending.

Presidents and lawmakers from both political parties have long agreed on the need and opportunity to find savings in Farm Bill programs. Both President Trump and former President Obama proposed substantial agriculture savings in their budgets.

With trillion-dollar deficits just around the corner, it is disappointing that policymakers could not at least identify a few billion dollars to help combat our unsustainable fiscal situation.

In order to fix the debt, every part of the budget and tax code must be on the table.

###

For more information contact Ben Tomchik, deputy chief of staff, at tomchik@crfb.org.