Rep. Carbajal Statement on Farm Bill Passage

Statement

After listening to and meeting with many members of our agricultural community, I know the importance of a strong Farm Bill that supports our Central Coast agriculture and maintains important nutrition programs for our most vulnerable residents. This bipartisan bill is in the best interest of Central Coast farmers and our food insecure neighbors who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to put food on the table and keep their families healthy. Today's Farm Bill also maintains or increases funding for research and crop insurance programs that benefit specialty crops grown here on the Central Coast and provides funding for forest management to help prevent devastating California wildfires.

I'm disappointed that over the past two years, this Republican majority has refused to address our critical labor shortages that are hurting our farmers across the Central Coast. While I'm grateful that we came together today to provide some long-term certainty to these important agricultural programs, we cannot continue to ignore the increasing difficulty hiring farmworkers.

H.R. 2 passed the Senate yesterday and now heads to the President's desk for signature. Read the full bill text here.

f t # e

Source