Congressman Scott Votes to Reduce Food Costs, Expand Nutrition Programs

Press Release

Farm Bill will greatly benefit metro Atlanta families

Today, Congressman David Scott spoke from the House floor in support of final passage of the Farm Bill, H.R. 2419 - The Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act. As the only Georgia House member appointed to the House-Senate conference committee on the Farm Bill, Congressman Scott had a direct influence on the bill's expansion of nutrition programs.

"This bill is historically referred to as the Farm Bill. It should be called the Nutrition Bill given that three-fourths of the bill's funding directly addresses food assistance and nutrition programs," Congressman Scott said. "Low income families in metro-Atlanta will greatly benefit from the increases in the food stamp program, additional assistance to food banks, and increased nutrition incentives for school lunches."

Help with rising food costs in America

• Nearly three-fourths of the Farm Bill, $10.4 billion in new spending, goes to nutrition programs.
• The measure eliminates the current cap on childcare costs and makes sure that the families of soldiers in combat are not penalized under the food stamp program.
• The minimum benefit would be increased for the first time in 30 years and would be indexed to keep up with rising food prices.
• Provides vital support to emergency feeding organizations, such as food banks, food pantries, and soup kitchens- with $50 million for immediate shortages at food pantries.
• Helps schools provide healthy snacks to students, with $1 billion for free fresh fruits and vegetables.

"In addition to helping families to be able to afford healthy food, the Farm Bill will decrease food costs related to the high demand for corn products," Congressman Scott said. "The use of corn in feed and ethanol is increasing food costs for consumers. The Farm Bill reduces incentives for corn-based ethanol and gives a boost to Southeastern states by promoting cellulosic ethanol products as an alternative."

Reducing corn-based ethanol's impact on prices

• The Farm Bill takes another critical step in transitioning biofuels beyond corn— by reducing the current tax credit for corn-based ethanol by six cents per gallon and creating a new tax credit to promote the production of cellulosic biofuels. Southeastern states produce more cellulosic products than corn.

• The Farm Bill invests $1 billion in renewable energy focusing on new technologies and new sources, including $320 million in loan guarantees for biorefineries that produce advanced biofuels and a new program to encourage the production of new biomass for cellulosic ethanol and other energy production, helping producers learn how to harvest, store, and transport biomass to bioenergy facilities.

Congressman Scott is the senior Georgia member of the House Committee on Agriculture and was appointed to the exclusive House-Senate conference committee on the Farm Bill.

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