Hours Before Expiration, McCaskill Slams U.S. House for Farm Bill Failure
Press Release
Hours before U.S. Farm Bill programs are set to expire as a result of partisan delays in the House of Representatives, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today released the following statement:
"When the Farm Bill expires this Sunday night, politicians in the U.S. House of Representatives are going to have to answer for why they've decided to put partisan ideology above the jobs and livelihoods of Missourians and a top industry for our state. Anybody in touch with what's going on in Missouri this year knows how badly our farmers, ranchers, and rural families and businesses need certainty-which is why I successfully fought to pass the Farm Bill in the Senate, and why the refusal to act in the U.S. House is so unacceptable."
The Farm Bill approved by the Senate reauthorizes essential livestock disaster assistance programs, supports agriculture jobs, strengthens resources for family farms and ranches, and reduces the national deficit by more than $23 billion. The Farm Bill-approved with a strong bipartisan vote of 64-35-also provides crucial resources that allow Missouri's crop producers to manage risk and new programs that help Missouri's dairy farmers to cope with high costs.
The Farm Bill is one in a long list of measures passed by the Senate with bipartisan support that now await action in the U.S. House, including:
The 21st Century Postal Service Act-shaped by McCaskill to protect rural post offices from closure, the comprehensive postal reform bill shores up the finances of the U.S. Postal Service while maintaining six day delivery.
McCaskill-Thune-legislation cosponsored by McCaskill and Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) to protect Missouri consumers and American jobs from a European Union tax on the U.S. airline industry. The McCaskill-Thune bill was endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as well as unions representing airline employees.
McCaskill-Rubio- legislation cosponsored by McCaskill and Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to prevent foreign regulation of the Internet. The measure was endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Google, and a variety of industry groups including USTelecom and the Software and Information Industry Association.
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