10.01.13

Hoeven Named a Conferee on Final House Farm Bill

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven has again been named to the conference committee charged with negotiating an agreement on a 2013 farm bill. The House had passed its version of the farm bill in July, but chose to address the nutrition title in a separate bill, which wasn’t passed until last month. Last week, the two bills were reincorporated, which necessitated the Senate to reappoint conferees. Hoeven, a member of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, has worked in the past two sessions to pass a long-term farm bill.

“Our farmers and ranchers provide food, fuel and fiber to meet the nation’s needs,” said Hoeven. “Now that both chambers have passed bills, we need to work expeditiously to get a farm bill in place for both American producers and American consumers. We need a strong, bipartisan farm bill because every American benefits from good farm policy.”

The Senate voted in June to pass its version of the farm bill, the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013. The Senate legislation focuses on enhanced crop insurance; continues the sugar program; includes a new Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) program for farmers; reinstates livestock disaster assistance programs; and saves $24 billion to help reduce the deficit.