Boozman discussed the need to get Farm Bill 2.0 signed into law this year and his commitment to negotiating in October in order to have a bill that can pass both the Senate and House of Representatives before the end of the year. He applauded the advocacy of agriculture groups and urged their continued engagement to get a bill to the president’s desk while also highlighting the enhancements to farm programs already delivered through the Working Families Tax Cuts.
On the process of passing Farm Bill 2.0:
“Right now, my staff is sitting down and talking to Chairman Thompson’s staff as we speak. We’ll also be talking to our Democratic counterparts, and again just bringing the four corners together. We’ll be talking with members of our committee and like I say, conferencing this thing. We won’t wait until we come back, we’ll do that right now, so we’ll be ready to go. And I do think that there will be much more willingness on the parts of Democrats when we get back.”
On the farm community’s engagement:
“Our farmers played a major part in helping us get this over the line and out of committee. And we’re going to rely on them once the election is over to get back up here, and again, insist that we get this bill passed. And I believe with their help we will. Agriculture, when it stands together, does a tremendous job.”
On improvements made to farm programs through the Working Families Tax Cut:
“We were able to get that done really without a whole lot of problem. In that was such a big change with our risk management tools, whether its crop insurance or ARC, PLC, some of the things for cattle and the list goes on and on. We worked on specialty crops, which really hadn’t been done very much in the past and you know, gave them a tremendous boost, and we’re committed to continuing to do those things. We were very, very fortunate that we had a good crew that had worked on it for quite a while and really involved the agriculture community in crafting those things, but it was really a home run.”
On farm assistance:
“We’re working really hard to do that. And again, in visiting with the president, explaining how important this is. He knows. He’s committed to helping farmers. He has in the past and realizes how difficult it is, so yeah. I think we have a good chance of getting that done. We just need a little bit of help, not a lot, just a little bit of help from the other side.”
