Farm Director KC Sheperd is talking with Congressman Josh Brecheen about rising costs for agricultural producers, the U.S. Farm Bill, the Federal budget, work requirements, and more.
In Brecheen’s travels across the state, he said the most common concern from farmers and ranchers is high input costs and higher cost of living. When comparing the cost of living for a family of four in January 2021 to now, Brecheen said the average family of four is spending $1300 more per month to afford the same goods and services.
“That is $15,000 over the course of a year,” Brecheen said.
Regarding the Farm Bill, Brecheen said he does not expect it to be completed in 2024 due to budgeting issues and more.
“I am a former state FFA president, and yes, I graduated from a college of ag, but for me to vote ‘yes’ on a Farm Bill, we are going to have to change the fact that 80 percent of our Farm Bill is food stamps,” Brecheen said.
Brecheen talked about his bill called Healthy SNAP, proposing reforms to the SNAP Program. Brecheen also advocated for a change to the social safety net, suggesting that work requirements should be implemented to cap the number of years an individual can receive food stamps. He also proposed that spending on food stamps should be directed towards healthier food options to combat issues such as obesity and its connection to poverty.
To read about Brecheen’s Healthy SNAP bill, CLICK HERE.
“We have got a problem,” Brecheen said. “It is not just for inflation, but for anybody trying to run a business or trying to find somebody to help you on the ranch. Good luck, unless you can hire the kid in high school whose mom and dad have taught him work ethic, it is so hard to find somebody to help.”
Brecheen emphasized that a large portion of discretionary spending goes towards mandatory programs like food stamps, Medicaid, and social security, which leaves little funding for other initiatives.
“I am willing to go back to what worked in the 90s when we were having people get off the Welfare rolls,” Brecheen said. What compromise is there when 1 in 8 people are on food stamps and 1 in 4 are receiving Medicaid?”
More than 50 percent of U.S. births in 2023 were Medicaid births paid for by taxpayers, Brecheen added. He also pointed out that the entire discretionary budget for the previous year was borrowed money and that reforming mandatory programs is crucial to free up funds for other necessary changes.
Congressman Josh Brecheen will be hosting a telephone town hall on April 11th at 7 PM CT.
During the call, Congressman Brecheen will provide an update on some of the most pressing policy issues facing our country, including our more than $34 trillion national debt, and answer live questions from constituents.
Congressman Brecheen will also be hosting 14 in-person town halls from April 2nd to 4th. For times and locations, please click here.
Details for participating in the telephone town hall are below:
Date: Thursday, April 11, 2024
Time: 7:00-8:00 p.m. CT
Dial-in Number: 888-480-3675
Constituents should dial 888-480-3675 on April 11th at 7 PM CT if they would like to participate in the call. To watch a live stream of the call, constituents can visit our Facebook page here.
