Congress has until the end of the year to either pass a new or extend the 2018 Farm Bill. Senator Roger Marshall, the Republican from Kansas, joined us on Rural Health Matters and shared the challenges ahead:
So, we’ve extended the current Farm Bill until September 30. So, that’s the good news. The challenge though is getting “farm” back in the Farm Bill. Right now the Farm Bill is dominated by nutrition programs —probably encompassing about 85% of the Farm Bill is nutrition programs—but what we’re trying to fight for is more funding for crop insurance as well as the Title 1 programs, the ARC and PLC programs. And really what’s good for agriculture is good for rural America. So, whether you live in the city or out in the country, that’s still the backbone of every Farm Bill is those two particular programs. So, right now we’re still struggling to find the money on this. I’ll just quickly say when we did the last Farm Bill, we had budgeted $60 billion a year for food assistance and we’re spending $180 billion a year on food assistance. So, you know frankly in a country where we’re in $34 trillion in debt right now, we’re struggling to find the money to make this happen. But, we want to make sure we put the “farm” back in the Farm Bill.
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.)
In his appearance on RFD-TV, Sen. Marshall also shared how access to rural health care is a priority for him and his efforts to bring in food banks and mental health resources for rural communities.
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