WASHINGTON — Arkansas Sen. John Boozman said it is time for Congress to pass a farm bill.
“We spent a couple years going around the country talking to farmers, and the things we heard about were a need for getting more farm in the farm bill,” said Boozman, who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. “We were able to do that and several other things to the tune of about $68 billion.”
Boozman said he hopes the Senate can build on the momentum from the House as lawmakers consider the legislation.
“We are going to continue the momentum that G.T. Thompson has worked so hard to produce,” he said. “We’ve got a little harder situation in the Senate with a 60-vote threshold, making sure we can attract enough Democrats to get it passed and keep our members together.”
Boozman said members of Congress understand the challenges facing farmers.
“Most people in Congress understand how desperate it is in farm country. This is a generational problem. Food security is national security,” Boozman said. “We can only get ourselves in a situation where we’re dependent on the rest of the world for the food that we eat.”
Congress last passed a farm bill in 2018.
