Harford News

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Andy Harris, M.D., Chairman of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee on Appropriations, released the following statement in response to USDA Secretary, Tom Vilsack’s misleading and false criticism of the Agriculture Appropriations Bill.

In his criticism, Secretary Vilsack stated: “I’m convinced Roman Roy from ‘Succession’ must have had a hand in writing this unrealistic, hurtful bill. How else do you explain a policy that would take food assistance away from women, children, and vulnerable seniors, including veterans and people with health conditions that make it difficult for them to consistently work? How do you explain allowing hardworking farmers to go into foreclosure, right as we’re coming out of the pandemic and just recovering from the myriad associated challenges they’ve faced? And how do you explain blocking our ability to hire staff needed to implement conservation programs producers are asking to put in place on their farms? These are just a few of too many questions the bill raises.”

Congressman Harris Issued the Following Statement in Response: “Clearly, the Secretary of Agriculture must not have read the bill because the SNAP work requirements do not pertain to children, seniors, or anyone with a mental or physical disability. Contrary to what the Secretary claims, the bill doesn’t make any changes to the underlying work requirements other than to raise the age from 49 to 55 in which able-bodied adults without dependents need to volunteer, work, or be in job training 20 hours a week. Given that the average age of a farmer producing America’s food is 58, this is not an unreasonable requirement.

Regarding assistance to farmers, the Department has already provided almost $1.1 billion in loan forgiveness to prevent foreclosure with $2 billion left on-hand. Additionally, the bill clearly states that the USDA should focus on hiring in the field, which means we want the focus to be on hiring the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Farm Service Agency (FSA) staff needed to implement conservation, farm, and disaster programs rather than more bureaucrats in DC.

It’s obvious the Secretary does not grasp the grave fiscal situation our country is in due the Biden Administration’s overspending.

People need to read the bill before making false accusations.”  

For media inquiries, please contact Congressman Harris’ Washington, DC office at 202-225-5311, or contact Anna Adamian at Anna.A@mail.house.gov

Original source can be found here.