{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=F59D3A38-079B-4506-9406-22D4F260A463", "Alexander: Farm Bill is Good News for Tennessees 340,000 Farmers", "2018-12-11", "2018", "2018-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "It's supported by the Tennessee agriculture community, including the Tennessee Farm Bureau, Tennessee Soybean Association, Tennessee Cattleman's Association, Tennessee Farmer's Cooperative and other agriculture andconservation groups.\r\nWASHINGTON, December 11, 2018 United States Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said Senate passage of the Farm bill will helpprovidemuch-needed certainty to Tennessee's 340,000 farmers.\r\nIt is no question thatagriculture is one of Tennessee's most important industries, with more than 66,000 farmscontributing approximately $74 billion each year to our state's economy,Alexander said.Passage of the Farm bill is good news for Tennessee's 340,000 farmers  it supports U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)agriculture, rural development, and conservation programs that benefit farmers across Tennessee as well as agricultural research at Tennessee's universities to help find ways for farmers to grow better crops. This legislation will help provide much-needed certainty to farmers in Tennessee and across the country, which is one of the reasons it is supported by the Tennessee agriculture community, including the Tennessee Farm Bureau, Tennessee Soybean Association, Tennessee Cattleman's Association, Tennessee Farmer's Cooperative and other agriculture and conservation groups. I look forward to the House passing the bill and President Trump signing it into law.\r\nTennessee is home to more than 66,000 farms and nearly 11 million acres of farmland.\r\nThe legislation also includes Alexander'sTennessee Wilderness Act, which he introduced in 2017 with Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) andU.S. Representative Phil Roe (R-Tenn.). The legislation would designate nearly 20,000 acres of the Cherokee National Forest as a wilderness area. Designation as a wilderness area is the highest level of conservation protection to preserve federal land.\r\nTheSenate passedthefinal conferenced version of the Farm bill on December 11, 2018 by a vote of 87-13. It will now head to the U.S. House of Representatives.\r\n###\r\nLamar Alexander is the senior senator from Tennessee, and he serves as chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. For his full biography, click here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=F59D3A38-079B-4506-9406-22D4F260A463"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7682640571147203, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}