{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/news/press-releases/duckworth-discusses-agricultural-priorities-with-illinois-farm-bureau-president-brian-duncan", "Duckworth Discusses Agricultural Priorities with Illinois Farm Bureau President Brian Duncan", "2024-12-16", "2024", "2024-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "IL", "Tammy Duckworth", "D000622", "www.duckworth.senate.gov", "duckworth", "https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "[WASHINGTON, D.C.] \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) met with Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) President Brian Duncan and IFB members to discuss shared priorities to grow Illinois\u2019s agriculture industry and support our farmers. In their meeting, Duckworth and the members discussed the importance of supporting our family farmers at home by expanding biofuels production, increasing agricultural export markets and improving farm safety net programs. Photos from the Senator\u2019s meeting can be found on her website.\n\n\u201cAmerica has always depended on our nation\u2019s farmers and ranchers to grow the food and fuel we need, and I\u2019m proud to advocate for them on both the national and international stage,\u201d Duckworth said. \u201cThe work of Illinois\u2019s farmers is so important to the strength of our state and our nation, and I will continue to do everything I can to support the Illinois Farm Bureau and farmers across the state at the federal level.\u201d\n\nIn the Senate, Duckworth has been a leader in supporting biofuels, including expansion of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and permanent authority to use E15 fuel year-round. To help increase the availability of E15 biofuels, Duckworth helped introduce the bipartisan Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act and the bipartisan Next Generations Fuel Act to allow the year-round, nationwide sale of ethanol blends higher than 10 percent. Duckworth additionally helped introduce the bipartisan Home Front Energy Independence Act to ban Russian oil and expand use and production of biofuel that\u2019s grown in the American heartland, while providing American families with a less expensive option to fuel their vehicles. Earlier this year, she helped introduce the Farm to Fly Act to help accelerate the production and development of SAF.\n\nAs a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Duckworth has been an advocate for Illinois agriculture around the globe and helped secure significant wins for Illinois and American agriculture. After Duckworth\u2019s visit last year, Japan announced a regulatory change that will lead to an increase in imports from U.S. biofuel producers, supporting our farmers and growing Illinois\u2019s economy, and following a prior trip to Taiwan, she helped secure a commitment from Taiwan to purchase an estimated $2.6 billion of Illinois\u2019s corn and soybeans.\n\n-30-", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:07:19Z"]], "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.duckworth.senate.gov/news/press-releases/duckworth-discusses-agricultural-priorities-with-illinois-farm-bureau-president-brian-duncan"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6570910811424255, "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"}