{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.kaine.senate.gov/tim-in-the-news/time-to-pass-a-farm-bill", "Time To Pass A Farm Bill", "2013-12-28", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VA", "Tim Kaine", "K000384", "www.kaine.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Time To Pass A Farm Bill\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n                \r\n                Daily News-Record Op-Ed\r\n                \r\n            \r\n            \r\n            \r\n            \r\n                \r\n                \r\n                \r\n            Saturday, December 28, 2013\r\n            \n\t\n\r\n            \r\n            As we give thanks this holiday season, it\u2019s important to remember the family farms that produce the food we will enjoy with friends and relatives. But farmers\u2019 hard work deserves more than recognition \u2014 Congress owes it to farmers here in the Valley and across the country to swiftly pass a final farm bill.\r\nAmong all sectors of our economy, agriculture, the largest industry in Virginia, is unique for a simple reason \u2014\u00a0 its output supports our very lives. The market may wax and wane, but we will always need food.\r\nA drought or a heavy flood means a bad year for the farmer, whose output is reduced, and a bad year for the consumer, who has to pay more for groceries. In any given year, the impact of unpredictable events on agriculture could send a domino effect of either prosperity or hardship through the economy.\r\nThis inherent volatility means it is in everyone\u2019s interest to ensure there is a stable, predictable market for agricultural goods. That is why farm bills have traditionally maintained a system of payments tailored to the varying needs of different regions and crops along with federal support for crop insurance premiums. Clear flaws in this system have emerged, such as direct payments to millionaires, or to property caretakers who aren\u2019t even farmers but qualify for payments through legal loopholes.\r\nI\u2019m pleased that along with other important reforms, both the Senate and House farm bills end direct payments, expand crop insurance, and restructure the commodity title. But that won\u2019t help if we fail to pass a final bill \u2014\u00a0 or if we pass another one-year extension. Whether it\u2019s peanut and cotton farmers in Southside or poultry growers in the Valley, farmers deserve certainty from their government.\r\nThat\u2019s why I was proud to support a farm bill in the Senate last summer that passed with 66 bipartisan votes. I\u2019m disappointed that negotiators won\u2019t be able to work out the differences between the Senate and House bills before the end of the year, but it\u2019s critical we pass a final package in early January to restore this certainty for Virginia farmers and to protect consumers from possible price increases.\r\nOne major area in which the Senate and House bills differ is in treatment of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly called food stamps. The Senate bill I voted for saves approximately $4 billion by tightening loopholes in the SNAP benefit calculation, while the House bill cuts $40 billion by reducing SNAP eligibility.\r\nThe difference is between curbing program misuse and curbing actual use by the neediest Americans. I hope the final bill maintains SNAP benefits that keep millions of children, disabled, and elderly people out of hunger. Moreover, nutrition support makes economic sense as a way that food commodities produced by American farmers reach hungry people at home and abroad.\r\nAdditionally, the final farm bill will likely contain incentives to bolster support for local food networks. Consumers deserve to know where their food is coming from, and farmers deserve policies that enable them to sell to local consumers and businesses. I support expanding farmers markets and access to local, healthy, and organic foods. This issue resonated with me this year when a report found that my hometown of Richmond contains the most \u201cfood deserts\u201d \u2013 areas without easy access to fresh food \u2013 of any city of its size in the nation.\r\nCongress must do all it can to support farmers as they put quality local food on the tables of Virginians, over the holidays and every day. For the sake of our family farmers and consumers across the country, it is time to pass a farm bill.\r\n###", 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.kaine.senate.gov/tim-in-the-news/time-to-pass-a-farm-bill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.423186855390668, "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"}