{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-outlines-priorities-for-maine-as-farm-bill-heads-to-conference", "King Outlines Priorities for Maine as Farm Bill Heads to Conference", "2013-10-30", "2013", "2013-10", "Independent", "House", "ME", "Angus King", "K000383", "www.king.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "King Outlines Priorities for Maine as Farm Bill Heads to Conference\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tWednesday, October 30, 2013\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 As the Senate and House prepare to reconcile the differences between their two versions of the Farm Bill, U.S. Senator Angus King yesterday sent a letter to Senators Debbie Stabenow and Thad Cochran, Chairwoman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry, respectively, outlining several farming and food issues of particular importance to Maine, including funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), protections for dairy farmers, and the implementation of the Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA).\r\n\u201cFarming is a pillar of our state economy and the final provisions of this year\u2019s Farm Bill will have a substantial impact on thousands of Mainers for years to come,\u201d Senator King said. \u201cI recognize that reconciling the differences between the two bills will be challenging and that compromises will be necessary, but I hope that the conference committee will consider my recommendations for the benefit of Maine.\u201d\r\nThe complete letter can be viewed by clicking here, and bullet-points of Senator King\u2019s recommendations are below:\r\n \r\nResist the level of SNAP cuts proposed in the House bill\r\nMake changes to the Food Safety Modernization Act to ensure that the legislation doesn\u2019t unduly harm small and midsized farmers\r\nMaintain strong support for programs such as the Farmers Market Promotion Program and the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program\r\nProtect dairy farmers as we move towards a new dairy program\r\nPreserve strong conservation programs\r\nContinue to fund beginning farmers and ranchers\r\nSustain funding for research and extension, including pest management\r\nAdd at least two regional pilot projects for Memoranda of Understandings (MOUs) between states to allow state inspected meat sales\r\nAllow white potatoes to be included in WIC\r\nAllow veterinarians to transport medical drugs to farms so that they can adequately care for livestock and other animals.\r\n \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.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-outlines-priorities-for-maine-as-farm-bill-heads-to-conference"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8300100453197956, "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"}