{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.smith.senate.gov/us-senator-tina-smith-lauds-bipartisan-farm-bill-deal-says-it-gives-farmers-much-needed-certainty", "U.S. Senator Tina Smith Lauds Bipartisan Farm Bill Deal; Says it Gives Farmers Much-Needed Certainty", "2018-12-11", "2018", "2018-12", "Democrat", "House", "MN", "Tina Smith", "S001203", "www.smith.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. [12/11/18]\u2014Today, U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.)\u2014who took a leading role in making sure Minnesota priorities are included in the 2018 Farm Bill as a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee\u2014was pleased to see House-Senate negotiators finalize the new Farm Bill for farmers, ranchers, foresters, rural communities, and tribes.\n\nSen. Smith has repeatedly called for Congress to pass a strong, bipartisan Farm Bill and send it to the President\u2019s desk. You can read the full committee report here.\n\n\u201cFarmers and ranchers\u2014who face enough uncertainty with low farm prices and trade uncertainties\u2014deserve the certainty that this bipartisan Farm Bill provides,\u201d said Sen. Smith. \u201cI was proud to work on several provisions in this bill, including funding for broadband expansion, the energy title, conservation programs, and investments in beginning and Native farmers and ranchers. And I\u2019m glad that negotiators from both parties were able to come together to find common ground and get a strong, bipartisan deal. Now, we need to do what I\u2019ve been hearing from Minnesota\u2019s ag community across the state: pass the Farm Bill as soon as possible.\u201d\n\nAfter Congress approves the final bill text, the five-year Farm Bill will then be sent to the President to be signed into law.\n\nSen. Smith fought for and won a spot on the Agriculture Committee when she arrived in the Senate in January. In preparation for the Farm Bill debate, she formed her \u201cFarm Bill Working Group\u201d to hear from farmers, ranchers, and rural community leaders\u2014as well as experts on nutrition, energy, and conservation\u2014to make sure Minnesota priorities are included in the legislation.\n\nSen. Smith, a leader on the Senate Rural Development Subcommittee, authored and championed several measures in the Senate Farm Bill, including her legislative roadmap for the energy title of the Farm Bill, her provision to expand access to much-needed broadband in rural communities and tribal areas across the country, and a provision to create a U.S. Department of Agriculture \u201cRural Health Liaison\u201d who will work with other federal health officials to address rural America\u2019s unique health care needs. The bill also funds Sen. Smith\u2019s efforts to help younger and non-traditional farmers get started in the business, and it responds to her call to preserve the Sugar Program which supports thousands of jobs across the Red River Valley in Northwest Minnesota.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-06-27T23:11:43Z"]], "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.smith.senate.gov/us-senator-tina-smith-lauds-bipartisan-farm-bill-deal-says-it-gives-farmers-much-needed-certainty"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4807418920099735, "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"}