{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.welch.senate.gov/welch-statement-on-trumps-farm-bailout/", "Welch Statement on Trump\u2019s Farm Bailout", "2025-12-08", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "www.welch.senate.gov", "welch", "https://www.welch.senate.gov/category/press-release/page/", "scraper", "Welch: Trump is \u201ctrying to cover up his mistakes and the pain he\u2019s caused in rural America.\u201d\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Agriculture and Finance Committees, and Ranking Member of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Credit, today released the following statement in response to President Trump\u2019s proposed plan to give farmers a one-time bailout after his administration\u2019s reckless economic policies exacerbated the farm crisis:\n\n\u201cAmerican farms are in crisis, and the agricultural economy is in free-fall. President Trump\u2019s reckless economic and trade policies bear much of the blame for the pain that farmers in Vermont and across the country feel right now. The president\u2019s tariffs and the trade wars he created have closed markets and raised taxes on farms and farming communities. Republican leadership in the Senate and House has slow-walked a multi-year Farm Bill. Consolidation is making it impossible for small, family, and young farmers to succeed. Farmers and their families will be forced to go without health care as health care premiums skyrocket, and rural hospitals will close as a result of the Republicans\u2019 tax bill. It\u2019s obvious: the president is trying to cover up his mistakes and the pain he\u2019s caused in rural America.\n\n\u201cFarmers want to farm, they don\u2019t want endless government handouts. President Trump\u2019s proposed bailout will do nothing to end the pain of his tariffs or support farmers in the long-term\u2014much of this funding won\u2019t help commodity and dairy farmers at all. Republicans and Democrats in Congress need to work together to pass the multi-year Farm Bill that America\u2019s farmers deserve, and provide long-term, forward-thinking policy solutions that strengthen farms in Vermont and across the country.\u201d\n\nSenator Welch recently traveled to Nebraska and Iowa to speak with farmers at statewide annual Farmers Union Conventions. While in Nebraska, Senator Welch was the keynote speaker at a town hall focused on access to health care in rural communities.\n\nSenator Welch has championed legislation to end the trade war, support rural development, and strengthen farms. He is the cosponsor of several bipartisan bills and resolutions to block the Trump Administration\u2019s tariffs on Canada, as well as the global tariffs. Senator Welch has led legislation to ensure farmers have the right to repair their farm equipment, improve crop insurance, and support beginning farmers and ranchers. He is also the sponsor of bipartisan bills to support rural hospitals and build out rural broadband. Recently, the Senate passed his bipartisan bill to support dairy farmers and kids by allowing whole milk in schools.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "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.welch.senate.gov/welch-statement-on-trumps-farm-bailout/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7912740111351013, "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"}