{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://noem.house.gov/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=7A32BAAB-C549-4C20-95F9-107C063D63FF", "Weekly Column: Time to Bring the Farm Bill Home", "2013-12-13", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "SD", "Kristi Noem", "N000184", "noem.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "It\u2019s hard to meet a South Dakotan who isn\u2019t in some way tied to agriculture.\u00a0 That\u2019s not incredibly surprising when you consider that the industry contributes $21 billion to our state economy each year.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nThat contribution is important.\u00a0 An economist for the state Bureau of Finance and Management recently argued that agriculture helped South Dakota weather the economic recession better than almost any state in the nation.\u00a0 So, when Congress starts talking about a farm bill that will set the legislative landscape for our number one industry as well as address food policy, forestry policy and much, much more, we know we\u2019re talking about a bill that will impact every South Dakotan\u2019s life.\r\nOver the last few weeks, Congress has made significant progress on the Farm Bill and we are on track to pass a full, five-year bill in the early part of next year.\u00a0 We have come to a preliminary agreement on the framework of that bill and the negotiators know what reforms they\u2019d like to make.\u00a0 Now, it is a matter of making sure all the numbers add up.\r\nTo do that, the draft framework was sent to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which has provided estimates on how much farm bill provisions will cost as well as the savings produced by the included reforms.\u00a0 With these numbers in hand, the lead negotiators can now make adjustments to ensure all the numbers work out so that we can finally finalize the bill.\u00a0 It will take a few weeks for legal counsel and budget experts to review the legislation and make sure it is ready to become law, but we\u2019re on track to finalize a full, five-year farm bill in the early part of 2014.\u00a0\r\nLike many reading this column today, I am frustrated with the speed of the process, but we\u2019re making progress and many of the provisions that are important to South Dakota are remaining intact.\r\nFor instance, the proposed framework ensures supplemental crop insurance programs are market oriented. \u00a0In other words, the proposal is written so that government policies don\u2019t sway producers\u2019 planting decisions.\r\nWe\u2019ve also made some meaningful reforms to the food stamp provisions that will help uphold the integrity of the program while making sure those families who need support get the help they need.\r\nAdditionally, the preliminary agreement includes support for livestock disaster programs that will help those in western South Dakota who suffered catastrophic livestock losses earlier this year.\r\nI know how important this legislation is to South Dakota.\u00a0 It impacts every single one of our families in some way or another.\u00a0 We are making progress and a five-year farm bill is fully in our sights.\u00a0 I\u2019m ready to bring this bill home.", 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": ["http://noem.house.gov/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=7A32BAAB-C549-4C20-95F9-107C063D63FF"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0210929904133081, "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"}