On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) spoke on the Senate floor about the Democrats’ version of the Farm Bill, which he said will cost $1.5 trillion because it prioritizes welfare and climate change over American farmers and producers.
“This is the first trillion-dollar Farm Bill in our nation’s history,” Sen. Tuberville said. “The enormous price tag of the bill is driven by an 84% increase in SNAP, or federal nutrition assistance, and a 58% increase in conservation programs. In other words, a huge increase in welfare and climate spending.”
“Most of this new spending does not offer support of our farmers,” Tuberville continued. “The $559 billion increase in SNAP funding was done directly by the Department of Agriculture through updates to the Thrifty Food Plan. In other words, nobody in Congress voted for this. The $35 billion in conservation funding was done through the Inflation Reduction Act of last year. Democrats are pushing through priorities that cater to climate activists and lead Americans to become dependent on welfare benefits. Approximately 82% of the upcoming Farm Bill goes to SNAP, commonly known as food stamps. 4% goes to conservation.”
Tuberville expressed concern about the rapidly rising national debt.
“Just yesterday, we hit $33 trillion in debt for this country,” said Tuberville. “Yeah, I said that — $33 trillion. That will be picked up, this tab, by our grandkids and their kids. The whole purpose of the Farm Bill is supposed to be to help farmers. What an idea. Yet, seven out of every eight dollars— again, seven out of eight dollars—in the Farm Bill is for something else. Our farmers depend on crop insurance, commodity programs, such as the Agriculture Risk Program (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program, and disaster programs to help them deal with difficult crop yields, markets, and rising input costs. Farmers can’t control the weather or the price, and that’s the reason they need help. We have to remember farmers put food on the table, but there’s a lot of people that don’t understand that. These are some of the hardest-working people in America. And they have too little to show for it.”
Tuberville is Alabama’s voice on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Coach Tuberville is committed to supporting Alabama’s farmers and producers.
Sen. Tuberville spoke with farmers during Farm Bill listening sessions across the state. He heard the concerns of peanut, cotton, and soybean farmers who are struggling in Joe Biden’s economy due to high input costs – particularly fertilizer, fuel, seed, and ag chemicals.
Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, and HELP Committees. He was elected in 2020 and comes up for re-election in 2026.
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