NFU Urges Congress to 'Do Its Job'
US - The National Farmers Union (NFU) Board of Directors have passed a resolution urging Congress to pass a comprehensive, five-year farm bill by the end of 2012 as part a legislative package to avoid the proverbial fiscal cliff. The 2008 Farm Bill expired on 30 September.“The 112th Congress needs do its job. Congressional approval ratings are very low and the inability to pass legislation is alarming. There remains an opportunity to move beyond those problems if lawmakers come together to avoid the fiscal cliff as well as to pass a five-year farm bill,” the resolution stated.
In June, the US Senate passed the bipartisan Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012 that saves $23 billion, while the US House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture passed its version of the farm bill in July, which would save $35 billion.
“The time for obstruction and inaction is over. Family farmers and ranchers need the certainty that only a five-year farm bill can provide. The National Farmers Union Board of Directors strongly urges Congress to pass a five-year farm bill as a part of the legislative package to avoid the fiscal cliff,” the resolution concluded.