Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack recently slammed the House of Representative’s defeat of the 2013 Farm Bill. Vilsack accused the body of playing politics with the bill and of jeopardizing the economic health of the United States.
For the past several years, Vilsack has maintained a relatively hands-off approach to the farm bill. Rather than addressing the various policies he would like to see implemented, Vilsack has allowed Congress to dictate the policy decisions, preferring to remain a cheerleader for whatever bill eventually came out of committee.
However, the recent defeat of the 2013 Farm Bill has led Vilsack to reverse this neutrality. In recent statements, Vilsack has harshly criticized the House, calling their defeat of the farm bill “unconscionable.”
In addition, Vilsack blamed the bill’s defeat on Republicans who were more committed to cutting food stamp funding than finding solutions to help the agricultural community. “I think it would start with being more reasonable about nutrition assistance and understand that you’re not just cutting funding for struggling families, but you’re also cutting farm income when you reduce SNAP by 20 million dollars,” says Vilsack.
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer