WASHINGTON – Calling on the U.S. House of Representatives to follow the Senate’s lead, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today successfully helped pass a sweeping Farm Bill in the Senate that supports agriculture jobs, strengthens resources for family farms and ranches, and reduces the national deficit by more than $23 billion.

“This is the kind of work Missourians expect of their leaders—a strongly bipartisan bill that supports job-growth, cuts the deficit, and protects critical resources for our families and farms and ranches across rural America,” said McCaskill, who was born in Rolla, Mo. “This legislation touches every American family and business, and was made possible through hard work and compromise—values we need to see more of around here. Now, it’s up to the U.S. House to follow our lead.”

The Farm Bill, among many other accomplishments, protects crucial resources that allow Missouri’s crop producers to manage risk and that help Missouri’s dairy farmers to cope with high costs—ensuring the country has reliable access to safe and affordable food. The legislation—approved today with a strong bipartisan vote of 64-35—also includes a provision by McCaskill to ensure resources set aside to expand broadband access in rural communities do not get diverted to projects in large metropolitan areas that already enjoy access to such services.

Click HERE to read an opinion-editorial by McCaskill, Billy Thiel, President of the Missouri Corn Growers Association, and Larry Purdom, President of the Missouri Dairy Association, urging passage of the Farm Bill.

McCaskill also used the debate over the Farm Bill to continue her fight to guard against unreasonable regulations, and to give farmers and ranchers a stronger voice in the crafting of federal rules on agriculture, proposing an amendment that would dramatically strengthen the authority of a farm policy advisory position at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—a position that currently exists, but that is not required by law. While McCaskill’s measure was not ultimately included in the bill, she pledged to continue her efforts to ensure that “farmers and ranchers have a seat at the table when these decisions are made.

McCaskill's Fight for Missouri's Farmers and Ranchers

Claire McCaskill has consistently fought to ensure Missouri's farm and ranch families have the resources they need to succeed, and to prevent and overturn unreasonable rules and regulations on producers.

• McCaskill delivered a victory for rural communities, successfully forcing the U.S. Labor Department to withdraw proposed rules that would affect the ability of young adults to work on family farms and ranches.

• McCaskill helped lead a bipartisan group of Senators in successfully demanding an exemption to allow the transportation of all farm supplies from any distribution point to a local farm retailer or to the consumer during planning and harvest seasons.

• McCaskill confronted the Environmental Protection Agency in opposition to proposed rules over farm dust, forcing the EPA to abandon any such rules.

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