With the passage of the Farm Bill last week by Congress, Republican Steve King believes it’s a victory for Iowa.
Of the many parts the legislation covers, he touts one in particular regarding a vaccination bank to protect the country against potential outbreaks like Foot and Mouth Disease, or in Iowa’s case, the Avian Flu. He says there’s language in the bill that also allows for the US to develop its own GMO vaccine, which currently the US buys from overseas. However, if it could be manufactured in the US, King believes it will lead to more doses and higher levels of inventory for less money.
“It allows the Secretary of Agriculture to use those resources to develop. I believe it’ll likely be a competitive grant, so that we can have one, or two, or three different locations working on this simultaneously.”
Other parts of the Farm Bill King points to as being important components include: increased loan funding for beginning farmers; full funding for the Market Access Program and the Foreign Market Development Program; Title 1 Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) payments are now based on physical location of the farm; and increased funding for minimum broadband access for rural communities.
However, when asked why the bill wasn’t passed by the original deadline of September 30th, King pointed to the House Agriculture Committee Chair Michael Conaway and his argument of not wanting to agree with the Senate’s version of their bill, King further states that Conaway thought the House would have a stronger position following the mid-term election.
“I disagreed vicariously. After the election, Republicans lost the majority, our hand was weakened substantially. And that meant we needed to take the best deal that we could get. That meant that all of the work requirements that were written in there for food stamps, and when you’re dealing with the Farm Bill, it should include some work. But they took all of the work requirements out (and) they stripped out all of my provisions from the bill.”
King adds that he believes President Donald Trump will the sign the bill. To hear more from King about the Farm Bill and trade talks with China, listen to today’s Community State Bank in Paton Let’s Talk Greene County program.