Joe Donnelly: “I am here to talk about the importance of a bipartisan, commonsense, 5-year farm bill to Indiana's agriculture and rural…”

“I am here to talk about the importance of a bipartisan, commonsense, 5-year farm bill to Indiana's agriculture and rural communities as well as our entire country. This bill, passed with bipartisan support in the Agriculture Committee, protects the estimated 16 million agriculture-related jobs across the country. Last year, Indiana and many other States were plagued by severe drought, leading to a loss of crops and livestock, hurting our food supply and the livelihoods of farmers and their communities. Farmers in Indiana and around the Nation need the certainty of a 5-year farm bill that reflects and addresses the inherent risk of feeding and fueling our world. The Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013 strikes the right balance, ending direct payments and improving risk management tools to give farmers what they need to manage natural disasters or severe market downturns that are completely outside of their control. In this budget environment, where we are looking for ways to cut spending and make government more efficient, it is important to note this bill would reduce the deficit by $23 billion. We made the tough decisions necessary to cut spending, increase accountability, and eliminate duplicative or unnecessary programs to continue our efforts to get our fiscal house in order. In my home State of Indiana, this bill is critical. Nearly 190,000 Hoosiers work in agriculture. Eighty-three percent of the State's land is devoted to farms or forests.…”