Patrick Leahy: “I have been a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee for 48 years, since I was elected in 1974. I have helped to…”

“I have been a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee for 48 years, since I was elected in 1974. I have helped to write nine farm bills, and I have overseen the creation of programs that have helped farmers, food systems, and consumers alike. Throughout the years, I have been proud to bring born-in-Vermont ideas back to DC. I was warned when I first came to the Senate not to get on the Agriculture Committee because I would never be able to get off. And they were right. But that has been just fine with me because the work we have done on this committee and in the farm bills has always been so important, and the work has been bipartisan, in the best tradition of the Senate. I have always worked to make healthy food accessible to everyone. In 1988, I authored the Hunger Prevention Act, which improved child nutrition and SNAP programs and provided other hunger relief. In 1994, I worked to provide funding for WIC, provide milk to low-income students, fund school breakfast programs, encourage organic foods at school lunches, and expand WIC at farmers markets, and promote healthy eating habits for children through the better Nutrition and Health for Children Act. And in 2010, I authored the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act, which created the Farm to School Program, which brings locally grown food into schools. I have been proud to advocate for small- and mid-sized dairy farms, which are integral to the history and fabric of Vermont.…”