Senator Marshall Slams Stabenow’s Partisan Power Move: America’s Farmers and Ranchers Deserve Better

Washington, D.C.-  U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. released the following statement after Democrat Senate Agriculture Chairman Debbie Stabenow blindsided the Republicans on the bipartisan Ag committee dropping a 1,400-page Farm Bill with no advance notice or cooperation:  

“This morning, Chairwoman Stabenow released her Farm Bill text—a 1,400-page document that no Republican committee member has reviewed or had the opportunity to collaborate on. This is not a sincere or transparent effort to address the urgent needs of Rural America. Instead, it is a last-minute power play in the final hours- manipulating her majority power in the Senate Ag Committee before losing the gavel. Today’s move shows that Senate Democrats have walked away from meaningful bipartisan negotiations that are a tradition in this committee and have opted to play politics with the livelihoods of hard-working farmers and ranchers at a time when Rural America needs real solutions.” 

“Thoughtful negotiation and bipartisan cooperation are essential to delivering a Farmers First Farm Bill that Kansans deserves. Despite Stabenow’s attempt to upend the process, as a member of the Senate Ag Committee representing Kansas agriculture, I remain committed to reviewing this bill and advocating for the needs of our farmers and ranchers. With farmers facing record decreases in net farm income, we must put FARM back in the Farm Bill by increasing crop insurance coverage and reference prices for the American farmer.”