Minority News

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Sen. Thad Cochran, the Committee’s Ranking Member, worked together to secure a strong bipartisan 15-5 vote in Committee for the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013 (a.k.a. the new Farm Bill). The bill...

• Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, penned an op-ed published in The Hill today, highlighting how the Farm Bill will both create jobs and reduce the deficit. • Stabenow wrote, “There can be no more kicking the can down the road. We must pass a farm bill this...

The Senate Agriculture Committee approved an historic conservation pact this week, requiring conservation compliance for crop insurance to protect both the farmers and the natural resources that our nation’s farmers and ranchers will rely on for generations to come. Conservation and agriculture industry organizations worked together to create...

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry today voted overwhelmingly to approve the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013, a bipartisan Farm Bill authored by Committee Chairwoman Senator Debbie Stabenow and Ranking Member Senator Thad Cochran.  The bill includes major reform in food and...

The Senate’s bipartisan 2013 Farm Bill represents the most significant reform of American agriculture policy in decades.  With the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act, the era of direct payments is over. Instead of subsidies that pay out every year even in good times, the bill creates risk management tools that support farmers when...

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee, today called on stakeholders and the public to make recommendations and provide input on the reauthorization of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Stabenow and...

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today announced that she and Ranking Member Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) will begin the process of reauthorizing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission later this year. She also encouraged CFTC officials to finalize rules and finish...

Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today commended the U.S. Department of Agriculture for prioritizing rural communities through its release of a report on streamlining rural programs and making them easier for rural communities to use. The effort consolidates 11 different...

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee, today urged U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk to quickly address Russia’s new import ban on U.S. beef, poultry and turkey – which would cost the U.S. economy...

Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, issued the following statement today regarding the announcement by Senate Democratic leadership that agriculture’s direct payment subsidies will be eliminated as part of a larger sequestration package intended to avoid across-the-board...

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS), the Committee’s Ranking Member, today announced assignments for the Committee’s five subcommittees for the 113th Congress.A full list of the subcommittees and member assignments follows...

Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry, today said that last year’s historic drought, which parched the nation and affected more square miles since the end of the Dust Bowl era in 1939, has taken a devastating toll on American agriculture, underscoring the need to pass critical...

Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today issued the following statement on the settlement deal approved by a bankruptcy court judge that paves the way for customers of the now-collapsed MF Global to recover much of the $1.6 billion that disappeared. The approved deal will recover...

Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, issued the following statement today regarding the announcement that the United States and Japan have agreed on new terms and conditions which will pave the way for expanded exports of U.S. beef and beef products to Japan. Chairwoman Stabenow...

Senators Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Roy Blunt (R-M.O) introduced legislation this week to extend agriculture disaster assistance programs that expired at the end of the 2011 Fiscal Year and were not part of the nine month Farm Bill extension. The bill would backfill the programs for 2012 and extend them through 2013 while...

Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, released the below statement today regarding the resignation of Jill Sommers, Commissioner for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. “I’d like to thank Commissioner Sommers for her outstanding service during this critical time as...

Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today applauded Majority Leader Harry Reid for his commitment to making a new Farm Bill priority legislation for the 113th Congress. Reid introduced the Senate-passed version of the Farm Bill today as one of several privileged, top priority...

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today released the following statement concerning the expected doubling in consumer milk prices come January 1, as a result of the House’s failure to pass a new farm bill. While the Senate passed a strong, bipartisan farm bill with...

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today released the below statement on continuing and finalizing the farm bill process in the lame duck session. "Americans could not be more clear that now that the election is over, they want us to work together to create jobs and reduce the...

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, issued the below statement today following reports (see below) that House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) committed to holding a vote on the 2012 Farm Bill following the Nov. 6 general election. Cantor's remarks came during a...