Congressman Cleaver Comments on His Vote Against the Farm Bill

"I wanted to pass a Farm Bill. I worked to pass a Farm Bill. And I was willing to compromise to pass a Farm Bill," stated Congressman Cleaver. "Greatly compromise. Having said that, I voted no this week on H.R. 1947, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act – the Farm Bill. The bill would have extended most major federal farm, nutrition assistance, rural development and agricultural trade programs for five years.

"There were many things about this Farm Bill that I liked, worked to get included in the bill, and wanted to see pass. I was very pleased that the issue I fought for these last few months, retroactive livestock disaster assistance for farmers who were hit by the drought in 2012 was included. The expansion of the Farmers Market Promotion Program to fund regional food distribution centers to help farmers get their products to various local markets was included. These, and other parts, were very good and necessary. There were also many things in the bill that I did not like. I have made no secret of the fact that I think the proposed $20.5 billion in cuts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was too much. Choosing to increase hunger in our country, our state, and literally in our own backyards, I felt, was unconscionable. Truly cruel.

"Still, I was willing to move forward on a Yes vote until the very end. My hope was to keep the process moving forward. That would allow us to work with the Senate to reduce some of those cuts and reach and end point we could all live with. But as the vote neared, there were additional ‘poison pills’ put into the bill that made a Yes vote one I could not cast. The bad simply outweighed the good.

"I believe we need a truly bipartisan compromise to reform farm programs, provide certainty for America’s farmers who are critical to our economy, expand access to healthy food with more organic options, fruits and vegetables, more local farmers markets, and ensuring that our most vulnerable, especially our children, do not go hungry. If we are ever to move forward, and I will work endlessly to do so, we must work together. We cannot let last minute politics poison the future for our agriculture community, our children, and the economy of our country. This type of game-playing, partisan-bickering, last-minute maneuvering must end."

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Oak Grove, North Kansas City, Gladstone, Claycomo, and all of Ray, Lafayette, and Saline Counties. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and also serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus.