Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) , Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development , Energy , and Credit , joined Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and fellow Senate Agriculture Committee Democrats in releasing the following statement on the passage of the House Farm Bill: “We have been clear that the Farm Bill must address the needs of American farmers and families. With a five-year high in small farm bankruptcies, the Farm Bill must address rising input costs, provide new opportunities for domestic markets, and fight for a trade agenda that works for everyone. Senate Democrats are committed to ensuring all states are treated equally by delaying the new SNAP cost shifts and addressing the needs of farm country. We look forward to working with Senate Republicans on a bipartisan Farm Bill that can be successful on the Senate floor,” said Senate Democrats . Along with Senator Welch and Ranking Member Klobuchar, the Democrats on the Senate Agriculture Committee are Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich). The Republican Budget Bill passed last summer included a cost shift of SNAP benefits and program costs to states with error rates above 6%, but which also rewarded the highest error rate states with a delay of the cost shift. Final error rates for 2025 will be announced at the end of June. ###