House Committee Passes Farm Bill Reforms

Washington, DC – Late last night, Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) voted for the 2013 farm bill during a hearing of the House Agriculture Committee. The bill, H.R. 1947 eliminates direct subsidy payments, modernizes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, institutes new fraud prevention measures and reduces spending by $40 billion. The measure is expected to be debated on the house floor in June."I'm proud that the committee worked together and produced a bipartisan bill that achieves many of the goals I set out when appointed to this committee. The legislation eliminates direct subsidy payments, updates our food stamp program and saves nearly $40 billion dollars," LaMalfa said. "This bill moves our agricultural economy into the 21st century and has a positive impact on farmers, consumers and the federal budget."LaMalfa also passed an amendment to the federal Farm Bill which requires electronic fraud prevention measures and eliminates bonus pay for signing up new recipients."The success of the food stamp program should be measured by how many Americans become self-sufficient, not how many are added to the rolls. Every dollar spent on bonuses is a dollar that doesn't reach the families who need our help," LaMalfa said. "Modernizing the program to ensure that assistance goes only to those who need it means that we can spend less while continuing to help our friends and neighbors."Congressman Doug LaMalfa is a lifelong farmer representing California's First Congressional District including Butte, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou and Tehama Counties.