Democratic Congresswoman Cheri Bustos announced last week her appointment to the 2018 Farm Bill Conference Committee. The committee will merge the House and Senate versions of the bill into a final version and is made up of House and Senate members. The final version will be voted on in both chambers before heading to the President’s desk to be signed into law. “I am honored to have the opportunity to negotiate a bipartisan Farm Bill that supports our family farmers, strengthens rural communities and puts food on the plates of families across our nation,” Bustos said. The Senate passed a version of the Farm Bill in June that includes language from four bipartisan bills Bustos helped introduce. It includes The Farmers of Tomorrow Act that modifies USDA farm ownership loans making it easier for young farmers and veterans to afford farmland. It also includes The Addiction Recovery for Rural Communities Act which helps rural communities combat the opioid epidemic. Bustos in a statement, went on to say, “Only by working together will we be able to develop a Farm Bill that provides our farmers with the support and certainty they need as they work through a challenging agricultural economy that’s only getting tougher because of President Trump’s trade war.”
