Berg Calls for Farm Bill Action

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Berg Calls for Farm Bill Action

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UPDATE 4:00pm: Brandon Lorenz, press secretary for the Heidi Heitkamp, Berg's Democratic opponent, just issued this statement: "Rep Berg might be late to the party, but can't hide his record of voting with his party's leaders to cut crop insurance by 20 percent one year, then voting the next to cut $180 billion from crop insurance and farm programs."

Berg Calls for Farm Bill Action

U.S. Rep. Rick Berg (R) North Dakota has joined with 61 Members of the House of Representatives calling on the House Leadership to bring the Farm Bill to for a vote in the full house. The members calling for a vote are from both parties.

They signed a letters.. " aimed at pressuring House Republican leaders, who so far have hesitated to schedule the 600-page legislation that sets the nation's agriculture policy and is critical for lawmakers from rural districts." said Politico.

Berg took to the House floor to call on the House Leadership to take up the FAARM bill, which is being watched closely by the agriculture community in North Dakota. (Watch Video)

"North Dakota farmers and ranchers need the stability that this farm bill can bring, and it needs to be a long term authorization," stated Berg on the floor of the House of Representatives.

"Now is the time for the house to act. For farmers and ranchers across this country, now is the time to ensure that we actively support this piece of legislation and get it reauthorized long term. The time for the farm bill is now."

Also on Thursday, House Speaker John Boehner (R) Ohio repeated that there is still no decision on whether to bring the 2012 farm bill to a floor vote.

Berg's Washington office provided valleynewslive.com with this assessment of the legislation:

The Farm Bill, known formally as the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act (FARRM), was reported out of the Committee on Agriculture late last week by a bipartisan vote of 35 to 11.

Berg noted there are good aspects in both the Senate and House bills and stressed that the most important thing was to continue to move the process forward by bringing the House version to the floor for a vote.

Below are the highlights of the FARRM Act.

FARRM saves more than $35 billion in mandatory funding.
FARRM repeals or consolidates more than 100 programs.
FARRM eliminates direct payments, as well as streamlines and reforms commodity policy, saving taxpayers more than $14 billion
FARRM improves program integrity and accountability in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that saves taxpayers more than $16 billion.
FARRM consolidates 23 conservation programs into 13, which improves program delivery to producers and saves taxpayers more than $6 billion.
FARRM provides regulatory relief, including H.R. 872, to mitigate burdens farmers, ranchers, and rural communities face.

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Berg Calls for Farm Bill Action - Valley News Live - KVLY/KXJB - Fargo/Grand Forks

Berg Calls for Farm Bill Action

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