SEEC Leadership Disappointed by Republican Attacks on Climate-Smart Conservation in Farm Bill

Washington, D.C. – The leaders of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), including Co-Chairs Reps. Doris Matsui, Mike Quigley, and Paul Tonko, Vice Chairs Reps. Don Beyer, Matt Cartwright, Sean Casten, Chellie Pingree, and Katie Porter, and Chair Emeritus Rep. Gerry Connolly, released the following statement in response to the House Agriculture Committee markup of a partisan Farm Bill.

“We are deeply disappointed that House Agriculture Committee Republicans have failed to listen to House Democrats’ repeated calls to protect our vital and highly popular climate-smart agriculture programs. Just as our members cautioned not to do, this bill removes the climate guardrails from our Inflation Reduction Act conservation investments and imposes new restrictions on the Commodity Credit Corporation to prevent its funds from being spent on climate-friendly agriculture. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) utilized the Commodity Credit Corporation to provide over $3 billion in support to a diverse range of farmers, ranchers and private forest owners with climate-smart projects. This Farm Bill robs our farms of the opportunities to do all they can to improve soil health, reduce fertilizer costs, and improve soil water retention, all while enhancing the resilience of our communities and planet. House Republicans are opting to sacrifice the well-being of America’s farmers rather than admit that we’re in the midst of a climate crisis.

“Further, Committee Republicans failed to change course and adopt amendments to fix these issues and others – particularly the egregious cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Thrifty Food Plan – so that we can have a bipartisan Farm Bill again, which has been our goal all along.

“Time and time again, we have heard from farmers across our nation that these climate-smart programs are essential to putting food on Americans’ tables. That is why throughout this process, House Democrats have put in a good faith effort to secure commonsense climate-friendly provisions in this historically bipartisan legislation. We stand alongside our farmers at the ready whenever House Republicans are willing to put in an honest effort to deliver the Farm Bill that America needs.”