Rep. Conaway Awarded Farm Bureau ‘Golden Plow’

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 25, 2016 – American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall presented Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, with AFBF’s “Golden Plow” award Wednesday evening during the Farm Bureau Advocacy Conference. The Golden Plow is the highest recognition the organization grants members of Congress.

The Texas Farm Bureau nominated Conaway for the award because of his dedicated work as a member of Congress on issues important to Farm Bureau members. As chairman of the House Ag Committee, he played a major role in the passage of the 2014 farm bill, and remains involved in defending its programs and overseeing its implementation by the Agriculture Department, Duvall said.

Conaway is also a champion for crop insurance. When a $3 billion cut was included in the bipartisan budget agreement, he led the fight to ensure funding would be restored in the final bill. More recently, his early involvement with the redrafting of federal dietary guidelines resulted in recommendations that were true to their intended purpose.

Further, without Chairman Conaway’s leadership, the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act – GMO legislation – would not have passed the House.

“We are tremendously pleased to be able to recognize Chairman Conaway for all the great things he has done for America’s farmers and ranchers,” Duvall said. “Thank you for your dedicated service to agriculture and rural America.”

AFBF’s Golden Plow award recognizes members of Congress for distinguished agricultural leadership and support of Farm Bureau policies. Recipients are chosen based on having a philosophy or record that demonstrates a commitment to the private enterprise system, sound agricultural policies supported by Farm Bureau, fiscal conservatism, and reduced federal regulation of businesses and individuals.

DeLauro Fights for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) stood up for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and its recipients at a hearing on the budget for USDA’s Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services. During the hearing, DeLauro called on Republicans to stop attempting to enact harmful policies regarding SNAP, which include block-granting the program and requiring drug testing.

“SNAP is of one of the most powerful tools we have for ending childhood hunger in the United States and it helps millions of hardworking American families every year. SNAP continues to do more than any other government assistance program to lift Americans out of poverty and the numbers speak for themselves. In 2014 alone, the program lifted 4.7 million people out of poverty, including 2.1 million children,” said Rosa DeLauro. “However, Republicans on the other side of the aisle, including Speaker Ryan, say that we spend trillions of dollars on these programs and yet the poverty rate does not change. This is simply not true. Without these critical safety net programs, more Americans would struggle”.

“When Republicans continue their fight against SNAP, which includes a push to enact block-grants, drug testing policies, and prohibiting certain food purchases, we are focusing on the wrong issues. We cannot continue to wage a war against the poor,” continued DeLauro. “If we are going to drug test SNAP recipients, we should drug test every recipient of USDA funding, including crop insurance beneficiaries and agriculture subsidy recipients. I will continue to stand up against these unconscionable attacks on America’s working families and I urge my colleagues to stand with me in in ensuring that the federal budget would not harm low-income households, increase hunger, and dilute SNAP’s strengths.”