The new farm bill should encourage rural economic development by making high-speed internet widely available and build on historic investments in carbon sequestration, said a group of center-left House Democrats. In a statement released ahead of farm-bill drafting, the 98-member New Democrat Coalition also said the 2023 farm bill must be bipartisan and even-handed.
“Americans are counting on Congress to do its job and pass the farm bill without unnecessary delay so American agriculture and citizens have reliable food from farm to table,” said the coalition, which listed five priorities for the legislation. They included deployment of affordable high-speed internet; addressing the nutritional needs of Americans; providing diversified income streams for farmers and greater support for beginning, young, and disadvantaged farmers; promoting international trade and opening overseas markets; and climate mitigation.
Last August, Congress earmarked nearly $20 billion for USDA conservation programs with an emphasis on climate change. The New Democrat Coalition said the farm bill should “build upon historic investments in carbon sequestration and sustainable land management, expand jobs in communities, and most importantly, enhance and protect our food supply chain from the field to America’s dinner table.”
Rep. Jim Costa of California, the second-ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, was a vice-chair of the coalition’s farm bill task force. Some 46 percent of House Democrats are members of the coalition.