Farm subsidies would be reformed “to better support small- and mid-sized farms” if Joe Biden is elected president, says the draft platform written ahead of the Democratic National Convention next month in Milwaukee. The draft says, “Democrats will increase funding for food assistance programs, including SNAP, WIC, and school meals.”
The draft also says, “It is long past time to provide a roadmap to citizenship” for undocumented workers, caregivers, students, and children. “We will fast-track this process for those workers who have been essential to the pandemic response and recovery efforts, including healthcare workers, farmworkers, and others.” Half of U.S. farmworkers are believed to be undocumented.
The 80-page draft offers few details on its proposals. The document was released earlier this week and will be open to amendment next week. Republicans have decided not to update their 2016 platform.
“We will grow the nation’s biofuels manufacturing sector, including by strengthening the Renewable Fuel Standard, supporting E15 blends, and supporting research, development, and deployment of advanced biofuels,” says the Democratic draft. In the same paragraph, it says the party will work with farmers, ranchers, and forestry owners “to make the U.S agriculture sector the first in the world to achieve net-zero emissions, which will spark a revolution in agriculture and open up new revenue streams for farmers in energy and waste products, and grow bio-based manufacturing jobs.”