Rep. King says farm bill, drought assistance cannot wait

WASHINGTON, July 25, 2012- Congressman Steve King, R-Iowa, met with the House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla. and his Republican colleagues on the Committee late this afternoon to “chart a way forward” with House leaders on the farm bill and other legislation aimed at addressing the record drought.   

"As I have said for months, we need a Farm Bill," King said in his statement released Wednesday afternoon. "Farmers and producers rely on the predictability that a Farm Bill provides to make decisions about their operations for next year. Current authorization for federal farm programs will expire on September 30. This would be a troubling situation in any year, but with the record drought that's currently scorching Iowa and so many other states, the need for a Farm Bill - and the disaster assistance programs contained within it - is critical.”

King said in his statement that he joined 79 other House members in a bi-partisan letter to House leaders urging swift action on the farm bill before the August recess. He also emphasized his support for Iowa legislation that would address the record drought. King is running against Democratic challenger Christie Vilsack, wife of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, to represent Iowa’s 4th Congressional District.

“And I will also continue to work with my colleagues from Iowa to push for other legislative measures, like the Agriculture Disaster Assistance Act that we introduced as a state delegation, to specifically address some of the harmful effects of this drought,” King said. “Since May, I have said I want this done by August. The drought makes its passage urgent, now."

#30

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