Stabenow announces agenda for Senate Agriculture Committee

COVID-19 relief, climate change legislation and nutrition programs are top priorities for Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., incoming chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

“From the ongoing pandemic to the devastating climate crisis – our farmers, families, and rural communities need help,” Stabenow said in a news release.

“My vision for the committee revitalizes our food and farm economy to grow new opportunities in American agriculture and provide access to healthy food for American families.”

Stabenow said her agenda for the committee includes:

• Respond to COVID-19 to address the hunger crisis and repair the broken food supply chain:  The committee will prioritize improving access to food assistance to ensure that every family can put food on the table, according to the release. The committee will also “proactively address” disruptions across the supply chain that have created a “ripple effect” that has harmed farmers, food processors, and workers;
• Address the climate crisis with voluntary, producer-led, bipartisan solutions: Stabenow said the committee will take aggressive action on legislation to help both farmers and foresters cut down their emissions and to create new sources of income from the adoption of practices that store more carbon in soil and trees;
• Fight childhood hunger with stronger child nutrition programs: The release said the committee will pass a child nutrition bill that expands access to healthy meals during the school day and in the summer months, supports working families whose children need good nutrition at daycare, and strengthens critical nutrition assistance for moms and babies;
• Create jobs and improve quality of life in rural America;
• Fill key leadership positions at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and related agencies: and
• Lay the groundwork for the next bipartisan farm bill.