A pair of bills that would support the maple industry have bipartisan support in the U.S. House and Senate

SAINT ALBANS CITY, Vt. — Vermont’s congressional delegation is partnering with lawmakers from other maple-producing states on measures aimed at supporting the maple industry. The proposals have bipartisan support in the U.S. House and Senate.

Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vermont, and Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-New York, have co-sponsored the SAP Act in the House. It would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to consult with maple producers when determining priorities for grants around education and research.

In an interview with NBC5 News ahead of the Vermont Maple Festival in downtown St. Albans, Balint said the threat from climate change means the industry will need to keep adapting. Because of that, she called future research and educational opportunities vital. Balint said she wants to see the maple industry remain sustainable and successful so Vermont’s open lands will stay productive.

“It is not just about an economic driver,” Balint said. “It is not just about our identity as Vermonters. It is about really taking that value of living off the land into the next generation. I just think it’s part of the DNA of who we are as Vermonters.”

Balint supports another bill that Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York have all backed in the U.S. Senate. The MAPLE Act would allow low-income senior citizens who use the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program to purchase all-natural maple syrup with the coupons they get through the benefit program.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, introduced the measures in the Senate along with Sen. Welch.

According to the office of Sen. Welch, those bills are supported by the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association, the New York Farm Bureau, and the New York State Maple Producers Association. They did not get passed in the last Congress, so have been re-introduced in the current Congress.

Story Written by Jack Thurston, NBC5

Story Link: https://www.mynbc5.com/article/vermont-new-york-maple-industry-congress/64591960