Welch: Trump is “trying to cover up his mistakes and the pain he’s caused in rural America.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Agriculture and Finance Committees, and Ranking Member of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Credit, today released the following statement in response to President Trump’s proposed plan to give farmers a one-time bailout after his administration’s reckless economic policies exacerbated the farm crisis:
“American farms are in crisis, and the agricultural economy is in free-fall. President Trump’s reckless economic and trade policies bear much of the blame for the pain that farmers in Vermont and across the country feel right now. The president’s tariffs and the trade wars he created have closed markets and raised taxes on farms and farming communities. Republican leadership in the Senate and House has slow-walked a multi-year Farm Bill. Consolidation is making it impossible for small, family, and young farmers to succeed. Farmers and their families will be forced to go without health care as health care premiums skyrocket, and rural hospitals will close as a result of the Republicans’ tax bill. It’s obvious: the president is trying to cover up his mistakes and the pain he’s caused in rural America.
“Farmers want to farm, they don’t want endless government handouts. President Trump’s proposed bailout will do nothing to end the pain of his tariffs or support farmers in the long-term—much of this funding won’t help commodity and dairy farmers at all. Republicans and Democrats in Congress need to work together to pass the multi-year Farm Bill that America’s farmers deserve, and provide long-term, forward-thinking policy solutions that strengthen farms in Vermont and across the country.”
Senator Welch recently traveled to Nebraska and Iowa to speak with farmers at statewide annual Farmers Union Conventions. While in Nebraska, Senator Welch was the keynote speaker at a town hall focused on access to health care in rural communities.
Senator Welch has championed legislation to end the trade war, support rural development, and strengthen farms. He is the cosponsor of several bipartisan bills and resolutions to block the Trump Administration’s tariffs on Canada, as well as the global tariffs. Senator Welch has led legislation to ensure farmers have the right to repair their farm equipment, improve crop insurance, and support beginning farmers and ranchers. He is also the sponsor of bipartisan bills to support rural hospitals and build out rural broadband. Recently, the Senate passed his bipartisan bill to support dairy farmers and kids by allowing whole milk in schools.
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