SC New York News

U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro (NY-19) announced today that the 2024 Farm Bill has been voted out of the House Committee on Agriculture with bipartisan support and will advance to the House Floor. The bill, which sets agricultural, food, and nutrition policy in the United States for five years, aims to provide relief for farmers and working families facing rising costs. It includes ten bipartisan bills authored by Molinaro.

On food and nutrition policy, the bill increases Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by preserving the program’s cost of living adjustment, boosts funding for food banks, and enables families to purchase more fruits and vegetables through food assistance programs. It also includes measures authored by Molinaro to help food-insecure seniors receive healthy meals and allow working individuals with disabilities aged 17 to 21 to receive SNAP benefits.

In terms of agricultural policy, the bill features several initiatives authored by Molinaro. These include strengthening the Dairy Margin Coverage safety net program, increasing funding for support services for farm families with disabilities, and providing more support to organic farmers. Other provisions aim to enhance flood prevention efforts in rural communities and support workers at National Pipe & Plastics in Endicott.

Rep. Molinaro stated, “This Farm Bill includes ten of my bills representing Upstate New York’s priorities and passed with bipartisan support. It also increases SNAP, provides more money for food banks, and delivers more support for dairy farmers, specialty crop producers, organic producers, and farm families with disabilities. As working families and farmers face an affordability crisis, this will deliver much-needed relief.”

Molinaro emphasized his commitment to ensuring Upstate New York’s priorities were reflected in the 2024 Farm Bill. Since joining Congress, he has held 11 town hall meetings, three Farm Bill listening sessions, and met with hundreds of farmers, working families, and nutrition advocates in Upstate New York.

A full list of Molinaro’s bipartisan bills included in the Farm Bill is as follows:

1. **Dairy Farm Resiliency Act**: Strengthens the Dairy Margin Coverage safety net program by insuring more milk production.

2. **Delivering for Rural Seniors Act**: Allows seniors living in rural areas or those with mobility issues to receive home delivery services from participating food banks.

3. **ThinkDIFFERENTLY Nutrition and Opportunities Act**: Prevents students with disabilities aged 18 to 21 who have part-time jobs from losing SNAP benefits.

4. **ThinkDIFFERENTLY Agriculture Accessibility Act**: Reauthorizes and increases funding for AgrAbility to provide support services for farm families with disabilities.

5. **Flooding Prevention, Assessment, and Restoration Act**: Incentivizes resilient flood infrastructure construction in rural communities.

6. **Training and Nutrition Stability Act**: Exempts income earned from SNAP Education and Training Programs from impacting participants’ SNAP benefits.

7. **Organic Dairy Data Collection Act**: Enhances data collection at USDA to better understand organic milk production costs.

8. **Food Supply Chain Capacity and Resiliency Act**: Lowers food costs through low-interest loans for businesses investing in supply chain operations.

9. **Freight for Farms Act**: Ensures federal funds can be used to increase farmers' access to freight rail infrastructure.

10. **Leveraging Efficiency Awareness for Pumping Systems (LEAPS) Act**: Makes efficient pump & irrigation systems more accessible to farmers while supporting workers at National Pipe & Plastics.