FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 21, 2020
Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737
[email protected]
WASHINGTON – After months of negotiations, Congress today passed a $900 billion pandemic relief bill.
As the pandemic has worn on over the last several months, National Farmers Union (NFU) has repeatedly urged legislators to provide American families and businesses with the help they need to withstand the current economic downturn. The final agreement includes a number of provisions the organization recommended, including supplementary funding for the Paycheck Protection Program, the expansion of benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), support for the development of local and regional food systems, funding to bolster mental health services for agricultural professionals, and protections for workers.
In a statement, NFU President Rob Larew welcomed the long-overdue package and urged the next administration to follow up with additional aid in the months ahead.
“American families and independent businesses have been living on the financial edge for months, waiting for the government to step in and offer the assistance they need to get by. In the meantime, Congressional deadlock has had real and painful consequences; without a lifeline, tens of thousands of businesses have closed permanently, and millions of men, women, and children are experiencing food insecurity.
“The fact that a stimulus package has, at long last, been passed is certainly a relief, and it will ease the burden that so many of our friends and neighbors have been bearing on their own. National Farmers Union is particularly encouraged by the expansion of SNAP benefits – a crucial step toward ensuring food security for all. It is similarly heartening to see the inclusion of provisions that will revitalize rural economies, such as financial support for the biofuels industry, further assistance for farmers impacted by market disruptions, and more funding for the Paycheck Protection Program. Finally, we are pleased by several measures that will strengthen local and regional food systems, help socially disadvantaged farmers, and protect food chain workers – all of which will make the agriculture sector more resilient not just through the end of the pandemic, but long after.
“That said, this bill is a starting point – not a destination. We have a long road to recovery ahead of us, and a $600 check only goes so far. The Biden administration must build on these efforts and offer additional relief as needed.”
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About NFU
National Farmers Union advocates on behalf of nearly 200,000 American farm families and their communities. We envision a world in which farm families and their communities are respected, valued, and enjoy economic prosperity and social justice.
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I would rather not be as selfish as to take this deal. While it may look good and solve some immediate issues, the long range cost is too much. I would rather do without than send all this money overseas, give to more museums, fund even more government, or just out right pay politicians.
Read the whole deal, the cost to the American people is too great. The fact that this organization “welcomed” the passing has me questioning my association with it.
The time has come to stop looking at what crumbs the government gives us, in our little part of the whole, and look at the whole. The cost outweighs the benefits.
I had a chicken farm where I bred heritage and rare chickens, guinea and turkey.
Two German shepherds and pit bulls belonging to Sandy Wilson and Wallace Wilson, I believe their puppy mill name was Gatorbred Kennels. They decimated my poultry and stole my riding lawnmower. I have 10 acres. I would love to get back on board now that I have evicted those criminals. I also grew organic fruits and vegetables in the front part of the acreage. The Wilson children destroyed everything I had including kicking my front door in. Please give me a chance to reconstruct my business, Fowl Play Farm SC