Washington, D.C. – Today, the House Agriculture Committee’s Commodity Exchanges, Energy and Credit Subcommittee held a hearing to examine the impacts of farm energy production on farm income and rural communities. After the hearing, Subcommittee Ranking Member Austin Scott (GA-8) and Committee Ranking Member K. Michael Conaway (TX-11) released the following remarks:
“As conversations about the future of U.S. energy policy continue, it is vital that we work in a bipartisan manner to prevent rural American from shouldering the burden of an extreme climate agenda. America’s farmers and ranchers are already rising to the occasion, taking advantage of voluntary stewardship programs included in the 2018 Farm Bill to sequester carbon, reduce emissions and adopt more energy efficient farming practices. Expanding these programs, including reducing barriers to access, should be our priority as these discussions move forward,” said Subcommittee Ranking Member Scott.
“America’s farmers and ranchers have a united goal of energy independence while achieving higher standards of environmental stewardship. Rather than imposing new, burdensome regulations that no family farm will be able to afford, our efforts should focus on improving incentive-based solutions to help America’s farmers and ranchers rise to the occasion,” said Ranking Member Conaway.