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U.S. Representative Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) voted today in support of the 2014 Farm Bill,or the Agricultural Act of 2014. Rep. Denham, who served on the conference committee to negotiate this bipartisan bill with House and Senate counterparts from both sides on the aisle, issued the following statement regarding his vote of support:

“From my experience as an almond farmer in the Central Valley, I know how crucial farm policy on the federal level is to ensuring that our agricultural community can feed the nation. California is number one in the nation in agricultural revenue, and our farms produce nearly half of U.S. grown fruit, nuts and vegetables – making the farm bill especially crucial to Californians. This bipartisan bill saves $23 billion in taxpayer dollars, ends direct payments and provides $800 million for specialty crop and citrus research. It provides full funding for the Market Access Program, which means California’s agricultural commodities can continue to be promoted worldwide. It also includes a crucial victory for states’ rights by eliminating the King amendment, which would have led to a race to the bottom for agriculture production laws nationwide and imperiled the fate of California egg producers."

The Agriculture Act of 2014 passed the House on a vote of 251-166 and is the result of more than four years of work and over 40 hearings. This bill includes the most significant reduction to farm policy spending in history and makes the first reforms to SNAP since 1996 while protecting critical assistance to families in need, establishing a work requirement pilot program in 10 states and eliminating fraud in the current SNAP system. This crucial legislation includes the most significant reduction to farm policy in years, repealing or consolidating more than 100 programs administered by the USDA, including direct payments to farmers.