Senator Chuck Grassley made the following statement after the U.S. Department of Agriculture released the final rules on the actively engaged provisions of the 2014 farm bill. Grassley led the effort to get passed in both the Senate and the House provisions that would have established a farm payment cap of $250,000 and tightened loopholes that have allowed some non-farmers to game the system. Despite receiving a majority of support in both bodies of Congress, the conference committee tied the hands of the U.S. Department of Agriculture by including a watered down version that allowed loopholes to remain.
"The final rule issued by the Department of Agriculture to reduce abuses of the actively engaged loophole is a first step. While this rule still isn't as stringent as the reforms approved by both bodies of Congress through my payment limit amendment, it represents a good faith effort by the department to make the farm bill more defensible, despite the indefensible loopholes left open by the conference committee.
"Meaningful and enforceable limits on farm subsidies are the right thing to do. Taking steps to end farm payments to people who don't farm is good for agriculture going forward and helps begin to bring the program back to its original intent.
"If the farm bill is reopened in the omnibus appropriations bill by allowing unlimited subsidies to farmers by reviving commodity certificates, it creates long-term consequences for agriculture and puts at risk the positive step this final rule takes."
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