Senator Tester tours state to focus on Farm Bill

As Congress prepares to replace the current Farm Bill, which will expire next September, Senator Jon Tester has been traveling across the state to hear from Montanans about their needs.

While previous sessions looked at food production and agriculture, Senator Tester’s recent stop in Missoula focused on food assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Women, Infants, and Children assistance program.

During the meeting, panelists and Tester expressed concerns about potential cuts to the programs including a 50 percent reduction proposed by President Trump and a cut proposed by the U.S. House to reduce waste.

Tester disagrees with the proposal.

“When you’re talking about cutting a program by nearly 50 percent, that’s not cutting waste, that’s cutting it to the bone,” he said. “And so let’s look for opportunities to reduce waste.”

Tester added that there needs to be a way to cut waste without removing people from the program.

Senator Tester urged Montanans to write to not only himself but to Senator Steve Daines and Representative Greg Gianforte about the need to maintain benefits in the Farm Bill.

http://www.krtv.com/story/36601349/senator-tester-tours-state-to-focus-on-farm-bill