WASHINGTON – Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01) released the following statement after voting in favor of H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018:
“Food security is national security. This bill keeps family farmers and foresters who live right here in the First District in mind by providing them certainty and stability as they continue to provide food and fiber to markets across the world. Agriculture and forestry is one of the most important economies in the Commonwealth, employing over 442,000 people. This Farm Bill provides solid support for our rural economies and provides low cost foods to consumers.
“Many rural Americans have little to no access to broadband, and, here in Virginia, almost 29 percent of people living in rural areas lack access to any broadband service at all. We often take our access to high-speed internet for granted. This bill authorizes substantial annual appropriations for rural broadband and requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture to establish forward-looking broadband standards. As this has been a major priority of mine, I am thrilled that these provisions were included and I was proud to vote for them.
“This bill also includes modest, much-needed reforms to promote work and individual success and self-sufficiency. While maintaining the food stamp program, which provides assistance to those who need it most, this legislation allows individuals to move from dependency to independence and from poverty to prosperity. By providing funding for workforce development programs, H.R. 2 works to ensure Americans receive the job training and resources they need to reenter the workforce. Our economy is booming and as we have learned month after month through job reports, new jobs are created every day across the country. We must now connect Americans with those jobs to get them back on their feet. I have been working to bridge the skills gap between what the marketplace has and what our employers need. I think that workforce development can be applied here and I hope this will further empower states to bridge that gap as well.”
H.R. 2 the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 passed the House 213 to 211 and is now awaiting consideration by the Senate.
Congressman Rob Wittman represents the 1st District of Virginia. He serves on the House Natural Resources Committee and the House Armed Services Committee, where he is the Chairman of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee.
