Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN) sent a letter to President Trump today expressing concern that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt is inappropriately issuing waivers to fuel refiners in order to undermine the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program.

Ranking Member Collin Peterson addressed the threats facing American farmers following the Administration’s actions on trade, and the need for certainty given a potentially significant drop in demand as a result of retaliatory tariffs from major export partners like China.

“Mr. Chairman, this is a flawed bill that is the result of a bad and nontransparent process. I oppose it and urge my colleagues on the Committee to oppose it as well. More than nine months ago, we began discussions on a bipartisan farm bill. I saw this process as a way to work collaboratively and produce a work product where so many in this town have fallen victim to politics. We wanted to get to a bipartisan bill. In our discussions, we were able to find common ground on quite a few areas but, as anyone who has been through this before knows—and I’ve been through a few farm bills—nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to.

It makes no sense to put the farmers and rural communities who rely on the farm bill’s safety net programs at risk in pursuit of partisan ideology on SNAP. Between record low farm incomes, and the escalating threat of a trade war and other market disruptions, farmers have enough to worry about. Breaking up the long-standing, bipartisan, urban-rural farm bill alliance is a dangerous and unproductive step that will only sow division and jeopardize both this and future farm bills.

“After spending the last two weeks in Minnesota and participating in a dairy forum in Albany, I wanted to formalize the approach I’m hoping to take as the farm bill moves forward. Dairy farmers in my district and across the country are facing tough times that show no signs of letting up. They need a safety net that will help them better manage difficult market conditions now and into the future."

“The Democratic members of the Agriculture Committee are unanimous in their opposition to the extreme, partisan policies being advocated by the Majority. This opposition will not change.”

It is important that we are united in opposition to cutting our programs. The Administration’s budget proposal calls for $265 billion in mandatory farm bill cuts and I would anticipate some members looking to that document as a blueprint when it comes time to debate the farm bill on the floor.

All of agriculture should stand together in opposition to this budget.

Last year, the President’s budget called for $231 billion in cuts to mandatory farm bill programs. You were not yet at USDA when the budget was released but I hope that we’ll be able to see your influence when the new budget is unveiled next week. I’m not sure anybody in the Administration really understands agriculture so we’re relying on you to be a voice of reason at the table.

We need to do something to address forest management concerns and I believe this bill seeks to do that. I’m supportive of moving the process along so we can negotiate with our Senate colleagues and find a workable solution to address these issues.