The reforms in agricultural research programs included in S. 1150 provide a roadmap for the future of agriculture. As importantly. it includes a funding stream to fund important new investments in agricultural research and rural development by creating and funding The Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems and by extending the Fund for Rural America. And yes. to the chagrin of some. this legislation reinstates food stamp benefits for our most vulnerable legal immigrants. I would hasten to point out that these provisions are modeled on sections of last years Balanced Budget Act that restored eligibility for Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid to some legal immigrants. I applaud the Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee and Senator HARKIN for their leadership in crafting the balanced compromise inherent in this legislation. Attempts to derail this compromise put at risk the important investments in agriculture and the sound research and crop insurance reforms included in the bill.
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