Republicans Are Trying to Repeal Tens of Billions of Dollars in IRA Funding Through the 2023 Farm Bill Reauthorization Process
Today, Evergreen Action released, “Why Congress Must Protect Climate-Smart Agriculture Programs in the 2023 Farm Bill,” a new report detailing how America’s farming communities are already benefiting from the $19.5 billion dollars in climate-smart agriculture investments amid threats from Congressional Republicans to use the 2023 Farm Bill reauthorization to revoke this popular and oversubscribed funding.
Right now, many of America’s farms operate on razor-thin profit margins while increasingly severe weather events are disrupting their operations and hitting their pocketbooks hard. After decades of disinvestment, rural and agricultural communities deserve investments in a thriving, clean energy economy that will deliver jobs, justice, and climate resilience. As the largest investment in agricultural conservation funding since the Dust Bowl, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is already delivering these benefits. That’s why the $19.5 billion for IRA climate-smart agriculture programs—which are wildly popular and consistently over-subscribed by applicants—must be protected from the Congressional Republicans seeking to repeal them.
The most recent Farm Bill expired on September 30, 2023, and Congress has already begun drafting text to reauthorize the newest version.
Dive in more by reading the full report here.
“Investments in America’s heartland are long overdue, and thanks to the IRA, rural communities will see the biggest investment in agricultural conservation programs since the 1930s,” said Evergreen Action Energy Transition Policy Lead Mattea Mrkusic. “Farmers and ranchers all over this country are facing increasingly severe weather—from crop-damaging floods to live-stock killing heatwaves. But with more than $19 billion in IRA funding for climate-smart agriculture programs, these communities can access investments that will allow them to continue their work while ramping down disastrous climate pollution. It’s mission-critical that we reject Congressional Republicans’ attempts to claw back funding from America’s farmers and ranchers.”
AT A GLANCE: Our report breaks down three reasons why the $19.5 billion in IRA funding for climate-smart agriculture and rural communities must be protected from repeal by Congressional Republicans:
- These programs cut climate pollution and build more resilient rural communities.
- Farmers want and need these programs and demand actually exceeds supply.
- These programs put money into farmers’ pockets and into communities.
You can read the full report here.
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