Today, a bipartisan group of senators and representatives are meeting to negotiate the final text of the Farm Bill, H.R. 2. The Farm Bill is an $860 billion spending bill that funds U.S. agricultural activities. This will impact farmers across the nation and it is important for the conferees to consider much-needed reforms that will last for years.

It’s no secret that Republicans have a difficult time doing what they said, but that doesn’t stop them from pretending they’re trying. True conservatives have been trying to end crony subsidies for years and the Farm Bill, H.R. 2, was supposed to be their chance to end wasteful programs that have been draining the economy since the New Deal era.

The House and Senate are in session this week.

On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your representative and tell him or her to support the President Trump’s Farm Bill Reforms Act, H.R. 5629, introduced by Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.). The bill would reform and modernize the subsidies the federal government grants as a part of its omnibus Farm Bill.

Whether it be through taxes, regulations, or other big government policies, the federal government is quite adept at finding ways to sap money out of your wallet and into government coffers and the pockets of big special interests. One would think that the least likely suspect to drain your bank account would be sugar. It sweetens our coffee and other sweet treats we enjoy on a daily basis. However, U.S. sugar policy has been causing incredible economic harm to American consumers for years.

The House and Senate are in session this week.

Yesterday, the House Agriculture Committee released its Farm Bill proposal. The Farm Bill is an omnibus bill that needs to be passed every five years or so to address various issues related to American agriculture and the responsibilities of the Department of Agriculture (USDA). The last one was passed in 2014.