Dear Friend,

Every five years, Congress takes up one of the most important pieces of legislation for rural America: the Farm Bill. It’s the law that shapes how our government supports farmers, how our food system operates, and how families access nutrition assistance like SNAP. 

Last week, the House Committee on Agriculture, which I serve on, convened to “mark up,” or make changes to, the House version of the Farm Bill. I want to share some of the changes I pushed for in the bill, but if there’s one thing you should know, it’s that the Farm Bill failed to meet the needs of Oregonians.

For decades, the Farm Bill had received bipartisan support. It brought together a broad coalition of supporters because it helped families via SNAP and farmers. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case this time around. Republicans moved SNAP, one of the main provisions of the Farm Bill, out of the Farm Bill and into the Big, Ugly Bill. In the process, they cut $187 billion for SNAP and gave some crops priority provisions in the Big, Ugly Bill. By splitting up the Farm Bill and moving key pieces to the Big, Ugly Bill, Republicans have destroyed the Farm Bill coalition and jeopardized the future of what should be a bipartisan piece of legislation.

House Republicans put this bill together in a rush, behind closed doors, and without meaningful bipartisan input. There are some elements of the bill with bipartisan support. For example, the bill takes initial steps to support specialty crops. It also included provisions from my Timber Innovation for Building Rural Communities Act. However, these successes do not come close to making up for the Farm Bill’s serious failures.

The Republicans’ Farm Bill reinstates dangerous and discredited wildfire suppression policies, abandons specialty crop growers once again, and fails to restore SNAP benefits to the 800,000 Oregonians who lost their food assistance because of Republicans’ Big, Ugly Bill. That means this Farm Bill leaves our communities less safe, less wealthy, and less healthy. 

During the markup process last week, I introduced several amendments aimed at strengthening support for specialty crop growers, the forestry sector, and our rural communities. Sadly, Republicans didn’t include any of my amendments into the final version of the bill.

For example, I advocated for the inclusion of my legislation to help rural communities get ahead and address chronic underinvestment by improving technical support for federal grants for needs like child care, housing, and job training. Even the head Republican on the Committee had to admit that it was a worthy cause that was worth exploring further.

As Ranking Member of the Forestry and Horticulture Subcommittee, I advocated for my Timber Innovation for Building Rural Communities Act. While parts of this legislation were included in House Republicans’ Farm Bill, I urged my colleagues to do more to strengthen the development of innovative wood product technologies, such as mass timber construction, which supports Oregon’s timber industry while also addressing the housing crisis.

I also offered an amendment to make it easier for our specialty crop growers who want to expand their farms to do so while getting the crop insurance coverage they need. This is especially important as natural disasters become more frequent and severe. Instead of more enormous corporate tax breaks for people like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, we ought to be focusing on solutions that make life easier for our producers and the people they feed.

Republicans’ Farm Bill does not meet the moment. While I couldn’t support their version of the bill, I remain focused on bolstering Oregon’s proud farming tradition, supporting our rural communities, and ensuring families can access the resources they need to thrive.

If you have input about this or any other matter, you always can contact me at salinas.house.gov/contact. If you or somebody you know needs assistance with a federal agency, visit salinas.house.gov/casework. We have Spanish speakers and veterans on staff who are ready to help.

Be well,




Andrea Salinas
Member of Congress