Tester Says Farm Bill Passing Soon Is Unlikely
During a conference call with Montana media members on Thursday, July 25, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said that it’s unlikely that a new farm bill will get approved any time soon.
“It’s so political right now. There’s not a lot of things moving,” Tester said of the climate in Washington, D.C.
Tester noted that the ag committee chairman and ranking member haven’t reached any agreement on the farm bill yet, which is unfortunate.
He doesn’t feel anything would be accomplished with the farm bill until after the country’s general election.
The lack of extension won’t have an immediate impact on farmers, but he is disappointed that agreement has yet to be made.
“Agriculture is a very uncertain business. The farm bill shouldn’t be uncertain,” Tester said.
When asked about the status of the estate tax, Tester said he feels it’s beneficial to keep the maximum exemption at its current level. He noted that predictability is important.
“You can plan if you know what the rules of the road are,” Tester said.
Tester also stressed the importance of passing the Major Richard Star Act. The bill, sponsored by Tester and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, fixes an injustice currently preventing combat-injured veterans with less than 20 years of military service from receiving their full military benefits.
Named in honor of decorated war veteran Major Richard A. Star who was forced to medically retire due to his combat-related injuries, the Major Richard Star Act would provide medically- retired combat veterans with less than 20 years of military service their full military benefits.
“We need to get it done for veterans, and there’s no better time than now,” Tester said. “It’s too important of an issue to put aside.”
He added, “We got the PACT Act done for our toxic- exposed vets when nobody said we could. Why? Because it was the number one issue for veterans, their families, and veterans service organizations. This is too important of an issue to leave unaddressed, and I’m proud to stand alongside veterans in Montana and across this country to keep pushing my colleagues to put politics aside and do the right thing for our combat-injured veterans by passing this bill.”
