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WASHINGTON, D.C.–A compromise may have been reached on a new farm bill. Congress has been working on trying to get a new one passed before the end of the year, or they’ll have to start over. 

For Indiana the new farm bill would mean support for farmers, a renewal of the SNAP program, or food stamps, and money for programs like getting broadband internet into rural areas. The version of the bill that’s been championed by Sen. Joe Donnelly also includes money to fight the opioid problem.

“Indiana’s farmers are facing a lot of uncertainties right now,” said Donnelly earlier this year, when discussing the version of the bill that was passed by the Senate.

“The dairy industry is facing low prices and lost contracts. There are fears over potential retaliatory tariffs and their impacts. There is a grain surplus that has brought commodity prices down drastically,” he said. 

The current farm bill expired Sept. 30. The Senate and the House both passed versions of the new bill, which were different in several ways. Critics of the House bill say it would have wiped out food stamp benefits for over two million people.

Donnelly will give up his Senate seat to the newly-elected Mike Braun, in January, who has no committee assignments. Donnelly helped write the Senate version of the farm bill, and serves on the Senate Ag Committee.

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