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Today, Congressman David Scott was appointed to the House-Senate Conference Committee on H.R. 2419, the Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 200, otherwise known as the Farm Bill. The conference committee will negotiate differences between the House and Senate passed versions of the bill and establish priorities for nutrition, energy and agricultural policy for the next five years.

“It is an honor for me to be appointed to this important committee,” Congressman Scott said. “The passage of a strong Farm Bill will have a significant direct impact on American families in many ways including nutrition, energy and even education. This bill will improve nutrition and access to affordable dietary options for students and the elderly. The bill also boosts funding for renewable energy programs by 600 percent, encourages the production of renewable energy and moves us toward energy independence.”

Several issues in the farm bill are of particular importance to African-Americans, including:

• Raising the Standard Deduction and Minimum Benefit for Food Stamps for the first time in 20 and 30 years, respectively;
• Food Stamps indexed with the TRUE cost of living;
• Lifting the $175 dependent child care cap in Food Stamps, allowing families to deduct ALL of their childcare expenses.
• Allowing deserving Pigford claimants an opportunity to have their cases heard in an effort to rectify civil rights abuses against black farmers;
• Raising the minimum authorization level for programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities known as “1890 Colleges;”

Congressman Scott is the senior Georgia member of the House Agriculture Committee and the committee’s only African-American member.

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