Activity in the U.S. House of Representatives concerning, H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (the “Farm Bill”) is moving fast. House Leadership has indicated that they plan to bring the Farm Bill to the floor for a full vote next Wednesday, May 16th. The Farm Bill includes key regulatory reform issues that will benefit the structural pest control industry, but the fight to pass this bill remains hyper-partisan.
It continues to be an uphill battle to secure 218 votes from exclusively Republican representatives, as disagreements over proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) could lead to a straight party line vote. It is imperative that we urge every Representative to vote for the Farm Bill next week!
Ongoing Coordinated Efforts
In addition to grassroots efforts, NPMA would like to provide a special THANK YOU and also acknowledge the tremendous efforts taken during this past week. Last week, 17 state associations attached their logos to personal letters that have been hand delivered to targeted Republican members in the Freedom Caucus and Tuesday Group. These are the members that need to be persuaded within the Republican Caucus, and the efforts by all those members and state associations should be lauded.
In addition to efforts in the House, several NPMA members engaged in personal phone calls and targeted letters to Senators on the Senate Agriculture Committee last week. It is our understanding that the Senate will introduce their version of the Farm Bill before the Memorial Day recess. It is imperative that the language in the House Farm Bill is also included in the Senate Farm Bill. Efforts taken by all members involved in these efforts are going a long way to highlighting our industry and the important policy initiatives that we are advocating for.
What can you do!
This is the 5th grassroots message that we’ve sent elected officials in the U.S. House of representatives in the past month, but this one couldn't be more important. Please be sure to send this NEW message, expressing the urgency and need to pass the Farm Bill. In the last month we’ve sent 886 messages, let's do that again before next Wednesday!
CLICK HERE TO SEND A FINAL MESSAGE, URGING A YES VOTE ON THE FARM BILL!
NPMA would like to announce the two winners of our grassroots random drawing last week for $100 gift cards. Congratulations to Mark Nadolski and Steven Kuhse, we greatly appreciate your dedication to the industry and your gift cards are in the mail!