President Barack Obama signed the Agriculture Act of 2014 – better known as the farm bill – into law on Friday at Michigan State University in East Lansing. In his speech before the signing, Obama called the long-awaited bill a “Swiss Army knife” that acts as a jobs bill, innovation bill, infrastructure bill, research bill and conservation bill. The legislation will help rural communities grow, give farmers some certainty, put in place certain reforms, and help make sure America’s children don’t go hungry, Obama said. “It doesn’t include everything that I’d like to see, and I know leaders on both sides of the aisle feel the same way,” Obama said, “but it’s a good sign that Democrats and Republicans in Congress were able to come through with this bill, break the cycle of short-sighted, crisis-driven, partisan decision-making and actually get this stuff done.” The conference report passed the House of Representatives on Jan. 29 by a vote of 251-166 and the Senate on Feb. 4 with a 68-32 vote. For more detailed information on food safety aspects of the farm bill, read Food Safety News coverage of country-of-origin labeling and catfish inspection.
Lydia Zuraw is a graduate of Northwestern University with a bachelor's from the Medill School of Journalism. She was born and raised in the suburbs of Baltimore and lived in Illinois, Scotland and Washington state before returning to the East Coast.
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Editor’s Note: Food Safety News Washington D.C. correspondent Lydia Zuraw for the past two and one half years will after today be found reporting for nonprofit Kaiser Health
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