By Clint Thompson
U.S. Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) expressed frustration at the Southern Peanut Growers Conference in July. Much of that was centered at the lack of momentum in getting a farm bill finalized and the wishes of some to steer more funding away from production agriculture.
“We’re used to in America walking in a gas station or a grocery store and being able to buy some groceries. Those groceries come from the farm. We have to take care of production agriculture,” Scott said. “It’s been a very tough couple of years for our farmers.”
He’s also disappointed at the lack of support generated towards producers in the Southeast. That disappointment is geared towards the current administration.
Voicing Frustration
“I’m frustrated and also very worried about where we are economically. We’re $35 trillion in debt. We have a $2.7 trillion deficit for this year. I remind you, we’re not at war and not in the middle of a COVID emergency and we’re not in a recession, and they’re still spending to the tune of a $2.7 trillion deficit. If you listen to what the pundits are saying, they’re saying Trump spent more than Biden. The deficit did go up more, but it went up because of COVID,” Scott said.
“We did things like the Farmers to Family Food Box programs where the commodity prices were so low that literally you couldn’t afford to pick the crop. It cost money. We voted for it, and I think it was the right thing to do. We bought those crops from the American farmer, and we gave them to people who didn’t have food. It was the right thing to do for the farmer, and it was the right thing to do for the American citizen.
“What’s happening now is, what they call the Inflation Reduction Act and the American Rescue Plan, that was $3 trillion of additional spending that not a single republican voted for. (President) Trump did things in a bi-partisan manner. (President) Biden has done things in a straight partisan manner.”