Vote Alert: Pass a $900 billion farm bill with socialist policies

This vote was to pass a $900 billion farm bill to fund crony capitalist farm subsidies and food stamps for the next five years.

When Republicans gained control of Congress in 2014, they promised to fix many of the problems that plagued the 2014 version of this monstrous conglomeration of the nation’s food stamp program and crony capitalist agriculture subsidies. Four years later, with a Republican president, Congress passed a farm bill around 1200 pages that kept in place the old bill’s problems and increased spending.

The bill is chock-full of government handouts, bailouts, subsidies, and regulations that favor big agribusiness in America at the expense of the taxpayer. This bill touches every sector of the American economy, from commodities, subsidies for high-speed internet, and price controls on sugar and milk to tariffs and food stamps, creating market distortions and spending taxpayer dollars like drunken leftists.

One key promise Republicans made when they only controlled the House was to separate food stamps from agriculture programs and create two bills. This wasn’t even up for discussion. Modest reforms like new work requirements for welfare were scrapped from the bill to appease Senate Democrats who threaten to filibuster any conservative reforms they don’t like. The bill expands spending for nearly every program President Trump’s budget requested cuts for. Far from draining the swamp, this legislation gives handouts to big crony capitalist farmers to help them shut out smaller competitors.

And the cost of these market-distorting, monopolizing, soft-socialist policies? Nearly $1 trillion. A vote for this bill, from a conservative perspective, is inexcusable.

The U.S. Senate voted to pass the farm bill on December 11, 2018, at 3:58 p.m. in a roll call vote of 87-13.

The House of Representatives voted to pass the farm bill on December 12, 2018, at 4:13 p.m. in a roll call vote of 369 – 47.

To see how your elected officials stack up or other votes that compose the Liberty Score, view our full scorecard here.

CR position: NO

U.S. Senate

YEAs — 87

Alexander (R-TN)

Baldwin (D-WI)

Bennet (D-CO)

Blumenthal (D-CT)

Blunt (R-MO)

Booker (D-NJ)

Boozman (R-AR)

Brown (D-OH)

Burr (R-NC)

Cantwell (D-WA)

Capito (R-WV)

Cardin (D-MD)

Carper (D-DE)

Casey (D-PA)

Cassidy (R-LA)

Collins (R-ME)

Coons (D-DE)

Corker (R-TN)

Cornyn (R-TX)

Cortez Masto (D-NV)

Crapo (R-ID)

Cruz (R-TX)

Daines (R-MT)

Donnelly (D-IN)

Duckworth (D-IL)

Durbin (D-IL)

Ernst (R-IA)

Feinstein (D-CA)

Fischer (R-NE)

Gardner (R-CO)

Gillibrand (D-NY)

Graham (R-SC)

Harris (D-CA)

Hassan (D-NH)

Hatch (R-UT)

Heinrich (D-NM)

Heitkamp (D-ND)

Heller (R-NV)

Hirono (D-HI)

Hoeven (R-ND)

Hyde-Smith (R-MS)

Inhofe (R-OK)

Isakson (R-GA)

Jones (D-AL)

Kaine (D-VA)

King (I-ME)

Klobuchar (D-MN)

Lankford (R-OK)

Leahy (D-VT)

Manchin (D-WV)

Markey (D-MA)

McCaskill (D-MO)

McConnell (R-KY)

Menendez (D-NJ)

Merkley (D-OR)

Moran (R-KS)

Murphy (D-CT)

Murray (D-WA)

Nelson (D-FL)

Perdue (R-GA)

Peters (D-MI)

Portman (R-OH)

Reed (D-RI)

Risch (R-ID)

Roberts (R-KS)

Rounds (R-SD)

Sanders (I-VT)

Sasse (R-NE)

Schatz (D-HI)

Schumer (D-NY)

Scott (R-SC)

Shaheen (D-NH)

Shelby (R-AL)

Smith (D-MN)

Stabenow (D-MI)

Sullivan (R-AK)

Tester (D-MT)

Thune (R-SD)

Tillis (R-NC)

Udall (D-NM)

Van Hollen (D-MD)

Warner (D-VA)

Warren (D-MA)

Whitehouse (D-RI)

Wicker (R-MS)

Wyden (D-OR)

Young (R-IN)

NAYs — 13

Barrasso (R-WY)

Cotton (R-AR)

Enzi (R-WY)

Flake (R-AZ)

Grassley (R-IA)

Johnson (R-WI)

Kennedy (R-LA)

Kyl (R-AZ)

Lee (R-UT)

Murkowski (R-AK)

Paul (R-KY)

Rubio (R-FL)

Toomey (R-PA)

House of Representatives*

*Minority party (Democrats) in italics

YEAs — 369

NAYs — 47

Not Voting — 16

*Minority party (Democrats) in italics