Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today released the following statement regarding a new report by the Joint Economic Committee detailing the key role that agricultural exports are playing in the U.S. economy. The report, The Economic Contribution of America's Farmers and the Importance of Agricultural Exports, shows that the value of agricultural exports have doubled over the last decade and growth in developing countries is expected to increase demand for American agricultural exports even further. The U.S. is the world’s leading exporter of agricultural products, with exports reaching a record high of $141.3 billion last year.
“I applaud Sen. Klobuchar and the Joint Economic Committee for highlighting the important role that agricultural exports are playing in the U.S. economy. Agriculture is a bright spot as our economy gets back on track and represents one of the few areas where we actually have a trade surplus. And as the report clearly shows, more exports mean more jobs here at home.
“This is one of the many reasons why we must get a comprehensive, five-year Farm Bill done now. Agriculture supports 16 million American jobs, and the Senate’s bipartisan Farm Bill will create jobs, reform agriculture policy and reduce the deficit by tens of billions of dollars. House Republican leaders must now make good on their word, finally appoint conferees and work with us in a bipartisan way to get this done. We are only days away from the expiration of the Farm Bill, so it’s critical that we move ahead immediately.”