Durbin Talks With Illinois Soybean Association

Durbin Talks With Illinois Soybean Association

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today met members of the Illinois Soybean Association. During their meeting, they discussed the expensive costs of farming, the high price of losing Illinois soybean markets in China to Brazil as a result of U.S. trade policy, and the broken Farm Bill process. The group also advocated for keeping biodiesel goals strong when approving the all-year sale of E-15 - a bill supported by Durbin. For the past several years, Durbin has secured an emergency waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to allow for the biofuel's summertime sale.

"Today, I spoke with members of the Illinois Soybean Association to discuss the farm economy. I believe those now in charge in Washington have broken their promise to farmers, because today's constant, chaotic policies are making farming far too expensive," said Durbin. "The Trump Administration is also attacking farm research, which if not stopped, will hand global leadership in this area to China. I encouraged the Illinois Soybean Association to maintain their support for three important projects targeted by the Trump Administration: the USDA Agriculture Research Lab in Peoria, and the two labs at the University of Illinois, the Soybean Innovation Lab, and the National Soybean Germplasm Collection."

Photos of the meeting are available here.

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