Agriculture & Rural Development
Farmers, ranchers, and producers are the backbone of America's more than $1 trillion dollar agriculture industry. Georgia's agriculture industry generates $ billion annually. As a leader of the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, the Co-Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Chicken Caucus, and Co-Chair of the Congressional Peanut Caucus, Congressman Bishop is one of agriculture's most steadfast supporters in Congress, directing crucial funds to federal programs that build our rural communities, support agriculture, and ensure that America has the safest, most abundant, and affordable food, fiber, and medicine.
Congressman Bishop is also a member of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, where he helps oversee and craft federal agriculture policy and programs through the Farm Bill. He works diligently to protect farmers and help them recover from natural disasters, fights against overbearing regulatory burdens, strengthen America’s nutrition programs, improve the H2-A program for non-immigrant agricultural workers, advance education and research that makes agriculture more efficient and resilient, promote fair trade and treatment of American agriculture goods in international markets.
More on Agriculture & Rural Development
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) announced that the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is awarding $20 million for projects that will restore and protect longleaf pine forests in Georgia.
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), the top Democrat on the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food & Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, outlined his opposition to and voted against H.R. 8646, the subcommittee’s Fiscal Year 2027 funding bill.
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, Reps. Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) and Scott Franklin (FL-18) reintroduced their bipartisan Land Grant Research Prioritization Act, H.R. 7734, which would help give land grant universities dedicated access to existing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant funding to enhance artificial intelligence (AI), mechanization and other research.
WASHINGTON – Rep. Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), alongside Reps. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (GA-01) and Rick Allen (GA-12), introduced the Farmers’ AID Relief Act, amending the Hurricane Insurance Protection - Wind Index (HIP-WI) program to better serve farmers affected by hurricane damage.
WASHINGTON – Specialty Crop Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Sanford Bishop (GA-02), Rep. Jim Costa (CA-21), Rep. David Rouzer (NC-07), and Rep. David Valadao (CA-22), joined by 103 Members of Congress, sent a bipartisan letter to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees urging immediate and equitable relief for specialty crop producers.
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), a senior member of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, opposed the passage of H.R. 5371, a partial, temporary funding bill. During debate on the bill, Congressman Bishop noted the bill left behind millions of Americans facing the imminent, drastic increase in their health insurance premium costs as well as the ongoing attacks by the administration against nutrition programs that benefit farmers and families.
COLUMBUS, Ga. – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), the Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, responded to rulings by federal judges in Rhode Island and Massachusetts that require the Trump Administration to use existing contingency funds to support the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beyond November 1.
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) voted against a bill that would take back $9.4 billion in funds that were already Congressionally approved and signed into law. These funds were approved by Congress and signed into law earlier this year. H.R. 4 was previously considered by the U.S. House but was since modified by the U.S. Senate to restore $400 million in funds for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, A George W. Bush-era program which has helped prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths a year.
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr., (GA-02) joined Congressman Buddy Carter (GA-01) and the entire Georgia Delegation to introduce H.R. 1596, a bill that would designate the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Poultry Research Center in Athens, Georgia, as the Abit Massey Poultry Research Center.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr., (GA-02), the top Democrat serving on the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Agriculture, Rural Development, the Food & Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, commended the decision to reinstate the 1890s Land Grant University Scholars Program which is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).