Cleveland Reporter

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On July 27, Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11) joined colleagues Congressman Ro Khanna (CA-17), Congressman Max Miller (OH-7), and Congressman Marc Molinaro (NY-19) to unveil a bipartisan bill to create a more resilient, diverse, and secure food supply chain, bring jobs to economically distressed communities and lower food prices for Americans across the country. Congresswoman Brown is a co-lead on the legislation and a member of the House Committee on Agriculture.  

The pandemic highlighted vulnerabilities across the entire food supply chain that date back decades. It created shortages in certain foods, increased logistics costs for farmers, and led to bottlenecks that prevented agricultural products from getting to market. American consumers and farmers were the ones who had to pay the price as food prices soared. 

The Food Supply Chain Capacity and Resiliency Act (H.R. 4873) would address these disruptions by authorizing the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support new investments in the food supply chain in the United States. 

“Strengthening our food supply chain will lower prices, create jobs, and make our economy more resilient. I am proud to lead this bipartisan legislation with Congressman Khanna, Congressman Miller, and Congressman Molinaro to support new investments in American agriculture and make trips to the grocery store more affordable for Ohio families,” said Congresswoman Shontel Brown.

“We need action to get food prices back under control for Americans,” said Congressman Khanna. “More than two years of a devastating pandemic has caused massive supply chain disruptions and made it difficult for regular families to afford things like eggs, milk, and baby formula. I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan bill to not only lower costs for Americans, but also help create jobs here at home and support American farmers.”

 “The Food Supply Chain Capacity and Resiliency Act will address steep challenges faced by U.S. agriculture and consumers alike in the food supply chain. It will help create a more robust and accessible food supply while boosting jobs and economic security,” said Congressman Max Miller.

 “The COVID-19 pandemic exposed weak links in New York’s regional supply chain that have resulted in higher food prices. This bipartisan bill strengthens federal support for projects related to food processing, storage, distribution, and other operations that bring our food from the farm and to the grocery store. With this bill, we are taking action to make sure that our food is safe, affordable, and accessible,” said Congressman Molinaro. 

Bill text can be found here.

Original source can be found here.