September 15, 2022

Duckworth Meets with Illinois Farm Bureau, Touts Benefits of Inflation Reduction Act

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) met with Illinois Farm Bureau members and leadership this week to discuss how the Inflation Reduction Act and the 2023 Farm Bill will help support our nation’s farmers and rural communities. During the meeting, Duckworth and the group also emphasized that protecting our state’s waterways and transportation infrastructure, as well as working to minimize supply chain disruptions are critical components of supporting and growing Illinois’s agriculture industry.

“America has always depended on our nation’s farmers and ranchers to grow the food and fuel we need,” Duckworth said. “The work of Illinois’s farmers is so important to the strength of our state and our nation, and from working on the Inflation Reduction Act which includes historic resources for homegrown fuels to advocating for Illinois’s farmers in the upcoming agriculture bill, I’m proud to support our state’s farmers and working families.”

Earlier this year, Duckworth helped announce that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) allocated $829.1 million in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP) on the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS). This ecosystem restoration and navigation improvement project will update two Lock & Dams and build another which will make it easier for farmers with agricultural products to navigate the waterway.

Signed into law last month by President Biden, the Inflation Reduction Act that Duckworth championed will provide $500 million to expand the number of service stations that offer low-carbon ethanol and biodiesel, made from Illinois corn and soybeans. These climate-smart investments in Midwestern-grown fuels will also reduce our reliance on Middle Eastern oil, which strengthens our national security and helps reduce costs at the pump for consumers. In June, Duckworth applauded the Biden Administration’s announcement that it will publish the ethanol blending mandates for 2020, 2021 and 2022 at levels that more closely resemble American consumption levels and help farmers and biofuel producers prepare for the future.

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