PAST BILL
URGENT: Hemp-Killing Amendment Filed for Farm Bill – Contact Your Member of Congress TODAY to defeat it
PASSED February 25, 2025
We share some very dispiriting news from Capitol Hill: There was no roll call vote on the hemp-killing Mary Miller Amendment (discussed in detail here). Instead, House Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson grouped it “en bloc” with several other amendments and subjected them to a voice vote, which passed.
This is especially disappointing because we were confident that on a roll call vote, we would win. In the 12 hours since we started our campaign, Hemp Supporters sent more than 7000 emails urging defeat of the amendment. On the ground, our lobbyists and our Board members, working closely with other industry groups — including diligent work from Americans for Healthy Alternatives and the Midwest Hemp Council — held dozens of meetings with committee members who were able to understand the nuances of the issue. Three Members of Congress spoke up at the hearing denouncing the amendment.
We had been assured on several occasions by committee staff and the Chairman personally that they would not support any effort to kill the hemp industry. But unfortunately, the decision was made by the Chairman to use a procedural tactic to avoid a separate vote on the issue. And that resulted in passage of a deeply flawed and deeply objectionable policy.
Although we lost this battle, the war is far from over. The Farm Bill will be sent to the floor of the House where its passage this year seems unlikely. Even if the House should pass the Farm Bill, the differences between House Republicans and Senate Democrats are considerable at this point. And even if the major issues dividing the parties are resolved, we continue to have many friends in both branches on both sides of the aisle who will work with us to defeat this hemp-killing language.
It’s critical that the hemp industry remain united and steadfast, and we are proud to continue to work with 32 other non-profit organizations to protect the future of all forms of hemp.
We also need your help to keep the pressure on Congress.
We’ve adjusted our email campaign – now we are asking all Representatives to vote against the Farm Bill unless the Mary Miller Amendment is removed.
Even if you have sent an email, please take another opportunity to petition your Member of Congress to urge him or her to vote to be prepared to vote against the Farm Bill unless the hemp industry-killing language is stripped out of the final draft.
