(NAFB.com) – House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member David Scott says the discussion draft of the farm bill released by Chairman GT Thompson “confirms his worst fears.” He accuses Republicans of planning to pay for the farm bill by taking food out of the mouths of hungry children. “They’re also restricting farmers from receiving the climate-smart conservation funding they so desperately need,” Scott adds. “The draft also bars the USDA from providing financial assistance to farmers in times of crisis.” The National Pork Producers Council applauded Thompson’s discussion draft, saying he listened to stakeholders before putting pen to paper. “He addressed the most pressing issues facing agriculture, and that’s how government should work,” says NPPC President Lori Stevermer. Among the key inclusions in Thompson’s draft are legislative solutions to the problems triggered by California’s Proposition 12 and language preserving the resources needed to protect the nation’s food supply through foreign animal disease prevention.