U.S. Senator Pat Roberts today voted against the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013 (the 2013 Farm Bill) at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Agriculture. The bill was favorably reported out of the Committee with a vote of 15-5 and now heads to the Senate floor for further consideration.

“Let me be clear,” Roberts said. “I still want to pass a Farm Bill and provide long-term certainty to farmers, ranchers, and their families in Kansas and across the country.

“However, as it stands at this point today, this is not a reform bill. This is a rearview mirror bill.”

Audio and video from today’s hearing of the Senator’s opening remarks can be found here. The full text of his prepared remarks can be found here.

Senator Roberts is senior member and former Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. He is the first member of Congress in history to serve as both Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee and Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Last year, Roberts and Chairwoman Stabenow’s Farm Bill was passed by the Senate with strong bipartisan support.