Bennie Thompson

Congressman Thompson has been a long supporter of Agriculture. On Congressman Thompson’s voting record, he has never voted against a Farm Bill during his nine terms in Congress. The Farm Bill is the primary policy tool for agriculture and food policy in the United States. Our most recent Farm Bill was enacted in May of 2008. It contains 15 titles covering support for commodity crops, horticulture and livestock production, conservation, nutrition, trade and food aid, agricultural research, farm credit, rural development, energy, forestry, and other related programs. It also includes provisions that make certain changes to tax laws, to offset some new spending initiatives in the final bill. The enacted bill succeeds the most recent 2002 farm bill and is to guide most federal farm and food policies through 2012.

Congressman Thompson has diligently fought to reverse discrimination in the higher education system of Mississippi as an original plaintiff in the Ayers Desegregation Case. He has historically used the court system as an avenue for change on the local, state, and federal levels; lawsuits include efforts to have duly elected officials assume office, state redistricting efforts and played an instrumental role in the Black farmers case – paving the way for more than 20,000 farmers to file under the consent decree. In conclusion, Congressman Thompson believes that our courts should provide rulings of non-biased justice, that hiring and promotional practices should flow evenly and fluidly across genders lines, that small business owners should be afforded the opportunity to take advantage of expansion opportunities which will aid in their development and growth and that the everyday citizens should be able to function without the threat of encroachment or violation of their civil rights.

Mississippi continues to face tremendous challenges as we confront our health care needs. In fact, all twenty-three counties in the Second District are medically under-served and many citizens are unable to afford health coverage. To help address these challenges Democrats introduced the Affordable Care Act of 2010 to improve the quality of healthcare and insurance coverage for 315,000 residents. The law extends coverage to 95,000 uninsured residents and allows 16,500 residents with preexisting conditions to obtain coverage just in Mississippi’s Second District alone.

At the end of FY2010, the Veterans population in the United States was approximately 22.6 million. Congressman Thompson is and has been a consistent supporter of our armed fighting forces and veterans, making sure that these 22.6 million heroes get the services they deserve. Congressman Thompson is committed to ensuring that Veterans are provided the very best services. He has worked to ensure that funds are wisely appropriated for VA to improve the quality of life for Veterans and the efficiency of their operations innovatively and transparently as they deliver on the enduring promises of Presidents and the obligations of the American people to our Veterans.