AFP criticizes dairy farm bailout bill in New Hampshire

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) recently expressed its displeasure with the decision from the New Hampshire House in regard to passing Senate Bill 10, which will provide a $2 million bailout to the state's dairy farmers. 

"Bailing out any single industry is a terrible policy and sends the message that our Legislature is open to cronyism," AFP-NH State Director Greg Moore said of the decision in a recent statement. The legislation now allows a $2 million dairy farmer bailout if needed. 

“If this were about actual disaster relief, it would not pick winners and losers and give a taxpayer-funded bailout to only one group," Moore said. "The clear message of this bill is that if you have the right connections, you can get the state to hand you a check and if you don’t know the right people, you get nothing.”

By the legislature singling out dairy farmers, Moore explained they "avoided the normal budgetary process which means that dairy farmers won’t have to compete with other state interests for funding."

The bill skipped the Finance Committee, Moore said in the statement. By doing this, "the House is making the statement that having the taxpayers pay for a bailout to dairy farmers is a higher priority than every other state priority, such as the opiate crisis, services to the developmentally disabled and education funding,” he said.