Davids Joins Constituent Grocery Shopping, Discusses Her Work to Lower Grocery Costs

Today, Representative Sharice Davids accompanied a local Mission resident to shop for groceries to hear their concerns and discuss her bipartisan work to lower grocery prices. Earlier this year, Davids helped introduce legislation to protect America’s food and agriculture supply chains and prevent disruptions that inflate grocery costs for consumers.

“Even though we’ve seen progress in strengthening our agricultural supply chains, there’s more work to do to lower grocery costs for hardworking families,” said Davids. “Today, I got to speak with a member of our community about how bipartisan legislation I introduced would help lower those prices and build an economy that works for everyone.”

The bipartisan Securing American Agriculture Act would:

• Require the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to conduct an annual assessment to evaluate:
  • American critical agricultural input supply chains that could be exploited by the People’s Republic of China (PRC);
  • Current domestic production capacity for specified critical inputs;
  • Current and potential bottlenecks in the food and agriculture supply chain.
• Require the Secretary of Agriculture to provide recommendations to mitigate potential threats from the People’s Republic of China and for legislative and regulatory actions to reduce barriers to domestic critical input production.

While our economy is experiencing record job creation, the cost of groceries remains too high. To help lower those costs, Davids, who was named a "Champion of the Shippers," has worked to shore up our domestic supply chains, which eases

inflationary pressures for Kansans. Davids’ additional work to lower grocery costs and strengthen supply chains include:

• Voting to pass the Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act to shore up the food and agriculture supply chain, assure fair competition in the meat and poultry sectors, and lower food and gasoline costs.
• Supporting the Price Gouging Prevention Act so big corporations can’t take advantage of consumers at the grocery store.
• Holding multipleroundtables with Kansas business, manufacturing, and technology leaders on how recent legislation to improve supply chains will help boost their businesses' financial security.
• Cosponsoring the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, a new law aimed at addressing supply chain snags and reducing dependence on goods produced outside of the United States.
• Meeting with President Biden at the White House to urge him to pass a supply chain and economic package that invests in American manufacturing.
• Working a "Sharice's Shift" at a local Price Chopper, where she helped store employees unload deliveries from shipping trucks, stock grocery shelves, and bag groceries.

As a member of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, Davids has called on both sides of the aisle to come together to pass a bipartisan Farm Bill that supports Kansas farmers and lowers costs by securing agricultural supply chains. Earlier this year, Davids hosted USDA Secretary Xochitl Torres Small and other policymakers in Olathe to discuss the successes and challenges of Kansas producers alongside local agricultural professionals.