Farm Bill

Floor Speech

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Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, I also thank my colleague, the Senator from Colorado, for his efforts in getting this done. It has been a real bipartisan effort. We hear so much about all the infighting that goes on here, and this is certainly one of the underpinnings of our country. Again, we are working very hard to get it across the finish line. So I thank him very much.

The majority leader recently announced his intention to keep the Senate in session through the majority of August. It is the right thing to do. We have a lot of work to complete ahead of us, and our to-do list just got a little bit longer with today's excellent news. The 12 appropriations bills are at the top of that list. We have been busy clearing these bills at the committee level and now on the Senate floor. I am particularly pleased that Military Construction-VA appropriations bill was part of the first group of appropriations bills that received bipartisan approval here on the Senate floor.

While we work to ensure passage of bills that fund vital Federal programs, we must also continue to pass the important bills that authorize them. We have a chance this week to add to our list of bipartisan achievements by passing the farm bill, which was recently approved by the Ag Committee with overwhelming support from both sides of the aisle.

If you have ever been to Arkansas, I don't need to tell you how important the farm bill is to our State. You have seen it. You have seen the cotton fields, the rice silos, the chicken farms, the cattle ranches. We have it all in the Natural State. In fact, 95 percent of the land resources of Arkansas are devoted to agriculture and forestry. While there is variety in what our farmers grow or raise on their land, the family farm is a way of life shared by thousands of Arkansans.

Agriculture is a driving force of the Natural State's economy, adding $16 billion to our economy every year and accounting for approximately one in every six jobs. But the farm economy is in a much different place than the last time this Chamber debated a farm bill. That is the case not just in my home State of Arkansas; it is an issue nationwide. If you look at the numbers across the Nation, farm income is approximately half of what it was then. Farm bankruptcies are up by 39 percent since 2014; financing is becoming more expensive; input costs are rising; and the trade outlook is volatile and uncertain.

Farmers across the country, regardless of where they call home or which crops they grow, are hurting. They are experiencing the most fragile farm economy since the 1980s farm crisis. With the current farm bill set to expire at the end of September, we must pass a new one in a timely manner to provide certainty and predictability to the folks who feed and clothe our Nation and the world.

Programs authorized by the farm bill are vital to making sure that as a nation we do not become dependent on other countries for our food supply. Along with providing key risk management tools for our farmers, the farm bill also helps our rural communities by authorizing key economic development and job creation programs. It helps rural Arkansans with everything from home financing to internet access to small business loans.

The Agriculture Committee, under the leadership of Chairman Roberts and Ranking Member Stabenow, approved a fair and equitable farm bill with overwhelming bipartisan support. I was particularly pleased to see that the committee-passed mark maintained strong farm policy for producers of all stripes. These programs allow our Nation's family farms to compete in a high-risk, heavily subsidized global marketplace. As we debate amendments on the floor, we must defeat amendments that would harm the farm safety net for our producers.

Ensuring that producers across the Nation have options that meet their specific needs when those needs are so varied is a delicate balance to strive for, but the chairman and ranking member have achieved it. I appreciate what a heavy lift it is and what it took to get to this point, and I hope the Senate as a whole does as well.

I do have very deep concerns about provisions included in the substitute amendment that undermine this delicate balance. One provision in particular, aimed at bolstering small family farms, will, in fact, hurt family farms across the country. Unfortunately, we do not know exactly how deep this cut will be. The provision was not filed as an amendment, and Senators were not given time to properly read it. But I do know one thing: This will hurt farmers and the rural communities where they live. USDA estimates that my home State of Arkansas will be the third most impacted State, behind Texas and Illinois. Iowa will be the fourth most impacted State.

This provision does not discriminate against regions. It discriminates against farmers and those who feed and clothe this Nation. I am very much opposed to this language, but I am thankful that the House did not take this tack in crafting its farm policy.

I am committed to working to remove this provision before we enact a final farm bill this Congress. We must provide a farm bill that gives producers certainty and predictability without further exacerbating the difficult farm economy they are facing.

If we can commit to continuing to follow the fair and equitable approach that was exhibited when we fashioned the bill in committee, we can pass a farm bill that has a chance to become law. Let's not squander this opportunity.

Our farmers in rural America need this bill. Let's get it passed so that we can provide our farmers and ranchers with the certainty and predictability they need to succeed.

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