Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2026
Floor Speech
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Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, instead of a clean CR, this bill contains language that has been air-dropped in that will destroy hemp farming in Kentucky and across the United States.
Tucked away on page 163, title VII, division B of this spending package is a provision that will shut down the hemp industry across the United States. My amendment would strip the provision designed to regulate the hemp industry to death.
The bill as it now stands overrides the regulatory frameworks of several States, cancels the collective decisions of hemp consumers, and destroys the livelihoods of hemp farmers. And it couldn't come at a worse time for America farmers. Times are tough for our farmers. Farmers' costs have increased as the price of fertilizer and machinery have jumped, while prices for their crops, like soybean, corn, and wheat, have declined.
For many farmers, hemp has proved to be a lifeline, a new cash crop. Farmers turn to growing hemp to mitigate the losses they endured during this season of hardship. But that lifeline may soon be extinguished by this very legislation.
The effective hemp ban included in this spending package is a result, we are told, of bad actors skirting the legal limits by overly enhancing the concentration of THC in their products. The hemp industry, myself, and others have come together, and we have been willing to negotiate to get rid of the bad actors. Yet, instead, we are met with legislation that would be prohibition.
Members of the industry, myself, and others who are advocates of this have been willing to get rid of synthetic cannabinoids, willing to compromise at every turn, but we are met with the numbers in this bill, which will eradicate the hemp industry.
For the last several weeks, we have offered proposals with the goal of creating an environment in which the hemp industry could thrive and sell products, and we have been met with those who want to prohibit the industry from continuing.
This bill's per-serving THC content limit would make illegal any hemp product that contains more than 0.4 milligrams. That would be nearly 100 percent of the existing market. The numbers put forward in this bill will eliminate 100 percent of the hemp products in our country. That amounts to an effective ban because the limit is so low that the products intended to manage pain or anxiety will lose their effect.
The States have done what they are supposed to. The States have instituted laws. Twenty-three States have instituted laws on hemp. None of them have limits anywhere close to what is being proposed in this bill. So what will happen is most of the things that your States have regulated, are regulating, and have made legal will be made illegal by this bill. This bill will effectively preempt and nullify all State laws concerning hemp.
Currently, Maine limits THC to 3 milligrams per serving; that will be overruled. My home State limits THC to 5 milligrams in beverages; that will be overruled. Minnesota, Utah, and Louisiana also have 5 milligrams per serving. Alabama and Georgia have 10 milligrams. Tennessee has 15 milligrams. The bill before us nullifies all these State laws and makes the hemp industry kaput.
The language in this bill will outlaw all current hemp plants and seeds. It changes the definition of what a hemp plant is. It makes it so low that there may not even be an existing plant that can meet the parameters. But every plant in the country will have to be destroyed. Every hemp seed in the country will have to be destroyed. This is the most thoughtless, ignorant proposal to an industry that I have seen in a long, long time.
The States have made progress, and more progress is coming. Most States have age limits.
To add insult to injury, we are given this legislation in an appropriations bill. We have Senate rules against this.
So I would recommend that we vote for this amendment, and my amendment would strip out the language.
I would transfer the remainder of my time to Senator Merkley.
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