Fighting Hunger Incentive Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak very well about H.R. 641, the
Conservation Easement Incentive legislation. I get confused sometimes
by the discussion on the floor.

If I understand it, if you do it for a year or 2 years and you don't
pay for it, that is good policy, that is good legislation, that is good
for America, but if you go beyond that time, it is not good.

This is a piece of legislation that came up in 2006. In fact, my
colleague Mr. Thompson brought it up. He and Chairman Camp did it. He
and Mr. Gerlach, who retired last year, did it. This just makes good
sense.

I can tell you something about this. It is not only bipartisan, it is
bicameral. It is in the President's budget. If you are talking about
trying to work together to get somewhere, isn't this it? Isn't this it?

Sometimes, we always try to bend the rules for something else, but
this is about conservation. This is about allowing a landowner to set
property aside. So I don't care if you are a farmer or a rancher, I
don't care if you are a hunter or a hiker, I don't care if you
like to look at birds or hunt birds, there are over 65 associations
around the country that say, Please do more of this, set this ground
apart.

Now, if you are a farmer or a rancher, you can still work that
ground. All you are saying is this is a set-aside, this ground can't be
developed, we can't lose this ground.

This is so basic who we are as Americans. We are saying, Let's
preserve what we have. Let's just keep what we have. Let's make sure
that our kids can hunt, hike, and swim. Let's make sure that they can
fish. Let's make sure they can do all those wonderful things that this
land affords us to do.

Then it becomes, Gosh, this is about politics. It is not about
policy. It is good policy. It has never been paid for. I just don't
understand why, all of a sudden--now--why is it paid for?

I am only starting my third session here; but, my God, you would
never do this back home. I wouldn't do this. I am an automobile dealer.

I couldn't do this to a customer and say, Yeah, it is okay now, but
do you know what, later on, you are going to have to pay me for it.

And they say, Wait a minute, I thought you gave it to me.

No, no. We are going to take it back.

Mr. Speaker, there are millions of acres that have been set aside
now. Why not give some permanency to this? We talk about tax reform.
Let's give it some permanency. Let's do what makes sense for all of
America.

Let's talk about preserving America's ground and making sure it
doesn't go under development. People can still farm it, and they can
still ranch on it. It just makes good sense.

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Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I am just asking our friends
on the other side, let's think about what is good for the people we
represent and not what is just good for the moment.

We have always done this in the past. It has only become a problem
now because it is not a 1-year extender or a 2-year extender. Now, all
of a sudden, we say, Well, let's just let people know this is the way
it is always going to be from now until all time.

But, no, that is a bad idea to do that. You don't want to give
anybody certainty. You don't want to give anybody permanency.

There is no time in my life that I would ever say to my friends, my
family, or anybody I represent, This is just a temporary thing for me.
Tomorrow, I may have a change of heart.

I just ask my friends, H.R. 641--Mr. Thompson is on this piece. Let's
make sure that we move forward for America. Let's make sure that we set
ground aside for the future.

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Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. I could not be in better or more agreement
with you. I have watched for 6 years--an opportunity in a country with
the greatest assets in the world--watched our working class, our
middle-income people, our lower-income people suffer the greatest harm
they have ever had in their life.

If this is truly about getting America back to work, putting food in
the mouths of our children and being able to do all these things, the
only one way to do that is to have a dynamic and robust economy. That
is what I think we need to do.

I have watched it for 6 years. It is appalling what we have allowed
to have happen in a country that has been blessed with so many things.
It is just bad policy. We can't get beyond the politics. That is what
is hurting our people.

It is not the fact that this is not being paid for because we are not
manipulating it for a year or 2. The whole purpose of why we should be
here is let's raise all America. Let's get everybody looking up, being
able to feed everybody. We shouldn't have to have programs for people
who can't take care of themselves because, by their very nature, they
can do that. We have all of that potential.

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