i am now going to recognize he has a prior commitment from his three minutes of commentary. >> thank you mr. chairman. i have a fairly reserve statement. don't assume i don't have strong views on some thing that is might come up today. i thank chairman roberts, ranking member stavanagh in getting you all to this point putting together a bill of this size and complexity is no small task. this legislation will impact every citizen and nearly every acre of land in america. there are several pieces of this legislation that i like very

much and support. the market access and form market development programs being funds, they are important they promote our products abroad. i think there is verycepsable and much needed reforms to the program that should help refocus it. in iowa we had some land owners getting over $300 an acre. it was making it hard for young and beginning farmers to compete for land against the government. well established governors had land taken away from them because it was enrolled at these lucrative rates. they were incensed about being out for knowing our national debt is 20 trillion. i commend my colleague from iowa

for her leadership in this area. i would like to hear from other members about the adequacy before high yielding land would go in so we get more bank for taxpayers dollars and it shouldn't be given consideration over other land. on crop insurance i'm happy to see we maintained a very strong program. the changes that clarify in the crop insurance program for covered crop shall not effect the insure blt of subsequent crops. in iowa covered crops are becoming very popular. they help reduce runoff that

hurts the environment. the commodity is very important. a few crops have price triggers that are extremely high. when they have a ten year average to determine price of that crop it's hard to explain how that is a safety net and not simply i -- i was to help water and wastewater utilities to find reasons to clean the clean. instead of these utilities building expensive water

treatment plants they can be giving it is something we ought to be concentrating on. i'm disappointed it does not include common sense reforms that are offered on program eligibility while an old sbil perfect we hope to be moving things in the right direction eefr time we take up a piece of legislation tliek. i will also say i'm we do no for cbo. we'll provide certainly to our chairman roberts remind me several times over the last week. thank you. >> i thank the senator. i want to point out again -- i will tap this gavel if we exceed three minutes. we simply have to get this bill

down. this is absolutely pa

paramount. >> single overriding responsibility is to the men, women and farm families in america who today are in difficult and too many in desperate times. it is not an exaggeration to say that our nations food and fiber. so let us begin and let us get this done of. >> the ranking member and i have try today dress many of those as

with and are 66 amts. m we are engaged in this together. we are continuing to craft a farm bill across all crops, all of agriculture that's struggle, not just one or two commodities. we must have a bill that works across our entire country. we must ensure that our conservation programs are keeping farmland and operation while protecting our lands and other natural resources. we must focus on kmils. when trade policy uncertainty we must provide for our research

programs. sit a national security challenge. show me a country that can not feed itself and i'll show you a nation in chaos. we have re-examined programs to determine their effectiveness. we must ensure they agriculture and the farm bill has consistently answered to the call to do more or less every time. to those who say passing a farm bill in this environment is a

daunting task i say together that we can get this done. we must embrace the at to do of our producers and ingenuity. and together we can, we must pass a bill that provides the men and women much needed certainty and predictability they so deserve. i turn to my colleague for her opening remarks. >> thank you very much. first of all i want to say it is a great pleasure to work with you as partners in this econo . committee. they may not have had a lot of star but worked as partners and skilled professionals, both of

our team. we greatly appreciate their hard work. we made a commitment to deliver a bipartisan farm bill for our farmers, our families and our rural communities. we have stayed true to our word to support our diverse about i agricultural economy. this supports michigan, kansas, for the states represented on this important committee and for every part of the farm bill coalition. we focussed on listening to people who have a stake in the farm bill. from farmers and rural leaders to conservationists and good advocates, we heard loud and clear they need the certainty of a five-year farm bill. americas farmers and actors

especially need a reliability safety net to protect them from the risks they face every day, as the chairman spoke about. when a year's worth of work can be erased by a single day of bad weather, farmers rely on strong risk management tools. making improvements for our dairy farmers was one of my top priorities, as for many members on my side and i know this has been a passion for us and i appreciate all of our working together on this. in addition to the $1.1 billion we secured in the bipartisan budget act and again i have to say thank you to senator lahey for his incredible leadership, we replaced the margin protection farm and invested an additional $100 million to improve affordability and flexibility. while it is true we face a tight budget, we were still able to work together to protect some of

the most important parents of the farm bill and continue to expand the coalition engaged in our food and farm system. new support for fete vans, in addition to permanent investments for beginning farmers helps build the bench for the next generation of agriculture for years to come. permanent mandatory funding for both international trade and investments in farmers markets and local food systems help producers sell their products both at home and abroad. incentives for healthy food means more nutritional food for families. investments in cutting edge agricultural research help us be more productive and more profitable. and we made these critical investments without cutting key programs like conservation. this bill has no overall cuts to the conservation title, which helps our farmers be more

productive and protects our land and water. by focussing on innovative public-private partnerships we will grow funding ining to sup locally led conservation. i want to thank senator ernst for joining me. just as the farm bill supports farmers and landowners, it also supports families and communities. we work to find common ground to improve the integrity of nutrition assistance and help families find good paying stable jobs. we made historic investments to support tribal communities. we also protected and expanded

initiatives that create rural jobs and ensure families can enjoy a high quality of life no matter where they live. one of the things sorely needed, and i know we all agree this is needed in rural communities, is reliable high-speed internet. in my home state alone, there are nearly one million people in rural michigan who lack access. our bill includes new opportunities that will connect rural households, schools and businesses that need it most. we strengthen job opportunities by continuing strong investments in bio-based manufacturing and we found ways to improve the health of rural families. new prioritized support for water infrastructure will address harmful con ttaminants drinking water. the opoid epidemic devastated far too many small towns and families across the country. on every title, on every page

you can see that this truly is a farm bill that needs critical priorities across our country. again, i want to thank all the members of the committee. we could go around this table and each member has important provisions in this bill. and has made important contributions. and we thank everyone for that. you have brought valuable ideas to the table and you have worked hard to make sure we can get here today. and again i want to thank my great partner, senator roberts for all of the long hours and hard work we have done together to write the farm bill that makes sense for our farmers, ranchers, rural communities and families. mr. chairman, now let's pass the farm bill. >> i thank the senator. i want to associate myself with her remarks with regards to staff. you are only as good as your staff and we have the best. that goes for everybody here, the committee members and their staff, having been a staffer for 14 years, i have a special

feeling about that. but this was a daunting task. and they spent a lot of hours way into the evening early this morning, you know, still trying to put this together. senator boseman. >> right off the bat i want to thank you and the ranking member for their hard work over the last several months. y'all are great and work hard but your staffs are excellent, so we really approaeciate that. for crafting a bipartisan peace of legislation when budgets are tight and tough choices must be made. as we are all aware the farm citi cities, net farm income is half of what it was then. farm bankruptcies are up. financing is becoming more

expensive. income costs are rising. farmers across the country and regardless of which state they reside in and what crops they grow are hurting. now is not the time to be cutting the farm safety net program. we must provide a timely farm bill to provide certainly to the folks who feed and clothe the nation and the world for which we can be very proud. i was particularly pleased to see the chairman and ranking members maintained strong safety nets. this bill also improves programs to the veterans to help them become involved in agriculture. i was also pleased to see my amendments were included in the managers package. i want to acknowledge the partnership program is an excellent tool for bringing partnerships and additional nonfederal funding to the conservation effort. my hometa benefitted from the rise partnership

efforts of ducks inlimited, arkansas rise, nrcs. it is being significant and meaningful. ever have concerns regarding the changes that will allow 30% of the funding to be allocated as grants to these organizations. the vision has always been the best of government and the best of partnerships working for the producers and the natural resources. the program is delivered in this regard, but i fear we are opening the door to conservation dollars being diverted to organization capacity building and supporting certain organization members, rather than continuing to leverage private funding to the benefit of many producers in a given region. my constituents at home have also reached out with concerns regarding changes to the food ait p aid provisions. i'm afreud we could harm the

long-term viability for them by turning cash based rather than commodity based. as the chairman has reiterated through this process, we must provide our farmers and ranchers with certain predictability. we must ensure it reaches all farmers that we do not attack or cut down one region to prop up another. again, i look forward to getting this thing passed and thanks again to y'all and your staffs. >> thank you, senator. >> thank you. we have worked together in a bipartisan way to draft this 2018 farm bill. it's actually an example of what the senate could achieve without rank and rhetoric and focus on the real challenges we face. and this committee has a long and well deserved reputation for

that. mrs. chairman, i think of your predecessor or dear friend of both of us, bob dole when he was here. i remember working closely with hubert humphrey. you got two people poles apart philosophically. and they would work together and come up with good agriculture legislation, joined it. you have done the same and the senator has. i know in our state, vermont farmers and families rely on the support and guidance of the farm bill so our farms, both large and small and productive, that their children are nourished, the air, land and water protected and this bill makes important improvements in all of these. rural communities across vermont and every corner of america, represented every single state here would directly benefit from this bill. that's where we set our

priorities, just like our spending bills. farmers everywhere face increasingly difficult times. vermont is no exception. our dairy farm, the backbone of many of our communities faced significant challenges in recent years. it is a very hard time for them. i see them working 365 days a year, enormous hours, very difficult work. and i see the deaths and the despair in many of these people who have been generations of the backbone of our communities, true the best of vermont. so this bill is another opportunity to provide the support and security the dairy farmers deserve, with higher levels of risk coverage under the risk coverage program. also accounts to provide nutritional support for our citizens as well as reduce hunger worldwide, continued

programs like mcgovern-dole. and i like what is done in the organic industry. when i first wrote that bill, when i was chairman of this committee, none of us would imagine it would turn into a $50 billion industry. so it's a good bill. it's a bipartisan bill. i'll put my whole statement in the record, but mr. chairman, two committees i so enjoy serving on, this one and appropriations because republicans and democrats work together in the way the senate should and has in the past and can work. so i thank you. >> i thank the senator from vermont. thank you, mr. chairman and ranking member. thank s to you and your staff members. we drafted the bipartisan bill we earmarking up today.

unlike the last three bills that i have been involved with in farm bills as a member, today we're writing a farm bill during an extended economic downturn. and the ag community, the future is clouded by the uncertain economic conditions that we're facing today. mrs. chairman, over the past 14 months, i have introduced 11 marker bills, some with members on the other side of the aisle that i believe offer sound policy, some to improve management flexibility for use of land enrolled in crp and other conservation easements, along with senators brown and grassly, we offered a bill that would more equitable distribute commodity program payments across all regions of the united states and across all commodities by adjusting reference prices that exceed 100% of the market price average for those crops. more than 77% of all based acres

in the united states are enrolled in arc, which not only provides price protection, but also provides production loss protection. however, arc did not receive the changes needed to make this program an effective safety net of the next farm bill. our bill also offering the safings to taxpayers by directing assistance with bases on land that is actually being cropped. under current policy there are thousands of acres of land with bases that have not been farmed for years. yet this land is still receiving commodity type payments. i would argue that is not good policy. i spent the last two days in an effort to modify arc. however, we simply ran out of time to make the necessary adjustments and get them scored by the cbo. creating good policy and savings is often painful and unpopular, which is why many much needed changes are not made. i feel we could have made some unpopular decisions in this bill

that would have resulted in better policy. but there are chose who chose to put those changes off for a better way. the conservation title is critically important to my home state of south dakota and several proposals that would improve the management. they have been included in the chairman's mark and management package, which i approaeciatapp. mrs. chairman, we have all have additional policies we would like included this in bill, but in the end we have a bill that will help address the challenges of today's cultural economy and i look forward to its consideration. thank you. >> senator gillibrant. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i did not prepare an opening statement, but i will just briefly summarize the amendments i hope we get to talk about today. one is to help dairy farmers. we worked hard on a bill because

in new york state today our dairy farmers are not only living on poverty wages but many are going out of business and commuting suicide. helping the dairy farmers is one of my highest priorities because giving relief to them now is crucial. when a darely farm goes out of business, the land gets sold. it is developed. it is gone forever. we have talked about production of food as a national security priority. that, in fact, if you relegate production of certain foods to one part of the state, one part of the country, any problem whether it's a draught in california, nuclear fall-outcoming across from japan, it literally changes whether we can produce wholesome food in that part of the country. we want to make sure dairy stays in places like california, wisconsin, new york and vermont. thank you, amy, for working so hard on that bill. another amendment i want to pull

up is about nay tors. normally if they like a certain chemical they use for wheat killing or bug killing, we generally side with our producers. but there are a class of chemicals that kill bees. i don't think we will get to vote on this today, but we might be able to call it up on the floor. i just want to highlight it for you to inform yourselves that just listening to producers and not knowing the science behind what could change whether we could produce crops in this country is really important to me. the snap provisions are super important for new york state. we have a lot of families struggling to just feed their kids. and one of my amendments is to make it possible if you are a full-time care frifr, if you have a special needs child at home, an elderly parent, you can

be eligible for food stamps. so i want to talk about that in this committee long-term. and then last a rural jobs and investment bill. this is a bill that the chairman and the ranking member have been working with me. it is supported by all of the advocacy groups that care deeply about agriculture in this country. it is a make sense bill we could provide in a future managers amendment. if i'm not here to talk about, my goal would be to offer and withdraw so we could work on it because there is no opposition to that bill. it is a very common sense bill to help create jobs in rural america. thank you so much. >> we thank you, senator. senator hide-smith. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i also would like to thank you and our ranking member for working so hard and being so open to everyone on this committee and certainly the staff that has put so many hours into this. i commend you for putting

together a strong bipartisan bill. and more importantly a bill which seeks to meet the specific needs of all the farmers, ranchers and producers in all the regions of our country. the fact you were able to accomplish that in a bill that is estimated to actually save $60 million over the next ten years is very impressive. i'm grateful for your commitment to our responsibility of being good stewarts of taxpayer dollars. the broad array will affect the overall quality of life for families such as line across the united states and many mississippians. we employ nearly 30% of the workforce directly or indirectly. i'm confident that mississippi's 36,000 farms, 11 million acres of farmland and 20 million acres of forestland will be well served by the legislation from this committee today.

the authorizing of the price-loss coverage program in the commodity title will ensure they have adequate protection when market prices are low and maintaining the current level support structure will help our larger producers remain in business when times can gets very, very tough. the working lands program will allow farmers to continue to producing on the highly productive lands while minimizing the easement programs will allow the landowners to set aside less productive land for water quality improvements. with respect to the nutrition title, i'm encouraged that annual spending over the life of the bill is estimated to be roughly $12 billion below the 2014 farm bill levels. i'm also pleased that this farm bill seeks improvements to the supplemental assistant program to increase program integrity and focuses on working requirements for snap

beneficiaries. as we move forward, i hope the committee will seek to further reform and improve the nutrition title to ensure our food assistant program, provide help for those in need, but also provide a path toward employment and self-sustainability. in closing, mr. chairman, i would like to thank you and members of your staff for including my amendments in the manager's package of amendments. i look forward to continue working with you on this farm bill process. >> we thank you, senator. senator brown. >> thank you, mr. chairman and thank you for the extraordinary work you did and that senator staveno did. i want to thank the staff on both sides, especially the committee staff and the work that you did and john mccracken in my office. i associate, as senator hyde-smith just said, i don't think everyone got everything we wanted but we're taking steps

investing in local foods and especially crops, maintaining a strong safety net, reducing hundredor in our country. everyone in this country, the whole senate even, has heard me talk about the great lakes and lake eerie. it is the most productive. it drains some of the most productive farmland in america. it drains farms in ohio, michigan, indiana, pennsylvania and new york. it round tables across ohio. i hear from farmers about their desire for conservation programs that would help them reduce run off and promote soil health and were easier to use. so maintaining this committee's commitment to conservation spending and reforming existing programs to better target where spending goes and how it is used are essential to meet our natural resource challenges.

whether it's promoting cover crops, prioritizing source water protection and csp or prioritizing water policy, this bill gets us a step closer to achieve those goals. i want to thank especially senators for their work on their provisions. i also want to note for the first time we provided baseline funding for usda programs that promote local food production and help small growers into the future. senator collins and i worked on this bill, the new local assistance market program and we'll help strengthen this local food sector. the food and security nutrition incentive program was increased in this bill because it has proved so successful, including in ohio since it's creation in the 2014 farm bill. with this provision snap recipients will be able to increase their purchasing power

when they buy fresh fruits and vegetables. it has been for families and local farmers who have new customers. i expect the harvesting health program will soon be a nation-wide model for reducing hospital and doctor visits as at risk patients have greater access to healthier diets. i ae some provisions of the coverage improvement and innovation act i included are included in this bill. there is more the senate should do to improve. i especially thank the senators for their work on this. there are dozens of other provisions of this bill that are good for ohio farmers in small towns, ensuring the integrity of

small crops, investing in waste water programs. it is a bill good for farmers, good for families, good for taxpayers. i'm committed to working with my colleagues. >> thank you, senator. senator fisher. >> thank you, chairman roberts and ranking member for your work on the bipartisan package before us. i recognize this was not an easy task and i commend your efforts and the hard work by your staff. agriculture is the backbone of nebraska's economy and a big part of my own life. in fact, one of every four jobs in nebraska is directly tied to agriculture. that's why i'm thankful to represent nebraska in this committee. as each of us around this table is fully aware, there is a lot of anxiety in farm country. with current net farm income

down by over 50% compared to five years ago and uncertainty surrounding international trade and biofuel policy, farmers and ranchers are feeling scared and vulnerable. they are looking to us, to this committee, to provide the certainty and predictability they need to support their families and to feed the world. since my first day in congress, i have worked with my colleagues to promote common sense policies that enable our ag producers to prosper. this farm bill process gives us the opportunity to accomplish this mission. traveling around my home state, nebraskans told me they are looking for a strong farm safety net that upholds the integrity of the crop assurance program. this works in my state and i associate that the bill before us continues it. i also appreciate the committee for recognizing the important of

our trade promotion programs. our farmers and our ranchers have proven they can and will aggressively pursue global markets, consolidating the four primary programs under title three will eliminate the anxiety of expiring baselines, providing producers with more leverage as they look to expand into new markets. it is also imperative that we give our farmers and ranchers the tools and technology that enable them to maintain their competitive advantage. this package builds off of congress's existing commitment to expand broad band deployment to the most underserved and rural areas by prioritizing projects that provide broad band to the most rural areas, we can most activity, assisting in bringing the next generation back to the farm and enhancing our agricultural productivity.

mr. chairman and ranking member, i commend the committee for crafting a bipartisan farm bill that looks to provide our farmers and ranchers with the tools and certainty they need to feed our nation and to feed the world. it is important to me that we remember these hard working men and woman. i look forward to working with my colleagues to improve the bill today and as it moves forward in the legislative process. thank you. >> i thank the senator. senator smith. >> thank you very much, chairman roberts and ranking member for all of your work on this incredibly good bipartisan farm bill before us today. i also want to add my thanks to everybody's staff for lots of time to make this all come together. when i first came to the senate just a few months ago, i asked

to sit on this committee, and i immediately put together a farm bill working group so i could hear from farmers and ranchers and nutrition experts and rural leaders on what ought to be included in this farm bill. and that working group has provided a lot of great guidance to me and my staff all the way through this process. i want to thank them for their help. as several of you have noted, this farm bill touches the lives of every american and certainly every minnesotan. it will provide important stability and predictability to minnesota farmers and ranchers and rural communities while also sustaining tens of thousands of minnesota jobs. i'm very thankful that this bill includes many of the proposals that i have been working to get included in this bill for minnesotans. that includes maintaining the sugar program and also improving the dairy safety net.

i know my colleagues worked very hard on this. the bill also includes, establishes a new national animal disease preparedness response and recovery program. we know how important this is. i want to thank the senator for her work on this. the bill makes important improvements to conservation programs to make sure our farmers have the opportunity to start conservation efforts and to keep those going into the future and i'm very happy that the bill provides also help for beginning farmers and traditionally disadvantaged farmers. in our state of minnesota, that means native american farmers and veteran farmers to make sure they have an ability to access usda services. i want to thank the senators for helping for that work. as a ranking member of the rural

development energy subcommittee, i am very happy this bill also includes strong energy title that strengthens energy programs like the rural energy for america program. my colleague has also provided great leadership on this, along with senator ernst. i'm very happy to see that included. i also would just like to note, chairman roberts, that i'm very happy for the inclusion of our rural health liaison legislation in the managers package today. i worked on that with senator rounds and senator jones. this will encourage the collaboration we know we need between usda and health and human services to address the specific health care needs of rural communities. i'm very happy to see that included. thank you again. i look forward to continuing work on this bill. >> i thank the senator. senator hogan, with your

permission, i would like to recognize our leader, senator mcconnell, for his three minutes and 21 seconds. >> well thank you, mr. chairman, ranking member stavenu. >> could i say one other thing? and pardon the interruption. thank you for your commitment not only to be here but your commitment, and i want to make this clear to everybody and also with regards to senator schumer, both leaders committed once we finish our business here, we can finish our business on the floor of the united states senate. thank you, sir. >> well, let me mention -- thank you, mr. chairman. we'll turn to the farm bill before the 4th of july. and i'm hopeful that the house will get to theirs. it will probably look a little different from ours, but i'm hoping they will get to theirs shortly, which will give us the chance to get into conference

and actually make a law here, which i know we're all intentionally interested in doing. i want to thank both of you for the process that's led us to today. in my home state of kentucky, our agricultural heritage is an essential part of our heritage and pride. 75,000 farms in the blue grass provide jobs and a great way of life for a lot of people that i represent. i'm proud to support this bill before us today. it can deliver much needed certainty for farmers. one way it does so is by protecting crop insurance, a crucial tool for our farmers that face challenges such as natural disasters or inclement weather that could wipe out an entire operation.

by any measure, this is a good bill with common sense proposals to help families and communities. i particularly want to thank the chairman and ranking member for including my hemp farming act in this bill. there are a lot of supports around this table. thank you. i think it is time we took this step. i think everybody is now figured it out. this is not the other plant. we had a little difficulty four years ago in putting the palate projects in the farm bill explaining to people this is a totally different plant. i know there are farming communities all over the country who are interested in this. mine particularly interested in it. the reason for that is, as all of you know, our number one cash crop used to be something really not good for you, tobacco. and that was declined significantly, as it should given the public health

concerns. and younger farmers in my state are particularly interested in going in this direction. so i think it's time for america and i'm very excited about what you have done. got a lot of people in my state who are extremely enthusiastic about the opportunities. i don't know if this will ever be as big as tobacco was. when i came to the senate, we had quota program. you of course fully remember. it's a little bit like something out of moscow in early 1920s. but anyway, they assigned quota to the farm. and we had at least some tobacco in 119 of 120 counties. it was the only thing you could grow profitably that was legal. it was legal. up what we call a holler, between two tall mountains. it was literally everywhere.

but for obvious -- obviously the public health concerns, the program began to decline. i was fortunate enough to orchestrate a buyout of those quo tetas by the government. the tobacco quota you had was part of the value of your land. no tax money was used in the buyout, which you will remember, pat, from people 2004, 2005. but it was paid for, essentially, by the industry itself. and, so, over a ten-year period, this quota that was created by the government that added value too the land was compensated for. and we always had diverse agriculture, but the was nothing as big as tobacc so all the people in rural kentucky who sort of grew up with tobacco are hoping that this will be really something.

as we all know, hel hemp is ver diverse ff diversefied. it's time to figure it out and see will the market will take us. and so i just want to conclude by thanking y'all very much for your interest in this. i think it is an important new development in american agriculture and i hope -- there is plenty of hemp around. it's just come from some other country. why in the world would we want a lot of it not to come from here. >> could i add a word to what the leader has said on tobacco. you bring back a lot of memories. when i was sitting down there at the very end of the table, dave

and i were the two most junior members at that time and both became chair of this committee. i remember the chairman sitting up here, almost obscured by the tobacco smoke. >> yeah. everybody was smoking. >> of their cigars. senator eastman burning castros crops. and you heard muttering and that was the tobacco legislation. the rest of us say what did they say? you don't need to know. so you bring back some memories. thank you. >> i thank the leader and senator leahy for their perspective. >> remember in the '40s, they smoked all the time. anyway, times have changed. for the better.

>> thank you for that history lesson. i remember when i first came here and we talked about the tobacco program with president co coolidge. now we have industrial hemp and the leader has that amendment and it will be successful. >> it's going to be hard to follow that. although the leader talked about a holler in kentucky. in our part of the world holler means something else. so hopefully we will be able to holler when we pass this farm bill. but thanks to both chairman and the ranking member. i know you have worked long and hard and i appreciate your

willingness to dialogue. i know we will go through amendments. hopefully not for too long. but it doesn't happen without that base tax. and as a number of our members have said, we don't get everything we want. we will work on that in the amendment process, to try to get some additional things done. but that base text is vital in terms of getting a starting point we can bring this bill out of this committee with enough consensus to prove it on the floor. it doesn't happen without incredible amount of work on your part as well as a lot of experience and knowledge of what you are working on and your staffs and our staffs. big thanks to you and to the staffs. i know some have been up all night. we have to recognize and appreciate how hard they work and how committed they are to

helping get this done. the leader i think it is particularly good you are here because it reflects our ability to get this done, your push behind it, both in your committee and on the floor. look, i think the priorities are in here. that's why i think this does work. our farmers up against it are farmers and ranchers. commodity prices are low. they face a lot of challenges, right? so we have to try to move this bill to help them help reduce the uncertainty. they are the most productive in the world. no question they can compete. the point i like to make is good farm policy benefits every single american every single day because we have the highest quote, lowest cost food supply in the world. passing this bill doesn't help farmers and ranchers, this helps every american. every american benefits from what we do here. highest quality, lowest cost food supply in the world benefitting every single american every single day.

not to mention all the economic benefits our farmers and ranchers create, whether it is jobs, favorable balance of trade, you name it. absolutely leading the world in feeding the world. just mentioning real quick the priorities. you know, things that we have laid out that are vital. and this builds on the existing farm bill. we're not trying to recreate the wheel. we're trying to improve the farm bill we have. and i think that's a very good thing. it starts out with insurance. john thun and others talked about how we worked to improve those things. the ag research, we're doing things in agriculture that we wouldn't even have dreamed of a few years ago. we wouldn't have had to go back to coolidge. we're going back five years.

that's all do to ag research, both university based and ers. we need them both. we cover those bases here. obviously the no cost sugar programs are very big in our part of the world. it is a huge industry and it goes to making our farmers have a fair opportunity to compete in global markets. programs like the vaccine bank, so make sure we keep our livestock and crops, particularly our livestock, healthy as well as the research to keep our crops healthy. access to capital we will work on some more here. we will get something done. there may be back and forth, but we have to make sure or farmers and ranchers get that access to capital. so i will wrap up there. but again, thanks to all the members of the committee for the willingness to work together. but it starts with our leadership. and i want to thank you and again the staff for all your hard work. >> appreciate that senator.

>> thank you, mr. chairman. while the majority leader is here, i'd like to mention as one of the negotiator on the tobacco settlement, we worked very hard to get a transition piece for your farmers so that they could, in fact, find success growing other crops. i think the industry's willingness to step up may have been encouraged by that settlement. but north dakota in the 1990s passed a hemp bill allowing for the growth of hemp in our state. we have been waiting for this for almost 20 years. and so i'm proud to join with you in helping your farmers transition away from tobacco, transition into a crop that they can be successful in. i think that's the beauty of the farm bill for all of us. beauty of the farm bill is we recognize the regional differences. we recognize the commonalities and then we'll able to forge a

coalition and forge a great bill as our ranking member and our chairman have done here. i want to point out a couple things. i hope we can all hang together on the floor against changes to the farm bill that will weaken this structure and this coalition. we know there's going to be attempts to change the foundations of the crop insurance program. limitations that i think could weaken the crop insurance program. we always have a challenge with sugar, as you know. some of the colleagues here don't always share that point of view. but i voted for cat fish. i voted for tobacco. i voted for a lot of things, cotton and rice that we don't grow in north dakota because that's the quality of the coalition that's forged here. i stand ready. 90% of north dakota's land is engaged in production agriculture. think about that. i mean, it is the red rock of what we do in north dakota.

and as the majority leader has said, it is part of our culture. we care deeply about this. that's witnessed by having two senators from north dakota on the committee. we will have an amendment process here. i hope that we come out united to pass a farm bill and to make this process easy on the two who have done the most amount of work and that is chairman roberts and ranking member stavenau to get this across the finish line. i pledge my cooperation in helping achieve a farm bill before the 4th of july. i wanted to give the pitch for unity coming out of this committee. >> i thank the senator. senator danes. >> mr. chairman thank you. thank you for parental supervision to get us to this point and your hard work on this bill.

this will protect crop insurance. i hear a lot about that back home, provide much needed certainty in these turbulent times in the farming economy. if you look at the notepad here, this is a committee on agriculture, nutrition and forest try. i do believe the forestry title could be stronger. it empowers state foresters. i do believe we could do more to restore active management of our forest. forestry is a crop. you plant it, you harvest it. i'd like to address three common misperceptions i often encounter as we think about national forest policy. fist is that the timber wars are still going on today. if you believe that, put on your abba and olivia newton john music and have the debate. we are seeing coalition working

together to determine responsible forest management practices. we should not allow extremists to obstruct their work. this leads to the second myth. active management is critical to restoring healthy forests, which has widespread benefits, clean air, better fish and wildlife habitat, the outdoor economy. most important, active management enhances public safety by reducing the threat of wild fire. a healthy forest is a carbon sink. the third false impression is that accelerating restoration projects shortchanges the process. it takes 18 to 24 months to do most environmental reviews. after that is done, many projects in montana are litigated, which could add years of delays. right now as i sit here this

morning, 29 timber sales are currently impacted by fringe litigation. and unfortunately they have a disproportionate voice in this city that stop a lot of common sense forest management reforms. reducing red tape and combatting chronic litigation does not erode public input. it safe guards it. it does so by ensuring the public feedback so the majority isn't obstructed. to be clear, robust engagement will still occur under every proposal i bring up today. with that i yield back my 13 seconds, mr. chairman. >> i appreciate that, senator. thank you. especially with your comments regarding forestry management, thank you for the job you do. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. thank you for what could have been really a difficult thing.

we saw what happened over in the house and the two of you rose above it all and got this bill done. thank you. senator mcconnell. thank you for your words. we are most excited this bill will go to the floor by the 4th of july. whereas my friend of iowa knows the corn is knee high by the 4th of july. shoulder high. in minnesota, they would be knee high. >> a generation ago it is knee high. >> okay. i'm using my time up for a song. there we go. okay. so our farmers are facing a lot right now. they are facing everything from low prices to some late weather in the midwest. we had snow in april in minnesota, a blizzard. we've got trade issues. and pork that goes to canada in our state. beef to south korea.

corn and pull toultry to mexico. it makes it even more important that we come together with a solid and consistent farm policy out of the congress when they're facing those kinds of headwinds. we're glad that, mr. chairman, that the strong farm safety net is in and some of the changes to the arc program are good. i am glad the work that senator cornin and i did together to lead to the permanent authorization for the national animal disease preparedness response and recovery program and this vaccine bank that everyone has referred to. we lost nine million turkeys in 23 minnesota counties as senator smith noted. so this is really important in the midwest. and we don't know when we're going to see the next disease or what it will be and we have to be prepared for that. our conservation programs are good. we got up one million acres.

we'd like to see more. and our provision to fix the loophole in the program is includesed. also the work we have done to make this bill as sophisticated as our farmers and the kind of technology we're using now to be able, with precision, the data we're collecting to allow that data to be shared which will lead to better conservation practices, but is also supported by our farmers because it could lead to less expensive production if we figure out how best to plant, how best to use water. those are exciting things in this bill. i want to thank also senator dane. we have a big track of forests in minnesota where my dad's hometown is up in northern minnesota. so thanks for all. all in all, this has been a great effort and really assigned to our rural communities that we're going to have some consistency coming out of the

united states senate when that corn is knee high or shoulder high on the 4th of july. thank you. >> i thank the senator. senator purdue. >> thank you, mr. chairman. united states is today one of three great bread baskets in the world and certainly a national security industry. it is the largest industry in my state and i fought to get on this committee for that reason. i want to thank you and the ranking member for your hard work on this farm bill, producing a product that balances the needs of every commodity in every region is not an easy task. i'm happy to see this draft attempts to do just that. as most of our members have done, i have traveled all over my state, the state of georgia listening to stakeholders. one thing is abundantly clear, this is a jobs bill. getting this farm bill across the finish line is a must for rural communities in my state and all over the country. that said, this bill is good, but it's not perfect.

it's a solid common sense, fiscally responsible bill and i look forward to getting it through the senate floor shortly. however, there is one area that as we go through the amendment process i think we need to pay attention to. electric cooperatives provide electricity to families across rural georgia. i'm very reasoned about the financial impact of the rings to the rus cushion of krets program currently included in the bill. it could cause electricity rates in georgia to increase dramatically. mr. chairman, i know members also share my concern. so i'd like to continue the conversation on how we can lesson the total impact of these changes to this program. again, i want to thank and i echo senator leahy's comments earlier. i have said this for three years. this is probably the most bipartisan committee i sit on. i appreciate the work that the

ranking member and you, chairman roberts, have done to provide that background for the bill. i look forward to going through the amendment process with you and hopefully get this done as we go into the 4th of july. >> i thank the senator. senator casey. >> i want to thank you and the ranking member for the work that you have done on this bipartisan farm bill. i can't imagine the number of hours you put in. we're grateful for that work. i live in a state where nearly 3.4 million people live in 48 rural counties, about 27% of our population. this bill makes important investments in rural pennsylvania communities, as well as those across the country. it provides, excuse me, provides our farmers with the certainty they need and deserve. it makes important changes to the farm safety net, ensures that those in need will not go

hungry. i'm pleased that the bill establishes a farm to food bank program and makes it easier for our farmers to access the senior food box program. the bill that this committee has crafted appropriately recognizes the diversity of american agriculture and makes investments in local and regional food systems, especially crops. provides permanent mandatory bias line funding for organic research. the bill also makes significant investments in conservation programs. it codifies the conservation reserve enhancement program, which is greatly important to the state of pennsylvania and increases funding for the regional conservation partnership program. i'm grateful for the pennsylvania priorities that are included in the bill. and i want to again commend the chair and the ranking member for their work and i want to thank adam, joyce and claire of my

staff who did such good work. thank you. >> thank you, senator. senator ernst. >> thank you very much. thanks, mr. chair. and of course thank you, ranking member, as well. also to the members of this committee for all of the diligent work over the past year. i know this has taken an incredible effort to get us here today. i am pleased we're taking this important step forward in supporting our farmers and ranchers and addressing many of the concerns i have heard from iowans as i tour this state. farmers are resilienresilient. but when we're saddled, it does take a show. farmers and ranchers know we have their back. this maintains robust crop insurance, promotes soil health and water quality.

however, the bill is not perfect. we must do more to help snap recipients rise up out of poverty. the u.s. economy is booming right now. for the first time on record the number of job openings exceeds the number of americans looking for work. we must seize this opportunity to help folks become self-sufficient. mr. chairman, i would like to thank you and the ranking member to work with me to include a pilot or milk incentives in the managers package. the evidence is clear folks do lead healthier lives if they consume more milk and i know my dairy farmers will truly appreciate that. i know farm bills are forged through compromise. that's what you have done, mr. chair and ranking member, is work on that compromise. this committee looks for common ground where it can be found and in that spirit i appreciate the willingness to include this pilot. and i am hopeful this is just a

first step forward on this important issue. we have a bill before us that will need hungry americans, protect our natural resources, mitigate risk and support our rural jobs. with that said, let's roll up our sleeves. let's go on and get to work and give our farmers and ranchers and folks all across this great nation the certainty and predictability they need now and for many years to come. thank you very much, mr. chair. >> thank you, senator. senator bennet. >> i want to thank you for this farm bill but also for your leadership over many years. when the democrats were in charge here, we were able to pass a bipartisan farm bill that was the only fiscally responsible bill that congress passed in that time. we're doing it again with republican leadership. i'm so grateful that there is an oasis. thank you for being here.

and if you want to send everything through the ag committee, we might find that we could actually get some important work done on behalf of the american people. it is good to see. with the uncertainty on trade and on immigration in my state and with commodity prices where they are, our farmers and ranchers desperately need this farm bill, not just to pass on the floor of the senate, but to pass through the house and be signed by the president. i am so grateful, as i said, for the leadership of this committee and i just wanted to tick off a few things that are important to colorado that are in this bill. first, the forestry title provides a ma viet of new tools to help the forest service, partners in industry and other stakeholders better manage our forests and restore priority watersheds. that is critical for us. second, we've placed a much needed emphasis on soil health and innovative conservation in the conservation title and reward producers for taking proactive steps to protect wildlife habitat. third, in addition to improving

risk management tools we provide new economic opportunities in rural america by legalizing hemp which is an important agricultural commodity in colorado and i say, again, to the majority leader, thank you very much for your leadership on the hemp provision. it's a testament to this crop that it is so widely supported in our country, it grows everywhere, and it grows in colorado and we've got many people who are farmers and ranchers that are looking at opportunities to manufacture not just grow hemp, but to manufacture products for the american people to add value and high margin goods in rural parts of the united states, which is critically important to driving farm incomes. i look forward to our discussion in this markup and the work that we will do together as republicans and democrats on the floor to preserve this good piece of legislation. thank you, mr. chairman, for all of your leadership. >> thank you, senator.

senator donnelly. >> thank you, chairman roberts and ranking member stabenow. in the run up to this committee developing the 2018 farm bill i visited farms across the state and held meetings with stakeholders from nearly every segment of indiana's agricultural community. in order to collect priorities from hoosier farmers, ag students and researchers and anti-hunger advocates. i view myself as a hired help for hoosiers and i'm committed to writing a farm bill that works well for farmers and rural communities and addresses food insecurity. i heard repeatedly over the last year about the need to write a farm bill that helps manage the uncontrollable risks of farmer including protecting crop insurance and developing commodity programs that reflect market conditions. i heard about the importance of developing new market opportunities, particularly through supporting exports to markets around the world. i heard the strong passion of

many hoosiers to improve soil health and water quality. i listened to hoosiers who cared deeply about supporting our local communities, especially doing everything we can to quite the opioid epidemic. i talked with students and researchers and saw the benefits of investing in tomorrow's farmers and ag technologies. and i visited with hoosiers who spend their time fighting hunger in our communities. the 2018 farm bill developed by this committee reflects those important priorities. it protects crop insurance, helps fight the opioid epidemic, promotes voluntary conservation, develops new market opportunities, supports rural communities and helps address food insecurity. it's not perfect and we have to work on a number of opportunities tay to improve it further, but it's a very good bill. it's a ttament to th members of this committee being able to work together as advocates for agriculture. i thank the chairman and ranking

member for their bipartisan efforts to get us here. i look forward to working together to get this farm bill across the finish line to give our farmers and communities the certainty they deserve. thank you, mr. chairman. >> i want to thank all members for their comments. the committee will proceed now to the consideration of s-3042 for amendment by unanimous consent we adopt the robert neighbor now committee print to s-2043 that will be considered as the original text for the purpose of further amendment without objection so ordered. next i offer a robert snab now rogers amendment that has been distributed to all members and end block amendment sponsored by the ranking member and myself. all offices have been notified as to filed amendment and any modifications are included in block and a list of those amendments in the modifications have been distributed to all members. all those in favor of the managers amendment and the amendments on the end block, let us signify by saying aye.

>> aye. >> those opposed no, the ayes have it. the committee will proceed by considering amendments to this bill title by title in reverse starting with title 12 and finishing with title 1. once finished with the title we will move to consider amendments to t next title. in addition, we have agreed without objection thatll amendments need to be germane, have been properly filed, maintain a budget neutral bill, be free from ear marks and other than the substitute amendment which is the text of the mark now in amendment form to not include significant matter outside this committee's jurisdiction. i would note that a relevant amendment to one title may open a different title in order to preserve an overall budget neutral bill. senator stabenow, are you in agreement? >> i am, mr. k. >> without objection so ordered.

the committee is open to any amendment to title 12. >> mr. chairman. mr. chairman. >> yes. senator fischer. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i would like to call up my amendment number 7 to eliminate duplicate pesticide permitting. this bipartisan amendment would address the duplicative permitting of pesticides under fifra and the clean water act. this duplicative process creates unnecessary resource burdens and challenges for pesticide registrants and users, including small businesses, local water authorities and the agriculture community. pesticides are critical for plain tang a healthy and viable environment by eliminating harmful and innovative pests and threaten the livelihoods of our ag producers. fifra already requires the epa

ensure pesticides cause no unreasonable adverse effect to humans or the environment. the label is the law. users who do not follow the pesticide label are in violation of federal law, even without a water permit. additionally, as a result of costly compliance regulations and the increase in clean water act liability many rural communities and small municipalities are being forced to reduce or cancel their mosquito control programs. this places families at risk for devastating mosquito born diseases like west nile virus, yellow fever and malaria. state agencies have testified that clean water act permits offer no additional environmental benefits because pesticide applications are already received and regulated through a stringent fifra approval process. furthermore, the epa under administrator gina mccarthy in

the obama administration also agreed that they could adequately manage pesticides under fifra and they don't need the npds component. again, this amendment clarifies congressional intent the clean water act and pds permits should not be required for the application of pesticides already approved by the epa and authorized for sale, distribution and use under fifra. i want to thank senators hide camp and boozman for co-sponsoring this amendment. i recognize that there is a difference of opinion in this committee on including common sense regulatory reform measures at this time, so i will not ask for a roll call vote, however, i hope we can resolve this long standing issue as we look to forward action. mr. chairman, i would withdraw the amendment. >> i thank the senator and i thank my colleague, my neighbor

to the north, for raising this issue. it should be an issue that is very important to all of us, it's very important to me. i thank you for your leadership. we will continue this discussion as the bill proceeds. are there any other amendments to title 12. >> mr. chairman. >> senator hide camp. >> mr. chairman, i'd like too call up hide camp amendment number 6. this may seem like it's esoteric and unique to north dakota, but i think it is a critical amendment to have a discussion about two issues, one is states rights in the states ability to regulate, who owns farmland. it is critically important that we keep i think -- actually keep input costs down. i think senator grassley in his opening comment talked about land prices and talked about the growth in land prices. it's been part of north dakota's heritage for a lot of years to not allow corporations to own farmland. that has helped keep farmland in

the hands of family farmers, it has helped reflect, i think, a long standing policy. unfortunately in spite of a consistent position from the state legislature, consistent position from the voters of our state who have systematically voted to maintain this policy, there is a pending court case that uses the dormant commerce clause, not something that's in favor right now by this court, but the dormant congress clause to argue that because it would burden interstate commerce and because this body hasn't acted to prevent it that this law would, in fact, be in violation of congressional policies regarding control of interstate commerce. and so, yes, there is a federal connection. if we pass my amendment what would actually happen is the court would then be sent a signal that we respect the tenth amendment, we respect states rights, we respect the ability of states to make these determinations on their own.

recognizing that this is fairly esoteric and recognizing that i haven't yet been able to find a co-sponsor for this amendment, i withdraw it, but i wanted to raise it just to help educate about how critically important it is to let states regulate the ownership of the land within their jurisdiction. it wouldn't prevent corporate farming, it would just say the states get to decide. thank you, mr. chairman. i withdraw my amendment. >> senator stabenow. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i just wanted to thank senator hide camp for fighting for her farmers in north dakota and around the country. we know this needs further work and committed to working with you on this, but i understand and appreciate how strongly you are fighting for them. >> i thank the senator. are there any other amendments to title 12? senator thune. >> mr. chairman, i would call up thune amendment number 5. this amendment would grant the usda secretary discretion to

improve soil moisture monitoring by increasing the number of monitoring stations or by using other cost effective soil moisture measuring devices. it also would require usda agencies to use consistent precipitation monitoring data and drought assessment across programs that usda administers. for the past two years in western south dakota precipitation monitoring has been inconsistent, resulting in some livestock producers not being eligible for grazing assistance from usda and i'm sure this is a problem that isn't unique to south dakota but probably occurs in other more sparsely populated areas. this is something that i heard rather consistently from livestock producers in western south dakota and who might in some cases be on adjacent farms or certainly adjacent counties that are treated very differently because the methodology used by usda is very inconsistent. the bill received a zero score

from the congressional budget office. i think it's something that from a practical standpoint just makes a lot of sense and certainly would provide uniformity and consistency to this process in states like mine where we have seems like recurring issues with drought. we certainly had that in 2012 and last year in 2017 and i'm sure it will happen again, but it's nice to have good data to work from and so i think this amendment makes sense and i would ask for the committee's support. >> is there any further gate on the amendment. seeing none. all in favor signal by saying aye. >> aye. >> all opposed saying no. the ayes have it. are there further amendments to title 12? >> mr. chairman?

>> senator thune. >> i have one amendment i'd like to discuss and i will withdraw it because i understand that there's some objections that have been raised to it, but this would allow -- this is a thune amendment number 6 and it would allow meat and poultry products processed at fsis approved state mpi inspected facilities to be sold across state lines. all meat and poultry products sold for human consumption are inspected by the food safety inspection service, fsis allows states to create mpi programs and requires these state inspection programs to be at least equal to federal meat and poultry inspection programs. currently there are 27 states with fsis approved meat and or poultry inspection programs, however, products process add at state mpi inspected facilities are not allowed to be sold across state lines. farm barrel and u.s. cattlemen

support this amendment. mr. chairman, it's something -- it's similar to a piece of legislation that was offered by my colleague in south dakota, senator rounds and senator king from maine, but i would in the interest of moving the bill forward ask that we have an opportunity to discuss this further perhaps for some action on the floor and i withdraw the amendment. >> i thank the senator. >> mr. president -- or mr. chairman. >> -- or continuing to work on this important issue. is there an additional amendment 12? >> i would like to ask a question. is the opposition from the big packers that don't want the competition from the in-state smaller processors? >> well, i'm told that there are livestock groups and who was the other folks that we -- yeah. yeah. of course, the packers, why he. >> is that because those

livestock groups are fronting for the big packers? >> the senator from iowa may be on to something there. >> senator from iowa wish to say anything more? >> i have got to wait until a staff person gets here. then i've got something i want to say about a couple things. >> is that a confession or -- >> further amendments to title 12? if not we proceed to a title 11. are there any amendments to title 11?

>> martin luther king, r. chair senator klobuchar has an amendment she wants to offer and i believe she may be in judiciary. if it would be possible to put aside title 11 and go on and come back to it when she's here, that would be terrific. >> certainly. >> thank you. >> certainly.

are there any further amendments to title 11? hearing none. amendments to title 10? >> mr. chairman? >> senator perdue. >> i'd like to offer my amendment perdue 2 to title 10, but i will not be asking for a vote today, there is some opposition i think that the conversation should continue, but i do want to highlight the importance importance of this potential amendment and look forward to working with the committee on it. the purpose of the amendment is to simply codify the exclusive role of state lead agencies not political subdivisions as pesticide co-regulators with the epa. while congress clearly intended that states regulate pesticide sale, distribution and use courts have interpreted otherwise. this amendment would make sure each state has one set of regulations and pesticide -- for pesticides rather than a patchwork of different standards in each of the more than 89,000 cities and towns of the united states. pests that transmit dangerous and deadly diseases like the zika virus, west nile virus and

lyme disease aren't constrained by arbitrarily drawn borders. restricting pesticide use without justification in one locality jeopardizes the public health of citizens in that locality and surrounding areas. this amendment does not prevent a state lead agency from prescribing how pesticides are used in that state nor interfere with public property managers deciding if they will safely use pest management tools as authorized by state and federal regulations in, on and around public properties that they own or manage. it's a scientifically sound and pro growth policy to regulate pesticides not hundreds of contradictory confusing and overlapping local government relations, but because there is some controversy or disagreement around this i do withdraw that, mr. chairman. thank you. >> i thank the senator. further amendments to title 10? are there any amendments to

title 9? >> mr. chairman, if i might. i know that senator klobuchar also has an amendment to title 9, the energy title. i know she is on her way back, but if you would be willing to move on. >> i have one. >> that would be terrific. >> senator bennet. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i'd like to call up bennett amendment number 16 regarding funding and technical assistance for carbon and bio gas utilization. this amendment seeks to build out usda initiatives that are working to improve their capabilities and make it easier for the industries that want to use carbon and bio gas to access government resources. it also provides a modest amount of funding for competitive grants to overcome some of the barriers of carbon utilization. we have heard that it's difficult for small bio gas producers to put in place cost effective systems to collect their waste. this amendment would provide competitive grants to determine cost effective methods of aggregating organic waste from multiple sources to a single bio gas system. the amendment also improving

coordination between usda and the department of energy. mr. chairman, i have heard that there were some concerns about the bio gas task force provision in an earlier version of this amendment. i have since eliminated that language based on conversations that i had with your staff and others. i spoke to the national pork producers council and others and they are comfortable with the amendment now. this amendment i cover today has addressed the concerns i have heard from the committee and i'd like to thank senator smith from minnesota for joining me as a co-sponsor of the amendment which is supported by the national farmers union carbon capture coalition and american bio gas council. i'd like to thank you, mr. chairman, and the ranking member and your staffs for working with me on this important issue. with that i would ask for a voice vote of the committee. >> all those in favor of senator bennet's amendment will signify by saying aye. >> aye. >> those opposed no. the ayes have it.

are there further amendments to -- are there further amendments to title 9? are there any amendments to title 8? >> mr. chairman. >> senator danes. >> i call up daines amendment 1. this amendment builds on the reforms that were made in the omnibus by more fully adopting the position taken by the obama administration in the cotton wood environmental law center versus the environment forest city. it would codify the requirements after the agencies received new information related to impact of species. the obama administration fully supported what i'm trying to do here, senator tester has been a co-sponsor of a bill i have introduced to the same effect. the obama administration said

the cotton wood decision has the potential to cripple land management. this amendment helps to further address that concern. unfortunately, frankly, some of the extreme interests have gotten their way in and have stopped doing the reforms that the obama administration, senator tester and i support. i realize there is more discussion to be had so i withdraw this amendment and look forward to working with both parties on this issue as the farm bill goes to the floor. >> has the senator withdrawn the amendment? >> i did. i withdraw it, yes. >> does the senator wish to be recognized for any further amendment? >> i don't. >> are there amendments -- any further amendments to title 8? are any of the amendments to title vii? amendments to title vii?

amendments to title vi? hearing no amendments we move to title v. hearing no amendments we move to title iv. hearing no amendments we move to title iii. >> mr. chairman? >> senator heitkamp. senator heitkamp, if you will hold for senator holden. so you want to go back to title v? >> i do. >> fine. senator heitkamp, why don't you introduce your amendment to title iii. >> okay.

i want to call up my amendment to title iii heitkamp amendment i senators by senators boozman, leahy, klobuchar and bennett. this would open up the opportunity to trade into cuba using the trade promotion programs that are available to any other producer who wants to promote their product in any country that we have relationships with. i think that it is high time that we explore that market. it's somewhat ironic that i would be the person pursuing it because i think the great opportunity here is in rice and some of the southern crops, but i think this is a critical component of building those relationships that will help us establish a trade relationship with a country that is only 90 miles off our shore. and so i'm hopeful that we can finally close this chapter on our relationship with cuba, open up this opportunity for our farmers and our ranchers to

promote their products and to sell -- i think we can all agree that one of the great concerns that we have right now is market disruption and exports. we know we grow more in this country than what we can possibly consume and growing markets is absolutely critically important to improving our commodity prices and so, mr. chairman, i'd ask for a roll call vote. >> as i speak to people around the country i have consistently heard that one answer to the challenging economic times we are facing is in regard to strong trade policies or a trade policy that is consistent. i personally have traveled to cuba at least three times in my memory and witness firsthand both the opportunities and chat lengths that exist in developing cuba as a market for u.s. agriculture. we need a trade policy that

provides certainty and stability at the same time as we look forward to normalizing trade between the united states and cuba we need to take major and realistic approach. one that takes into account responsible investment of taxpayer dollars and policies that encourage cuba to embrace the practices of free trade, enterprise and commerce. i look forward to work with my colleagues to strengthen and grow market for our farmers. i think we can pass this by a vote if the senator would agree. >> mr. chairman, i would be thrilled if we could pass this by a voice vote. >> all those in favor of the heitkamp amendment will signify by saying aye. >> aye. >> those opened no. the ayes have it. go back to title v and senator hogan. >> mr. chairman, i'd like to call up amendment hogan 1. what this does is it amends the

amount of the fsa loan guarantee which is currently 1.39 million and it increases it to 2.5 million, and it increases the direct loan from 300,000 to 600,000. now, the reason that we use -- that we're changing it to those amounts is because that's what both the commodity groups and the financial discussions have asked for based on the needs of our farmers and ranchers at this time. and so i also have included another amendment, hogan 10, which is one that i worked with senator klobuchar on as well. that's at 1.75 million, which is what the house passed. so i'd like the committee to consider the $2.5 million because then we are going to end up with something more than the 1.75. right now you can get almost 1.4 so at 1.75 you're really not

increasing it much. and again, i didn't pull these amounts out of the air. this is what the following groups have asked for, and includes almost all the commodity groups, the national corn growers, national association of wheat growers, the american soybean association, national cotton council, national sorghum producers, national potato council and then also the financial groups, american bankers association, independent community banks, farm credit council, national association of credit specialists and then our state just the whole litany of groups. so, again, that's why i'd like us to consider the $2.5 million. and, again, remember when we go to committee we are going to be negotiating, they are at 1.75. so when you look at going from 1.4 to something between 1.75 and probably 2.5 if we can pass

it, given, one, that that's what all the groups are saying they need out there and when you look we're really not going up that much, in fact, it's just -- it really is based on what it costs to farm these days. so that's really the difference -- the two amendments, that's the difference is trying to increase that amount a little more in line with the requests we've received. >> mr. chairman? >> senator klobuchar. >> mr. chairman, i just want to thank senator hogan. we have worked together on many things successfully and we are still trying to get this worked out. we came at it with the same intention and that is because of changes in farmer and limits that were set in the past that we need to make our law updated so it accommodates that, but at the same time i think the countervailing force is how we make sure all the money isn't used up by just the big farmers and there's still money for the starting and smaller farmers. that's why i am doing a second degree amendment to hoeven

amendment 1 and this secondary amendment would increase the loan limits for both guaranteed operating and ownership loans from the current camp of $1.39 million to $1.75 million. this amendment would also increase loan limits on the direct side, lifting the cap on direct ownership from 300,000 to 600,000 and on direct operating from 300,000 to 400,000. i note that this amendment also including important language that i worked on with senator hoeven to increase the data we have on borrowers and participation rates. i ask my fellow committee members to join me on this amendment. and, again, our hope is in the end that we will have a compromise. we know how important this is and we went into it with that intention. >> any further debate on the second degree amendment? hearing none, the question is on the adoption of the amendment. all those in favor signify by saying aye. >> aye. >> all opposed say no. the ayes have it. the business before the

committee now is the hoeven amendment amended by the second degree amendment by senator klobuchar. all those in favor of that amendment signify by saying aye. >> aye. >> all those opposed no. the ayes have it. are there further amendments to title v? we will take in consideration of this bill that we go back to title xii. or is it title xi. >> i think senator grassley wanted to -- wanted to say something. >> senator grassley, do you wish to say anything with regards to title xii? >> i might not offer an amendment but i want to state something dealing with the help farming act.

can i do that now? >> you are recognized. >> so this bill procedurally more than substance but also a part of it on substance because i support industrial ham. i object to this bill being amended to the farm bill on several grounds. proceed actually the bill is way out of order. it was first introduced in april, it bypassed deferral to the judiciary committee under rule 14 and was placed on the legislative calendar. now the bill is being taken up in this committee. i have objected on procedural grounds. my objection was apparently ignored. this bill is squarely within the judiciary committee jurisdiction. hemp is subject to the provisions of title xxi the controlled substance act on substantive grounds i disagree with how hemp is defined under the bill. if the purpose is to legalize it for industrial uses, then the bill should do that, but it does

not. the bill opens up legalized hemp to include, quote, derivatives, extracts and cannabinoids in accord of the plan. the derivatives aren't used for industrial purposes they're use to make cbd or oils. cbd is a chemical in the plant that can be extracted and used to treat everything from anxiety to epilepsy, things that i have found my constituents say they've got some good results from, but how it's handled for the safety of the individuals is very important to me. so i have a bill that provides a narrow regulated pathway for medical research into the beneficial effects of cbd and for a process to make responsible products regulated by the fda. today's bill would allow any neighboring oil salesman to market and sell any cbd product as a dietary supplement or

anything else without any regulatory controls whatsoever. that leaves consumers without assurances about the safety or the quality of the product that they're buying. it will put children at risk and a couple years ago i had a hearing on that very subject before the judiciary committee about the quality. i have constituents with epileptic children who are desperate for answers. these folks will turn to anything to help their children even if it means taking inordinate risk by buying products that are untested, unproven and potentially harmful. my bill would provide assurances that safe, responsible products are put on the shelves after the proper research and testing is done and the necessary approvals are met. so i did, mr. chairman, and members of this committee to at least work with me to modify this provision after this bill gets out of committee so the children's health isn't threatened. i'm done, mr. chairman. >> i thank the senator.

senator mcconnell. >> mr. chairman, i understand the concerns that my friend the chairman of the judiciary committee has and as a result of that we consulted with the justice department, we got suggestions from the food and drug administration, suggestions from the ranking member of the judiciary committee and suggestions from the chairman of the judiciary committee. we appreciate their input and, in fact, we incorporated a number of their suggestions. so let me outline them. this is a result of discussions with the chairman, the ranking member, the justice department and the food and drug administration. first, clarified that the secretary of agriculture can -- can consult with the attorney general in reviewing proposed state and travel plans for growing hemp and issuing regulations and in issuing

guidance. second, we clarified that the legislation does not alter the food, drug and cosmetic act, nor does it alter the ability of the fda to enforce the food, drug and cosmetic act. the third change we made, we improved the integrity of the hemp program by making sure that states and tribes conduct oversight of their programs and that those who seek to participate in the program are honest and truthful and have not been convicted of a felony drug offense. so i've included a number of suggestions, but what i have not included, i've declined to include suggestions that would undercut the essential premise of the bill, namely that hemp and its derivatives should be a legal agricultural commodity just as it was in the united states for many, many years. hemp should be allowed to flourish again in this country, especially as it did and h beguno do so again in my home

state of kentucky overseen by state or federal departments of agriculture with appropriate safeguards, but not the department of justice. i ask my colleagues to support the underlying provisions. i appreciate the suggestions that chairman of the judiciary committee made. we took into account a number of those, but obviously chose not to include all of his suggestions. thank you, mr. chairman. >> i thank the leader and i thank both senators, their comments are duly noted. we go now back to title xi and senator klobuchar. >> thank you very much. i'd like to request a voice vote on klobuchar amendment iv as modified. sod safer provisions is something senator thune and i have worked on for many years. they were expand the in the 2014 bill to include minnesota, south dakota, north dakota, montana and nebraska. the modified amendment would maintain sod safer in those

states while given governors around the country the option of opting into the program in their own state. i would ask the chairman for his commitment to work with me and senator thune to expand these provisions to additional states as the bill moves to the floor. do i have your commitment, mr. chair, to continue to work with us? >> everyone around this table, and for that matter in farm country, knows that i support maintaining and improving crop insurance, it's the number one issue we heard from farmers, ranchers, growers all across this country, number one. i believe senator snab now and i believe able to accomplish that in the park before us including provisions to address sod safer. the amendment would make technical changes to the sod saver provisions by clarifying siks certifications that reductions in benefits will

apply. while i have concerns with expanding the sod saver requirements kwlond the current six states i think the amendment does strike a good balance by providing the expansion nationwide only -- only if governors approve the policy change in their state. i appreciate the senators for working with this to alleviate the concerns from producers and the crop insurance industry. i can support the amendment and will continue to work with members on this provision as we move forward to the floor. all those in favor of the klobuchar amendment will signify by saying aye. >> aye. >> those opposed no. >> the ayes have it. >> mr. chairman, and i will echo what the senator from minnesota said. we've worked on this issue for some time and we appreciate -- >> the senator is recognized. >> thank you. >> -- and we appreciate the committee adopting in the base bill, the base text, a provision that closes the yield

institution loophole which was a way in which folks had found a way around the sod saver provisions in the previous farm bill. so that has been tightened up, which is a good thing. we would love to see this go nationwide, but i think the amendment that's been offered extends to states that certainly makes sense and so we appreciate your good faith commitment to work with us as we continue to advance this and appreciate your support of this amendment. thanks. >> i thank the senator. we go back to title ix and i remember senator danes. >> senator klobuchar. >> and also senator klobuchar. >> senator danes, do you want to go first? >> okay.

mr. chairman, this is one where i'm going to withdraw the amendment not ask for a vote. this is klobuchar number 2, the renewable fuel standard as you all know is critically important to minnesota and recent reports indicate that dozens of small refinery waivers have been granted to large refine si companies effectively reducing the 15 billion gallon target for the rvo. these actions hurt not only bio fuel producers but farmers across the u.s. at a time when farm income is at its lowest since 2006. the secretary of agriculture has deemed these waivers demand destruction for bio fuels. senator grassley and i led a letter and i also appreciate the work that senator ernst has done on this to administrator pruitt in april expressing our concerns with some of these actions. the number of waivers that used to be issued each year was between six to eight for extraordinary reasons, but recent reports have noted that the epa has already issued 25

disproportionate hardship waivers this year. i'm not asking for a vote, but i will continue to work to assure that additional actions are not taken that undermine the rfs and harm minnesota producers. >> i understand, senator klobuchar, that you have another amendment. >> second degree amendment. that's the other one. >> wait a minute. i would like to follow up on her, if i could. >> thank you. >> yesterday pruitt was in kansas. >> you can wait three minutes. go ahead. >> pruitt was in kansas and the news report says that he says that he has the authority for when waivers are given for those gallons that aren't mixed because of that waiver that he can reallocate. well, he ought to be riy riyal because in november of last year several senators around this table and maybe some senators that aren't around the table met with him and he gave us a november 13th -- or november

letter saying what he had authority to do or not do and we got 15 billion gallons promised, that's what the law requires, that's what the president of the united states said january 2016 to the iowa renewable fuels association in des moines when he was a candidate, that he wanted the maximum amount that the law would allow to be pursued by epa, if he was president. he's president now. so pruitt through these uses of waivers has a 15 billion gallons down to 13.8 billion so the president's promise is not being carried out by the person he appointed. pruitt is ill serving the president of the united states by not carrying that out and i would like to see all of these 25 waivers that he has given. >> yeah. >> now that he says he's allowed to do it, get them reallocated. but right now we have to start

looking to 2019 because -- 2018 is just about beyond us. they are working right now on the 15 billion gallons or whatever they're going to propose, we don't know what they're going to propose, but to keep the president's promise they better propose 15 billion gallons and we better know now that those waivers are granted ahead of time and those waivers could do not subtract from the 15 billion gallons they are reallocated and we get what the president promised. >> i couldn't have said it better. >> i think perhaps the president heard you. >> mr. chairman, i just want to associate myself with senator grassley's comments. >> yes. very good. >> senator klobuchar. >> thank you, senator grassley for backing up into i amendment. thank you. >> i want to make clear -- >> it's a big deal. >> he indicated i raised my voice, i'm not mad at anybody. >> no, that rk, that's just how. >>est that his inside voice.

>> i want to thank -- i want to thank the senator from iowa, i meet him almost every morning to have a glass of ethanol and it warms you right up. >> all right. so, mr. chairman, unless you want to keep going on this -- >> please. >> okay. >> please proceed. >> i would like to call up klobuchar amendment number 1. this is a modification and my amendment would restore mandatory funding for energy titling programs at 2014 levels and reimburse dairy producers, this is what senator gillibrand was refers to in her opening for the cost of their margin protection program premiums for 2016, 2015 and 2017. dairy has been very hard hit. in the 2014 farm bill i successfully pushed for a strong energy title with the funding necessary to continue to support homegrown renewable fuels, worked with senator hoeven on that which support thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in economic growth.

the new mandatory spending in the amendment would be offset by eliminating the economic adjustment assistant for upland cotton users, a proposal that was recommended in the president's fiscal year 2019 budget. the amendment cbo score shows that it saves $9 million over ten years. this amendment continues programs that incentivize homegrown energy production and help provide immediate assistance to struggling dairy farmers. i urge its adoption. i understand that perhaps it could go by voice vote. >> the amendment would provide mandatory funding for a number of programs important to members on both sides of our committee. those include the following: energy programs, biomass research and development initiatives, the bio based markets program, the bio refinery renewable chemical and bio base product manufacturing assistance program, the bio energy program for advanced bio fuels and the biomass crop assistance program. it also provides support for

dairy producers who tried using the market protection program in the first three years of the program before it was modified by congress and again by the mark, i am committed to working on behalf of bettering all regions, all crops and providing funding to these programs is clearly a priority for several senators on this committee, senator stabenow. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i also want to support this amendment. thanks, senator klobuchar, for terrific leadership on this and this really builds on what we did as well in the last farm bill and this is a jobs amendment. it's about the rural bio economy, it's about jobs in rural america. these programs have lechld more than $5 billion in private investments since 20 0909. i want to thank senator klobuchar for their great work and, mr. chairman, for working with you on this. there are a number of important issues in here. i would also indicate very pleased that senator jild

brand's priority is in this package to help our small dairies that were not able to use the new program that the last farm bill on dairy so this is very positive as well. thank you. >> mr. chairman? >> senator boozman. >> thank you rkmr. chairman. i have sympathy for what the senator is trying to do the program is the pay for. the economic adjustment assistance program is a very popular program, has kept many am ills across the country in business and certainly this is a jobs situation also. currently 44 companies in 14 states participate in the program. many states are represented on this committee and for that reason i would encourage a no vote and work to at some point see if we can find a different pay for. >> mr. chairman, i appreciate the senator's sentiment. we can work together, but i think the reason we have such strong support for this on this committee is $3 billion was set

aside for cotton in the last budget, which is significantly more than some of these other programs and that's why given what we are facing in the midwest right now with the prices and the lowest prices since 2006 and the issues that senator grassley has so nicely identified that we are dealing with on the bio fuel side, we think this is very important. this and we've lost so many of our dairy farmers. >> mr. chairman, i think it's correct to state that $3 billion was set aside for dairy. cotton was budget neutral. >> i will clarify the record but i just know there was a lot in there for cotton. >> the only thing i would say is, again, there are many, many individuals that will be affected by this, 44 companies, 14 states. again, many of them sitting on this committee.

>> is there further conversation of this amendment? i want to say to both senators i want to keep working on pay fors as we move forward and i am committed to working on behalf of bettering all regions and all crops and a situation where we are trying to improve one region, but it poses clearly some problems to another. >> could we get a vote on the amendment? >> i am suggesting that we simply have a voice vote, but if the gentleman would like to roll call vote, okay. all those in favor, the klobuchar amendment, will signify by saying aye. >> aye. >> all opposed no. >> no. >> the ayes have it in the opinion of the chair.

is there anything other amendment title ix? we're going to go back to title v. any amendments to title v? any amendments to title iv? any amendments on title iii? title ii? >> mr. chairman, senator leahy is not here and asked me if i would offer an amendment that's been modified. i understand we may be able to take on a voice vote. and i would just -- this would

give livestock and dairy farmers flexibility to prioritize implementation of the environmental quality inn sent tiffs program whole farm plan and would provide more time for livestock and dairy producers to complete their required whole farm management plans. i would offer that on behalf of senator leahy and ask for support. >> all those in favor of the leahy amendment please signify by saying aye. >> aye. >> all opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it. senator thune. >> mr. chairman, the -- this is thune number 9. this emdamendment provides seve improvements to crp and is supported by ducks unlimited, if he is ants forever and the national farmers union. very simply it would increase acreage, the base or the crp acreage today capped at 24 million acres, the base bill has it at 25.

this would increase that to 26 and a quarter million acres and at the same time provide much needed gradesing flexibility by allowing one-third of a contract holder's acres to be hayed or grazed each year on a rotational basis. this bill lowers the rental rate to 85% of rates on general crp contracts but keeps it at 88.5% for all continuous crp contracts. i worked closely with both production agriculture and conservation wildlife organizations to craft these changes that improve crp without damaging its conservation and wildlife habitat potential. so that's pretty much it. it allows, as i said, an increase in the cap from what the current cap which is $24 million, the base bill which is 25, this raises it a million and a quarter acres and provides

much needed flexibility when it comes to the management of those acres in a way that is supported by not only those who benefit directly from it, but all the other groups that also are on the -- in the wildlife production corners and in environmental groups. so i would ask the committee to approve it. >> senator stabenow. >> mr. chairman, first i appreciate investment what senator thune is trying to achieve. at this point, though, i would say our bill provides an increase in crp to 25 million acres, both the chairman and i found a way to increase the crp acres to this level without cutting rental rates so low that it would make the program less attractive to producers. i know there is a number of concerns at this time. so, mr. chairman, i would stand with you and the balanced agreement we have on funding for

the conservation title and oppose this amendment at this time. >> mr. chairman. >> senator thune. >> it's not just the increase in the acres, which, again, is something that we think makes a lot of sense, but there are some things in current law that absolutely make no sense and i for the -- i have not for the time i've been involved with this program and with farm bills been able to figure out why under mid contract management practices usda has required that this cover on crp acres be harvested or destroyed. even during years of severe drought and hay shortages. and we find ourselves as we did in 2012 and 2017 going to usda and begging for emergency authority to hay and graze some of these acres, which we did eventually get both in 2012 and

2017. that authority was granted to hay and graze envonmentally sensitive acres without any adverse effects. so this is an amendment that brings some -- some much needed flexibility to crp acres by allowing farmers a third, a third, a third, every three years or i should say take a third of crp acres in any given year and be able to hay those, also with the reduction in payments, commensurate to that, or to graze those acres in the same way and, again, it's something that we find at least in our part of the country where crp is utilized rather extensively under these mid contract management practices they have to destroy this. it's a valuable commodity and particularly in years where you have a drought. so it gets rid of the need for mid contract management practices, it gets rid of the need for emergency haying and grazing in drought years. this is an amendment that i

think ask not only going to be very popular, it is very popular with producers, but also, as i said, is supported by all the environmental and conservation and wildlife production groups including ducks unlimited and pheasants forever. the reduction in the rate on regular crp acres goes from 88.5% which is in the base bill to 85%. we keep it at 88.5% for continuous crp acres which is something i think you all wanted us to do, but we think that the groups are supportive of having this rental rate at 85% in order to get the increase in the acreage and the flexibility that would come with this amendment. >> i want to thank senator thune for offering this amendment. i know that the crp program is especially important to you and to south dakota as it is in my

state of kansas. as a matter of fact, i was one of the original co-sponsors of the conservation reserve program back in the day. i am concerned about the effect of such drastic changes to the current policy especially in light of the rental rate reduction and the underlying bill. having said that i'm going to recognize senator stabenow for a suggestion. >> mr. chairman, first of all, i think the thune amendment has a lot of provisions that i agree with and that i would support and i think i would suggest that we work together on the floor to find a modified way to be able to afford in its entirety it would change the balance of what we're trying to do, but there are important provisions that i would agree with in terms of how this has been operating. and so i don't know if senator thune if you want to go ahead with the vote at this point, certainly we could work together as well.

either way. >> i would just add that you have the commitment of both senator stabenow and myself to work with you on the floor to get -- to get this amendment worked out. >> the only thing i would say based on my the floor these days, is it's unlikely we're going to get to a lot of amendments. we got to the floor and the amendment process got shut down. the only way this could get adopted on the floor is if you all were willing to accept it in the form of a manager's amendment. or perhaps we end up in an open process where we can offer amendments. but like i said, based on our recent experience, i'm not sure that's going to happen. these are very -- like i said, the groups out there who would be most impacted by this support this. the number in the house bill on crp acres is 29 million acres. and the rate goes down to 80%. we keep it at 88.5 for continuous sign-up acres and go

to 85 on other crp acres, but in addition to raising the cap a little bit, which only goes part way to where the house is -- i mean, the house is at 29. we'd be at 26.25 under this, is these changes in the management practices, which i frankly think are long overdue. so if you're willing to work with me to get it as a part of a manager's package when we go to the floor, that would be one thing. but i'm not sure that a commitment to allow us to offer it on the floor is something that either of you probably are maybe in a position to offer up. >> senator stabenow. >> mr. chairman, just one further thing. we don't know exactly how the process will be on the floor, certainly. but i would say that just for the record, the wildlife organizations are not uniformly for this. there's differences of opinion that i would like to see worked out. so at this point, i appreciate

very much what you're saying. can't support this at this point, as it is written. we can continue to see if there are pieces of it -- >> senator klobuchar. >> mr. chairman, i just want to clarify there was sort of a -- there's a middle ground here. it was 3 billion for cotton, but it was paid for, as you point out. the dairy number wasn't 3 billion. it was 1 billion. so we'll continue to work with you. thank you. >> senator thune. >> what was the question, mr. chairman? >> do you wish to proceed with a voice vote on this? >> well, again, i'm not sure which wildlife organization

center senator stabenow was referring to. we worked closely in the past on the grazing provisions with wildlife federation. so to my understanding and knowledge, those groups are supportive of what we're trying to accomplish here with respect to these changes in the management practice on crp acres. >> we've recently received indication from the national wildlife federation that they are not supportive. so that's what's raising concerns for me. >> let me just say that despite our best efforts, senator stabenow and myself can't guarantee certainty on the floor, but it is our intention to work with you to see if we can't continue to address the concerns that the senator has mentioned. and i want to say i'm concerned

about the effect with regards to the rate reduction and the underlying bill. i appreciate the senator for working so hard on this. i think most of his legislation certainly -- senator, it's up to you. would you like a vote? >> well, mr. chairman, if you are willing to, when we get to the floor on this, consider some of these changes, if there's a change that we can make that, you know, in the past like i said, wildlife federation has been supportive of most of the things we've tried to do when it comes to these contracts. to get this flexibility, i'd be willing to work with you on that. i have been trying for years to get usda to change this mid contract management practice, which to me absolutely makes no sense why you would have to destroy or burn what is very valuable hay, particularly in years when it has great value for people who need it in a

drought. so to me, the limit or the cap is one issue, but the flexibility is the other. so if the chairman is willing to work with us on the floor -- >> i'm certainly willing. i would just say that -- and now we're in the middle of a drought, just as you are up north. but i am certainly willing to do exactly that. >> all right. >> and i know that senator stabenow does as well. >> mr. chairman, i'd like to express my support for the amendment and certainly hope something can be worked out on the floor. >> i appreciate your comment, sir. >> all right. with that assurance and commitment, mr. chairman, i'll thdr the amendment here. >> i appreciate that, senator thune. >> thank you. any other amendment in title two?

save the best for last. title one. >> mr. chairman. >> that's the intent, if i can -- >> mr. chairman. >> here we go. >> mr. chairman. >> senator thune. >> title one. i'm sure you're tired of hearing from me on this, but i think as you and senator stabenow know, we've been trying for some time to find a way, and i've been working with senator brown on legislation that would make the art program workable. i'm disappointed that we haven't

been able to do that as i expressed in my opening statement. if you look at the entire nation after the 2014 farm bill, 77% of farmers in this country adopted the art program. i think the reason for that was because it provides both price protection and protection for production losses as well. so we don't -- we will not have now going forward a program in title one that provides revenue protection, that provides protection not only against price loss but also production loss. i think that's unfortunate. we tried as recently as last night, we were trying to get scores from cbo. we didn't get scores until late last night on several proposals that we had to try and make the program workable. we think they're common sense changes, but we have not been able at this point to come up with an amendment that we think

gets the job done. so i want to continue to revisit this issue. i felt for some time, too, that we need to make some changes in the commodity title, one of the ways we had proposed paying for this was with a base update which again, you know, we have thousands of acres of land that haven't been cropped for years or even decades, and some of that land is planted to grass or graze, yet it's earning commodity title payments. with the limited funding in this farm bill, it makes sense, in my view, to target funds where they really need to go. that's to those who are actually farming the land. but again, because we have been unable in the short amount of time since the bill's introduction to the mark-up to get scores from cbo to put us in a position to offer amendment that we think could pass and actually accomplishes the desired goal, i'm not going to

offer the amendment that was thune amendment number 12. i say that, withdraw it, and again express my disappointment that we were unable in the base bill to get something adopted that would keep that program which was chosen by 77% of the farmers in this country in place because i think it's going to be something that they will miss. thank you. >> senator brown? >> in the interest of time, i'll just simply associate myself with senator thune's comments and appreciate the work he's done on this for title one. we need to continue these market oriented reforms and hope we can move forward and get this discussion, turn it into real language on the floor. so thank you. >> i know senator thune and senator brown have been working extremely hard to improve the agriculture program. it is a much-needed program.

in kansas, 75% of our farmers chose it over poc. i have a feeling since that was ring wha weall the good times in agriculture and the arc program protects revenue, that perhaps with the way prices are today that farmers might want to at least consider the poc program. i've heard the calls from both of these senators, and we've tried to work together to incorporate as many of the proposed changes as possible into the mark. the mark includes multiple improvements to arc, including increases the substitute yeeiel to 75%, requires the use of trend adjusted yields and several technical changes. i do have concerns with the far-reaching impacts of changes to the price loss coverage,

reference prices. i would have to oppose the amendment in its current form, but i understand your primary focus is improving arc. i share your concern in that regard. i'd like to continue to work with you as we head to the senate floor to consider further changing to commodity programs that provide producers more certainty and predictability. so i appreciate the senator withdrawing the amendment. i would only add that in its current form, kansas would lose 436,000 acres in their acreage base. the same thing would happen in oklahoma and other areas of the high plains. i think texas is over a million. then it spreads around to the southern states. it gets back to, i think, one of my original comments that i hope we can improve all programs but not at the expense of others.

with that, i look forward to working with senator thune and senator brown to see what we can achieve. any other further amendments? i note that a reporting quorum is present. if there's no further debate or amendment, as 42 be reported as favorably amended, is there a second? >> second. >> all in favor signify by saying aye. all those opposed saying no. does anybody wish a roll call vote? given this situation, why don't we ask the clerk to call the roll.

the vote is on final passage. senator grassley, i think your amendment was not in final form. at least that's my understanding. i'm sorry for that. >> we had to rewrite the amendment a little bit this morning to satisfy you, and we don't have the 45 copies. so go ahead and vote. >> i note that a reporting quorum is present. i move that s 3042 be reported favorably as amended. >> senator stabenow. >> yes. >> senator leahy. >> aye. senatorrown. >> aye. >> senator klobuchar.

>> aye. >> senator bennett. >> aye. >> senator gillebrand. >> aye by proxy. >> senator donnelly. >> aye. >> senator heitkamp. >> aye. >> senator casey. >> aye. >> senator smith. >> aye. >> senator mcconnell. >> by proxy. >> senator boseman. >> aye. >> senator hoven. >> aye. >> senator ernst. >> aye. >> senator grassley. >> no. >> senator thune. >> aye. >> senator danes. >> aye. >> senator purdue. >> aye. >> senator fisher. >> aye. >> senator hide-smith. >> aye. >> chairman roberts. >> aye. >> that's 20 ayes, one no.

>> the ayes are 21 and the nos are 1. the bill is ordered to be reported favorable to the senate as amended. all right. one more change. the ayes are 20 and the nos are 1. the bill is ordered reported favored to the senate as amended. i ask unanimous consent that the staff be authorized to make such technical and clarifying changes that are appropriate. seeing no objections, so ordered. i want to really thank my colleagues for joining in this important process today. i ask unanimous consent to submit for the record letters urging committee action on this issue and support for the substitute amendment as well as member statements for the record. i would simply add this is not the best possible bill, but rather this is the best bill

possible. i am proud and stand by the work conducted here at the committee. i thank the distinguished ranking member. i thank all members in attendance. conducting legislative work through regular order and utilizing the committee process in a bipartisan and transparent manner. this hearing is now adjourned.

>> i understand that part. it sounded like you were interested in maybe placing stricter limits on that $250,000 cap. >> how many people does it take to run a farm? >> good question. i wouldn't know. >> well, you can understand -- >> i understand what you're saying. >> if you're one person --

>> thank you for your interest. i want to thank senator stabenow and her staff for working so hard with my staff to produce what is obviously a bipartisan bill. i go back to 2013 when we had the same opportunity. our first success was talking

har harry reed into even considering a farm bill. we were in a lockdown situation back then. but deborah worked on one side and i worked on the other, and we got the leader at that time to consider the bill. we reported that bill out just before the 12:00 high time frame, and we have just missed that by nine minutes. i'm just thinking, if i had been more terse, we could have made it under that same deadline. i think it's rather remarkable given the concern of an awful lot of folks that we need to work in a bipartisan way and produce legislation. we have done just that. again, i want to thank senator stabenow and her staff. t a 20-1 vote is a good vote. we will address senator grassley's situation on the floor. he was the only no vote. so it's a good bill. we worked very hard on it.

i think we have the support of both leaders to bring it to the floor before the fourth of july break. and if we do that, we will then p provide our farmers, our ranchers, our growers and everybody connected to the great food chain in america certainty and predictability. i know you're probably tired of hearing me say certainty and predictability. what you just saw this morning was exactly that. and that is precisely what our farmers and ranchers and growe ne. senator stabenow. >> well,hank you, chairman roberts. it really is a pleasure to work with chairman roberts. as you can tell, we have a true partnership. this is a committee that represents all parts of the country in terms of states and interests, and we have 12 different titles, which is essentially 12 different bills on all kinds of topics from commodities and conservation to bio energy to nutrition and trade and so on.

so it's a very important set of issues that really go to having a rural economy, rural economic development, a food economy for everybody, and then focusing on the 16 million jobs and counting that come from agriculture. i want to thank senator roberts for being a great partner, and our staffs have worked very closely together on this. i think it's significant that while we haven't changed or increased overall dollars that we've been able to set some priorities and strengthen some areas, do some things in the commodity title, make sure we have a strong crop insurance title on conservation, be able to address issues to streamline and make programs more effective and be able to strengthen some areas in conservation, bring some integrity on the nutrition title while creating more opportunities for states to be

able to establish jobs programs and job training programs to be able to show what works. and then overall, i would say given a time when agriculture has a lot of uncertainty, we've strengthened the trade title, bringing together mandatory ongoing funding for trade promotion, which vale important. as the chairman said, our farmers and ranchers need predictability and certainty. we're working very hard to do our part to make that happen. >> questions? >> you mentioned senator grassley's concerns being dealt with on the floor. do those limits need to be tightened? >> that's up to senator grassley, but we'd be happy to work with him. senator grassley has always been able to get a vote on payment limitations in past farm bills. i think that's going to happen

again. >> do you agree with this proposal? >> i haven't seen the proposal. he was modifying it. i would be untoward if i said i was opposed to it at this particular time because i just need to see the final bill. or the final modifications. >> mr. chairman, you made a reference to senator grassley as well as senator thune about potentially considering some amendments on the floor. i'm wondering what conversations you've had with leadership about the amendment process once this bill gets to the floor. >> well, we stand united with regards to our situation just exactly like we did today. that both of us will be making decisions on amendments, and we have an agreement that we will consider both of our -- we'll just work as a team, and as we try to handle the amendments that come up. but you can see today as we went down title, title, title, the only reason we went back is some

other people had other business outside the committee or we would have finish bid 11:00. so we'll work together in the same fashion on the floor. >> i would just add to that, in total agreement with the chairman, but i think an example of that is how we handled the amendments in the committee. we started out, i think, with 190 amendments. >> 196. >> as of last night we were able to come together with the committee to have a manager's package of 66 amendments that were supported by everyone, and then people felt that their issues and concerns had been addressed and were willing to move forward with a balanced package that we have. we'll operate in the same way on the floor and hopefully be able to move this quickly. >> can you give us any guidance on bringing the bill up on the floor? it's already june 13th. you're leaving june 19th.

that doesn't give you much time. are any other bills interfering with bringing it up? how do you see this moving forward? >> at this point, i don't know of any other bill. i know the leader, senator mcconnell, has said repeat thed that he wants the farm bill before the fourth of july break. i take him at his word. i think the 20-1 vote certainly indicates that we have a solid bipartisan majority, and we'll just move when he says there's an opportunity to move. i would expect it after the current legislation that's on the floor. >> how much time do you think it'll take on the floor? >> an hour. >> we'll shoot for that. we'll take as much time as we need to take. i think, however, you can see with what happened here today that we just have a lot of

common agreement that we need to get this bill done. you know, we don't need amendments that are contrary to the product we've already passed. we always have self-declared secretaries of agriculture on the floor of the senate who like to change policy. i'll expect to have the same amendments we've had before. i think we'll dispatch this bill quickly. >> could it be as early as next week on the floor? >> could be. hope so. >> a lot of optimism here from what happened today and going forward, but how much concern is there of how the house will react to this bill? >> the house is considering the legislation, as the house always does, and i know that colin pearson and mike conaway are working hard to produce something. that bill is different. it will be a totally partisan

bill. i think that's very unfortunate. but that's where the house wants to go. so we'll just have to see and hope that at least some version of the farm bill will pass. you're a quiet group. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> oh, let's not go into all the options. you can go back -- especially you can go back and remember all of the floor considerations of farm bills in the past. i know that harry reid at the time in 2013 said it would take two weeks. it took two days. >> two long days, but two days. >> thank you. >> thank you so much.

>> today's senate agriculture committee hearing marking up the 2018 farm bill will reair

tonight at 9:00 on c-span2. and you can also watch at any time at c-span.org. thursday, the senate foreign relations committee holds a confirmation hearing on three state department nominations, including harry harris to be ambassador to the republic of korea. live coverage starts at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span3. tomorrow night, democratic and republican members of congress face off in the 57th annual congressional baseball game for charity. the game will be played at nationals park and live coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. eastern on c-span3. next, a look at how states spend and misspend federal funds intended to help people with their housing loans and debt. this is a joint hearing of the house oversight and government reform subcommittees on intergovernmental affairs and government operations.