difficult it is to put together a bipartisan farm bill with so many different moving parts. i have all the respect and admiration for the leadership in the committee, but i also sense that we have reached a point of fatigue and exhaustion. people just want this farm bill to go away after years of being worked on. i appreciate that, too. but we are only given one opportunity every five or in this case seven years to reform farm policy to make it better, make it bert for our family farms, make it more responsible for the american taxpayer, to make production agriculture work for all americans, and i'm afraid this farm bill yet again pulls up short. i would beseech my colleagues to take additional time to work on some reform measures that do make sense. rather than looking at another $8.6 billion in cuts to the nutrition tight on top of previous cuts that have already been had, let's look at some of these subsidy programs. i am afraid the bill before us today maintains huge taxpayer subsidies that go to a few but very large agribusinesses at the expense of our family farmers around the country. it's going to lead to greater

consolidation and production in agriculture, going to continue to drive up land values. going to make it harder for new beginning farmers to enter the occupation. it's not responsible to thee family farmers and not responsible to the american taxpayer. we've got historically high commodity target prices in this bill, so any slight dip going to mean huge payments going out in the future. we have the multiple entity rule now that we worked on in the previous farm bill being rolled back in one. we have payment limitation caps being increased rather than brought down to where the will of this congress was last year when we had that debate on the floor. most of that money is being shifted now into the crop insurance program which what i feel is overly generous preemyuss -- crop insurance subsidies to producers which has the potential of taking risk out of production decisions, but we're telling the crop insurance companies,

're going to guarantee a 14% profit margin. we're going to pay your entirely administrative and operating expenses and by the way, you're going to have little risk. the american taxpayer will not bear that risk. there is not a business in the world that will sign up for that offer so why are we doing that in this farm bill? representative petri and i had a reform of the crop insurance program asking these crop insurance companies, put a little more skin in the game. we understand it's a valuable risk management tool that needs to be there for producers but this goes overboard with it. and then finally, we got a domestic cotton program that's gotten us into trouble with brazil. in the average taxpayer knew that for the last four years we funneled out $150 million worth of taxpayer subsidies going to subsidize brazil cotton farmers, they'd be livid, and yet this bill does not fix that cotton problem and now it's up to brazil whether they want to level economic sanctions against us. more work needs to happen and

unfortunately this bill pulls up short. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. lucas: thank you, mr. speaker. i would like to recognize for one minute one of our hardest working subcommittee chairmen, the gentleman from texas, mr. conaway. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. mr. conaway: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in strong support of the farm bill, legislation that provided much-needed reform, it's fiscally responsible, providing market-based solutions and streamlining more than 100 programs. we eliminated direct payments that farmers received and replaced them with a safety net that provides help only when the farmers need it. the bill includes the most significant reform to food stamp programs since the welfare reform of 1996. while i personally am disappointed we didn't fix some issues, i do believe this bill provides a balanced opportunity and security and strengthens our agriculture safety net for years to come. i ask my colleagues to vote yes on the safety net, vote yes for

these modest reforms to food stamp, pass this conference report, give our farmers and ranchers across this country the five years of stability and security they need to execute their business plans, to allow them to continue to provide the american people with the most affordable and abundant food and fiber supply in the most developed world. vote yes on the conference report. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from oklahoma reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is ecognized. mr. peterson: i yield two minutes to mr. schrader. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. schrader. yeah, i guess for some people, you know, you just can't do enough. i'd argue respectfully to a lot of my colleagues that the work that's gone on on both sides of the aisle in the last two years has been pretty exemplary. the farm bill is always a difficult bill to pass. i think the last couple of times it was vetoed and had to be overridden.

it could be better. i have not yet seen legislation that's exactly what i perfectly like to be voting on at the end of the day. we make huge strides in this bill that were draconian cuts to the snap and food stamp programs that are no longer in here. there were onerous incentives to get people off of food stamps that are in longer in here. for people saying people will be cut as a result of this, that's not up. if they put $20 towards the heating assistance for the low-income folks that need that, they don't get a reduced benefit. yes, it's a reduced benefit. they still qualify for their base benefit in this bill. moreover if they bring their heating and cooling bills in they can still get the expanded benefit. it just requires a little more diligence, puts faith in america that the food stamp goes to those who need it. as far as the subsidies go, hey, you know, maybe we should change that. we should work on that some more. there will be another farm bill in four, five years, but we

made huge strides. we get rid of the direct payments. we've been trying to do that for 20 years. the subsidies, the milk program are new. a margin insurance program. i think america understands that type of thing. we made huge strides here. there's so many good things. for so many friends on the democratic side of the aisle, at the end of the day, it's imperative we made huge strides, the or beganic provisions, we have done great with market access promotion programs. we made it so american farmers continue to produce the best food and fiber with the safety net that makes sure that the people on this country -- in this country get the food they need and deserve and can do the best economically on the global trade scene. i think this is a great opportunity. people here should be voting yes on this bill after the hard bipartisan work. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from minnesota reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. mcgovern: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from oregon, mr. blumenauer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon is

recognized for two minutes. well, i deeply respect my friend and colleague from oregon. i have a slightly different perspective on this because i think the bill before us today is the least that can be done and get the bill passed. it's got a number of items do i support like specialty crops. we've been working on for sometime. i'm pleased there will be or beganics have an opportunity -- organics have an opportunity to get crop insurance. this bill, as i say, takes allegedly the savings from rect payments that have been opposed for years but takes the savings and plows them back in to an enriched crop insurance program. it cuts $6 billion for conservation. yes, there are some improvements in terms of administration, but at the end of the day cuts $6 billion when land and water is under pressure and needs it the most.

this is short sided. it's very likely going to caught a lot more in the long run for reasons that my friend from wisconsin pointed out in terms of setting these targets higher. it is more generous in terms of rejecting a provision that was included in both the house and the senate version to limit payments to individual farms to $50,000. the conference committee increases the limit to $125,000 and reopens a loophole closed in both the house and senate bills, allowing the payments to be collected by multiple people. it's just one more example of where the conference committee that i think had one meeting and sort of massaged these things to put the pieces together to secure a majority on the floor but is not by any stretch of the imagination in the best interest of most farmers, certainly not for the environment and for the american taxpayers.

i respectfully urge its rejection. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. lucas: mr. speaker, i yield the gentleman from arkansas, who's been very focused on these critical issues, especially those involving livestock, mr. womack, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arkansas is recognized for two minutes. mr. womack: thank you, mr. speaker. i, too, want to congratulate the chairman and to his ranking member and my colleague from arkansas, one of the committee members, mr. crawford, for their diligent work and coming up with this committee report. this was not easy, to say the least. that said, mr. speaker, because the senate's my way or the highway attitude, we're considering a conference report that does nothing to address an out-of-control agency, gipsa, from imposing on american companies regulations that go well beyond congressional intent. because of the senate's all or

nothing approach, we're considering a conference report that will subject american industries and companies to retaliatory tariffs. for me it would be easy to vote against this conference report, but unlike my senate counterparts, i recognize that in divided government each side has to find common ground. ultimately, this report, like many of the other bipartisan agreements that had been signed into law, move the ball forward by making much-needed reforms to federal programs and reducing spending. that's why in the end i will support it. i am hopeful, however, mr. speaker, that the house appropriations committee will do everything in its power to fix some of these mistakes. i, as a member of that committee, will fight to rein in gipsa, and i'll work to fix the country of origin labeling requirements. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arkansas yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from oklahoma reserves.

the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. peterson: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from ohio. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. maryland fudge: let me thank by leader pelosi by appointing me to the farm bill committee. i thank representatives peterson and lucas and senators stabenow and cochran for their leadership in negotiating this conference report. throughout this process, it was my goal to ensure a fair and balanced farm bill. while i do not agree with some of the provisions of this conference bill, i firmly believe it is a good compromise. given how far apart we were when this conference began, i am pleased members on both sides of the aisle and across the chamber were able to reach a consensus and show the american people congress can work together. the agreement rejects categorycal eligibility, something we talk about for

sometime. the $8.6 billion savings in snap over 10 years, over 10 years comes from a change in liheap policy that would shrink benefits for approximately 850,000 households in 16 states. it does not eliminate a qualified household from access to snap, which was an important consideration on the difficult road to reach a compromise that prevents devastating cuts and changes to this critically needed program. this agreement also expands economic investment in low income, urban and rural communities. it provides certainty and sound agricultural policies for america's farmers and ranchers. passing the farm bill has always been a bipartisan endeavor. and this conference committee report proves it is still possible for congress to work through its differences and produce a balanced bill that meets the needs of the american people. we have negotiated the farm bill for the last two years.

it is now time to move forward. i strongly encourage my colleagues to join me and vote yes on this bipartisan, bicameral conference agreement. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from ohio yields back. the gentleman from minnesota reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, i'm delighted to yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from wisconsin, ms. moore. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from wisconsin is recognized for two minutes. thank you so very much. i rise to oppose this compromised bill, although i congratulate people for working very hard on it. but the change of the heat and eat option is not just a little technical change, it's a change that has the freezing, chilling impact on every single snap recipient in wisconsin. it not only increases bureaucracy, it decreases snap

benefits to wisconsin families whose benefits were cut already in november. i'm deeply concerned about the concrete, hurt, hunger and quite frankly the frigid cold that we impose today on thousands of low-income american households, including seniors, children and the disabled. as many as 255,000 snap cases in wisconsin will be affected by this change. how do i explain this to the women, children, seniors and disabled in households that this technical change is minor when they stand to lose $90 a month in benefits when you consider what they lost in november? $90 a month to a poor family is not a technical change. it's a lot of money. it's more than $1,000 a year. the price of food is not going to go down. nor is the price of fuel.

nor is the purchasing power of the poor going to go up. snap benefits already do not meet nutritional needs throughout the month. and this change will mean that real food will be off real tables and out of the stomaches of current recipients. it proposed cut on top of resulting in a drop to wisconsin is just too much. in the heat and eat states, that's as much as 11% of all beneficiaries. in one step, we impose new administrative costs on those states and make it harder to keep snap more responsive. kids were off school two days, two days this week because of the frigid, dangerous cold. following these families back the heat or eat is the wrong

thing to do. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. lucas: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield one minute to another one of my outstanding subcommittee chairmen, the gentleman from georgia, mr. austin scott. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for one minute. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to first say thank you to chairman lucas and ranking member peterson. the ag committee has some of the most conservative members in the house and some of the most liberal members in the house, and i'll tell you we've got a lot of different opinions about what could and what should be done, but we had respectful discussion across the aisles and across the philosophical debates. i have said many times from this podium that the foundation of our economy in this country is based on two things, one being manufacturing, and the other based on agriculture. this bill does the things that it needs to do to ensure that foundation for our agricultural producers to help with that part of the economy. it also ensures that as those farmers go forward and dot things that they do in providing the food, nutrition, and fiber

not only for america but the rest of the world, that americans, americans when they go to the grocery store, will get more for their dollar than any other country as they seek to feed their families. we found agreement to clean up waste and abuse within many of the systems, including the food stamp system. we have given more money to food banks, which i think that is an extremely important -- making sure the most needy of america's citizens have a place to go and make sure that they can get the nutrition that they need. we have put some new policies in place and i'm confident that this bill is a move in the right direction where we've got those areas where we did not find the agreement, i'm confident we'll be able to come back an work on those. i'm proud to support this bill. mr. speaker, i yield the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from oklahoma reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. peterson: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield two minutes to my colleague from minnesota, mr. walls -- walz. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota is recognized for two minutes. mr. walz: thank you, mr. speaker, thank you to the

chairman and ranking member for your incredible hard work. the folks of oklahoma and minnesota should be proud of the representative that they have sent here. i'm proud of this piece of legislation. i stand in support of it. it's been two years. i feel like we have been at it most of our life. while i hear people pointing out problems, i'm certainly there. if we had each written this bill it would look different. i hear people say it's not perfect. we had a former colleague once who said, of course it's not perfect. if you want perfect, you'll get that in heaven. at times this place is closer to hell. this is a pretty good compromise we have come up with. it certainly does things, and i am proud to say it makes bold new investments in clean renewable american made energy. this is a tough decision. tough budgeting times and the commitment of this committee to make that happen i could not be prouder. it also takes bold steps moving the country forward on conservation measures. one piece in here protecting our native prairies in the midwest is fabulous. i want to thank the gentlelady from south dakota, miss glome, for her unwavering effort on this -- mrs. noem for her

this.ring effort on you can have all things, as the folks over at "ducks unlimited said" this is one of the best pieces of conservation legislation in decades to do that. we have struck balance. producing food, feeding the world, clothing the world, powering the world, at the same time providing that area to sportsmen and pristine beauty to our country. it can happen. as a veteran i'm proud we took a bold step in here to try to get returning veterans back on the land. average age of a farmer in this country is 57 years old. we need new folks on the land. that comes with high land prices and access to capital. i worked on some beginning farmer legislation. the chairman made sure that happened in here. it's going to work, it provides some of that access and keeps our family farms continuing on. there's things to point out that you're frustrated with. i understand that. but there's a lot of good in this bill.

it's a compromise. we came together. we tried to find and strike those balances. we continue to feed those folks who need the safety net. we continue to make sure there are producers -- have the certainty that they need and i have to till all across this country this morning producers woke up quietly, went about their business, feeding, fueling, powering america. we can say thank you by passing this bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from minnesota reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, i'm happy now to yield to my colleague from connecticut for three minutes, ms. delauro. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from connecticut is recognized for three minutes. rather than producing a farm bill that meets our traditional responsibilities as a congress to support working families and farmers, this bill will do great damage to the nation's most vulnerable citizens. this bill slashes $8.6 billion from food stamps, our nation's

most important anti-hunger program. this is in addition to the $11 billion already cut. and while it goes out of its way to reopen loopholes that benefit millionaires and billionaires. interestingly enough, this bill increases the deficit this year, and the congressional budget office has said that it doesn't save the $23 billion that it claims to save. this bill results in winners and losers. winners, wealthy farmers, and agribusinesses who will be able to pocket crop insurance subsidies and other government handouts beyond the already generous limits passed earlier by both the house and the senate. congressional budget office again said that increases spending on crop insurance by $5.7 billion. the senate passed a bipartisan amendment to reduce the level of federal premium support for crop insurance participants who make over $750,000, but the

conference raised it to $900,000. winners, against the express wishes of both houses, a loophole was opened which was closed in both the house and senate bills which allows farming enterprises to overcollect on commodity payments. winners. but who are the losers? and there are losers in the farm bill. the losers are the 850,000 low-income households all over america. 1.7 million americans who will lose 66 meals a month because of this cut to food stamps. who are we talking about? children who will go hungry and spend all the next day at school. they'll go to bed hungry, spend the next day at school, unable to concentrate because they are thinking about food. veterans, roughly 900,000 of whom receive food stamps and

working families who will face an empty fridge, an annoying pain in their stomach for weeks and weeks. seniors have to choose between food or warmth. whose health will deteriorate for want of sustenance. these are our own people we are consigning to this fate. hardworking people in our district and in our communities. if you vote for this bill, you will have to look them in the eye and tell them to go without food. that they have to endure hunger because we have to give more handouts to millionaires and billionaires. that is what this farm bill is about. make no mistake. it increases hunger rather than decreases hunger in america. it picks winners and losers rather than ensuring we are supporting those that grow and those that consume the food we produce in this nation of plenty

. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from is recognized for an additional minute. ms. delauro: it picks winners and losers rather than ensuring we are supporting those that grow and those that consume the food that we produce in this nation of plenty, which is what farm bills have been about in the past. and i have negotiated nutrition titles in farm bills. this is a farm bill that undermines the health and the well-being of the most vulnerable in our society. i urge my colleagues to vote no and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the chair will receive a message. marc: mr. speaker, a message from the president of the united states. the secretary: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: madam secretary. the secretary: i am directed by the president of the united states to deliver to the house of representatives a message in writing.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. lucas: mr. speaker, i would like to yield one minute to the gentleman from illinois who has worked extremely diligently on this bill for its entire process , mr. davis. one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognized for one minute. mr. davis: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you to chairman lucas for the leadership he's shown in getting this conference report to the floor. i rise in strong support of this conference committee report. it is a commonsense piece of legislation p that deals with things such as overregulation. that is a silent job killer that this administration is implementing through our agricultural industry. i'm proud many of the provisions that i helped craft are in this final farm bill to reduce that opportunity for the -- for this administration to continue to kill jobs in this country. we see some commonsense reforms to the snap program. our goal should be to get people

off of snap and into jobs. mr. speaker, this bill, this bill is a lesson in fiscal responsibility. it is one of the single most -- one of the single largest cuts in mandatory spending that this congress has done which is putting our country on a path to complete fiscal responsibility. these are some of the decision that is we need to make. most of those cuts are in the agricultural side. we need to understand that this is a commonsense piece of legislation that's going to continue to reduce our deficit in this country, put us on a path to paying down our national debt, and, and putting excellent long-term farm policy in place for years to come. mr. speaker, i rise in strong support and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from oklahoma reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. peterson: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield one minute to a former member of the committee, mr. walsh from vermont. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman from vermont is recognized for one minute. mr. walsh: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to submit my full statement. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized. mr. walsh: in some cases we spend far too much -- mr. welch: in some cases we spend far too much needlessly and some cases we spend far too little unwisely. but a five-year farm bill is absolutely crucial to america. it is crucial to vermont dairy farmers. this bill takes three important steps for dairy farmers from vermont and throughout the country. it creates a modern day insurance program which protects farmers against the wild swings in feed prices which are totally out of their control. two, it protects taxpayers as well as farmers by limiting insurance to a farmer's base production. three, finally, it gives usda the tools to intervene if dairy prices drop dramatically. mr. speaker, with its false and

imperfections, america does need a new farm bill. agriculture is changing all around us. local food is a growing sector in my state. the organic sector is booming and people are much more aware of their food and farms. this farm bill invests in local foods, provides insurance to small farmers, and puts organic farming on a strong footing for the future. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from minnesota reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. mcgovern: i yield myself one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for one minute. mr. mcgovern: i want my colleagues to understand why those of us who are opposing this bill because of the snap cuts are so concerned. on november 1 when the moneys ran out, all 47 million people on snap received a cut. for an average family of three that was about a $30 reduction per month which is a lot of money when you're struggling to put food on the table. quite frankly the snap benefit in and of itself is nod at quit. people end up going to food banks anyway. if this bill passes, for over

800,000 families, well over a million people, for the average family of three, an additional $90 cut will go into effect. that's $120. i don't know where they are going to make that up. i don't know where they are going to get help. we can say let the states pick it up. well, the states aren't rushing to pick anything up. let the charities pick it up. read the newspaper last week, "new york times," all of our food banks are at capacity. they can't do it. so what's going to happen to these people? in the united states of america the richest country in the history of the world, we ought to all pledge that nobody, and i mean nobody, ought to go hungry. that's when this fight is about. i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. lucas: might i inquire how much time the three of us have? it the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota has 8 1/2 minutes. the gentleman -- 6 1/2 minutes.

mr. lucas: how much time? the speaker pro tempore: 11 1/2 minutes. mr. lucas: i wish to yield to the gentlelady from the da coatas who understands the diversity of weather, understands the challenges that producers half for a minute and a half, the gentlelady mrs. noem. the speaker pro tempore: the the gentlewoman from south dakota is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. mrs. noem: i thank the chairman for yielding and leadership on the farm bill and also ranking member peterson for all of his hard work and diligence in finding some common ground on a bill that's under -- been under negotiations for far too long. i'm so happy to be standing here with all of our members and colleagues to -- from the farm bill conference committee, which was honored to be a part of, an also everyone else who is supporting this bill, it is extremely bipartisan. it's taken a lot of hard work to get to this point, but i'm proud of the fact we have a product in front of us that's not only good for producers, it's good for consumers, it secures our food supply into the future which is one of the safest in the world. we make reforms, we save

billions of tax dollars, it's accountable to the taxpayer in this country. we conserve wildlife had been tafment we provide a valuable safety net for those who grow our food and for those who rely on food assistance as well. while congress was writing this bill, my home state got hit with droughts and blizzards that cost us tens of thousands of livestock. the livestock disaster programs that i authorrd in this bill and will provide much needed relief to those who are struggling so hard during this difficult time. our black hills national forest is going to gain some regulatory relief. and additional tools to combat the pine beatle that's destroying our -- beetle that's destroying our black hills. a permanent office of tribal relations a. real victory for alt tribes who need to have better communication within usda. thousands of hunters acrossed is and every year will be glad to know they have a provision in place that will help protect grasslands. whether you grow corn, wheat, soybeans, or cotton, producers will have more choices which at

the end of the day is going to help them cover their risk that they take every year. i'm proud of the bill, i'm proud of our work. i urge our colleagues to support the bill. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. without objection, the gentleman from oklahoma reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. peterson: mr. speaker, i'm now pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from north carolina, mr. mcintyre. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina is recognized for two minutes. mr. mcintyre: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from north carolina is recognized for two minutes. mr. mcintyre: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of this farm bill. this is a strong, reform-minded bill with bipartisan support. it will grow our economy, create jobs, provide certainty, reduce our deficit and save the american taxpayers $16 billion. the bill reforms the farm safety net, strengthening crop insurance and commodity programs. these risk management tools assure farmers that help is there when they need it. the bill also encourages

conservation and develops export markets to help our farmers sell their products worldwide. rural communities depend on the farm bill too. through critical programs, small towns can build hospitals, schools, fire departments and police departments. this bill helps create jobs and economic development. water and waste water programs, the most basic of public services that allow industries to come to rural areas, give access to healthy drinking water and sanitary sewers are part of this as well. this bill has important tools for new farmers, and i can tell you as one in a state of north carolina, we're -- where one out of every five jobs are depended on agriculture or agri related business, this bill is about jobs and our economy in a way that helps states throughout our economy. there's still some work to do, like bringing country of origin labeling in compliance with w.t.o. and reducing the gipsa rules. farmers in small towns across america have waited too long

for a farm bill. our rural citizens are taxpayers, just like those who live in urban and suburban areas. they deserve the respect of this congress. ey deserve a farm bill who live in rural -- for those that live in rural areas. we as americans enjoy our wonderful supply of food and fiber that the good lord has blessed us with and our farmers worked hard to supply. we ought to work with our farmers and with agriculture and have a strong farm bill that our citizens in all of america deserve to have passed. with that i yield the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from minnesota reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, i reserve our time at this time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. lucas: mr. speaker, i would now like to yield to another one of our outstanding subcommittee chairmen, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. thompson, one minute.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, i rise in support of this farm bill and also to thank chairman lucas and congressman peterson for your leadership for agriculture. as many of my house colleagues have already said this morning, this legislation is long overdue. this bill is truly worthy of its name. the federal agriculture reform and risk management act because of the historic reforms it ledge slates. overall the bills repeals or consolidates about 100 programs. along with sequestration reduction that cuts mandatory spending by nearly $23 billion. and the conservation title alone reduces it from $23 billion to $13 billion. this bill saves $6 billion and does so without affecting the programs. we reform food stamps and we do so through thoughtful changes making sure that truly needs the assistance gets it. farmers providing milk for this

nation, we help them. with the 2008 farm bill expiring nearly a year and a half ago, i urge my colleagues to vote for this legislation and finally give our farmers and rural constituents the support they deserve, ensuring all americans -- mr. lucas: i yield the gentleman an additional minute. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. chairman. i won't take that much. overall this farm bill ensures all americans have access to affordable, high-quality and safe food and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from oklahoma reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. peterson: mr. speaker, i'm now pleased to yield one minute to the gentlelady from washington, ms. delbene. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from washington is recognized for one minute. ms. delbene: thank you, mr. speaker. this farm bill is bipartisan legislation that's good for our farmers and families. it's an accomplishment in a will create jobs, help our farmers and preserve access to healthy food. this bill includes unprecedented funding for specialty crops and organic

farms. it's no understatement to say that this is the best farm bill yet for specialty crop farmers. i'm proud the farm bill includes $200 million to fund my proposal to expand job training programs for snap recipients to find self-sustaining jobs. make no mistake, no one got everything they wanted. i'm disappointed that nutrition assistance is reduced at a time it's needed high, however it will not reduce snap eligibility for those in need. in addition, the reduction of the dairy stabilization is disappointing. this bill is an improvement but falls short of solving the entire problem. overall, this bill provides the certainty needed to grow our economy and bolster america's agriculture industry. i strongly urge a yes vote and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. the gentleman from minnesota reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, i yield an additional two minutes to the gentlewoman from

connecticut, ms. delauro. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from connecticut is recognized for two additional minutes. ms. delauro: i thank the gentleman and just wanted to reiterate one thing. me may view that represent the state of connecticut, third congressional district of connecticut and in fact what do we know about farming. the fact is that we do. we have dairy farmers, people with specialty crops, and included in my history in this great body, i served as chair of the agriculture subcommittee of appropriations. also served as the ranking member and as i mentioned earlier, i had the opportunity to be part of the conference committee on the farm bill in 2008 and helped to negotiate the nutrition title. i might make one or two more points. congressional budget office, this farm bill says it's going to save $23 billion.

they count savings frofere a year ago. they talk about $16.6 billion. congressional budget office says even as we cut that $8.6 billion from the food stamp program, taking meals away from 1.7 million of the most vulnerable in our society, we are increasing spending on crop insurance by $5.7 billion in the farm bill. in case folks do not know, the fact of the matter is that americans subsidize crop insurance. we pick up over 60% of the cost of the premiums on crop insurance. we pay 100% of the administrative costs in terms of crop insurance. we have 13 or 26 individuals who get at least $1 million in the crop insurance subsidy and we can't find out who they are, and while the food cut -- the cut in food stamp benefits are going to be felt immediately across those 850,000 households, primarily made up

of children, the elderly, disabled and veterans, few, if any of the congressional budget office projected commodity program savings may ever be realized if crop prices continue to fall. this is reflected in that c.b.o. score that the deficit would be increased this year with this bill. . only food stamps would be cut this year. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. ms. delauro: we should vote against this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. lucas: thank you, mr. speaker. it is with the greatest of pleasure i turn now to the gentleman from michigan, mr. benishek, who is so focused on these issues. i yield him 1 1/2 minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. mr. benishek: i'd like to thank the ranking member as well. these guys have put a lot of work into this bill over the years. i rise today in support of the agriculture act of 2014.

this measure is important for farms and hardworking families in northern michigan. northern michigan is home to a number of centennial family farms. meaning they have been in the family for over 100 years. farms like the barredonhagens where they grow asparagus, apples and potatoes. a short drive down the road is another farm. they grow corn, wheat, soybeans, and raise beef calt for their neighbors. these -- cattle for their neighbors. these family operations are a vitalal and growing part of northern michigan's economy and it's been an honor to get to know them. they work hard to produce quality products that feed northern michigan and families around the world. this bill represents the hard work and input of stakeholders from northern michigan and across the country. while not perfect, it reflects the needs of our rural agriculture economy that is

vital to michigan's first congressional district. i urge my colleagues to support the passage of this bill and yield the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from oklahoma reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. peterson: i'm now pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from georgia, mr. scott. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for two minute. mr. scott: thank you very much, chairman. ranking member. agriculture, ladies and gentlemen, is the heart and soul of our nation. it provides the food we eat. it provides the clothes we wear. it provides the material to build our homes and our shelters. no committee is engaged in the entire crook and nannies of the fabric of this nation as the agriculture committee. this farm bill is the product of what makes america great. what makes america great is our democratic republic. the anchor of which is

compromise. i want to commend mr. peterson, our ranking member, for his job, mr. lucas, the chairman of our committee for his job. it's been five years that we have been on this. and i particularly want to thank mr. peterson and it was a pleasure working with mr. peterson on an issue very dear to him which is dairy, as we worked out the fabric of that. i commend our leadership on our committee. oufer, there is yet work to be done. mess delauro from connecticut was right. mr. mcgovern was ry. -- ms. delauro from connecticut was right. mr. mcgovern was right. ladies and gentlemen of the committee in this house and this nation, we have a serious problem with hunger in this country. and it's not going away until we realize the graphity -- gravity

of it. our veterans, our seniors, the most vulnerable. we must address this issue. my position on this bill is that i will vote for it. we have worked on it. is it a perfect bill? no, it is not. are we a perfect nation? no, we are not. but we are constantly striving, striving for that. and we will get closer to this perfect position as we bring all americans involved and let no american go hungry in this country. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. scott: i urge everyone to please vote for the bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from minnesota reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, i'm thrited to yield two minutes to the gentleman from new york, mr. crowley. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for two minutes. mr. crowley: i thank my friend and colleague from massachusetts

for yielding me this time. this legislation is commonly referred to as the farm bill, but it's also a food bill. on that note it falls short. to be clear this is miles ahead of where we started with what i consider a truly heartless republican proposal, and i know that our conferees worked hard to make improvements to this bill, in particular i want to thank collin peterson and the members of the democratic side of the aisle who worked -- who are dedicated to work to improve this bill. but it still leaves too many families behind. the snap cut in this bill may seem on paper -- small on paper, but it's not to the families that it will affect. it's not to the food banks that are already stretched well beyond their means. in new york city, 280,000 households are expected to see their benefits drop under this bill. the benefits that don't go

anywhere near far enough to begin with. we see every day in new york city how deep the need for food assistance is. how food banks and community hunger organizations are doing everything they can to provide food to hungry families. and they are joined by citizen heroes like jorge who i was honored to host last night as my guest to the state of the union. jorge has been called an angel in queens for his work in feeding the hungry. he saw a need on the streets of queens and he jumped in to fill it. serving home cooked meals out of his truck to what started as a small group of homeless and unemployed new yorkers. as word grew of his generosity, so did the crowds eager just for something to get through that night. since 2004, jorge has served over 225,000 meals on the streets of queens new york. he and i know there are more

people out there who are hungry or cold or need of every bit of assistance that they get. could i have an additional minute? mr. mcgovern: i yield 30 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 30 seconds. mr. crowley: we should be doing more not less. it's really trouble there are some on the other side of the aisle who think this doesn't cut food assistance enough. imagine that, there is $8 billion, $8 billion worth of cuts in this bill and still that's far less than i wanted to cut. the fact that in some ways this bill can be considered a compromise option just shows how unreasonable the cuts proposed by the other side were. what did we come to when we argue about how much of a cut to hungry children and family is reasonable? yes, this bill is not as bad as it could be, but it's not as good as it should be. that's why i'll be voting no against this bill today. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired.

the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. lucas: mr. speaker, i would like to yield to the gentleman from oklahoma who has some of the most productive agricultural land and some of the most amazing farmers an ranchers, the gentleman, mr. cole, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized tore two minutes. mr. cole: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, it's a great personal privilege and pleasure for me to come down here on behalf of 14,000 farmers and ranchers in my district and 75,000 farmers and ranchers in the state of oklahoma. goodness knows how many tens of thousands of people beyond that in various phases of agriculture and ag industry. and thank my good friend, chairman lucas, for what he's accomplished. i think it's easy to be the critic, but i think all of us on this house floor know how long and how arduous this struggle has been to bring all the competing interests together, to bring both sides of the aisle together. to bring both chambers together, and to bring the administration

together in support of this legislation. it's easy to see why the support, if you actually step back and take a look at what it does. first it does save $23 billion. and frankly those cuts largely don't come out of the safety net programs where actually there's simply -- relatively modest but important reforms, they actually come out of the production end of this business. changes need to be made there, but we ought to recognize those are tough changes in and of themselves. second, it preserves the capability of this country to continue to produce more food and fiber than anybody else in the world, not just for our people, but for all over the world, and deliver that at a cheaper price than anybody else in the world. it's worth reflecting that americans pay a lower percentage of their income for food than any other country in the world. guess what? with the additional income, they are able to do other things, invest in other things, and go on. finally, particularly pleased

that the safety net has been preserved. important programs are in place. we ought to recognize that. it wouldn't have been possible without my friend, chairman lucas. all he's done to bring us together, how hard he's worked. this bill, frankly, deserves the support of every democrat, every republican on this floor. i urge my colleagues to be supportive when the time to vote comes. with that i yield back the balance of my time. . mr. lucas: mr. speaker, i have no additional speakers. i believe i have the right to close and i'll reserve my time unless we're ready to close or when we're ready to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts will be recognized first to close.

mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, i'm prepared to close if there are no other speakers. my understanding is that mr. other n may have one speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. peterson: mr. speaker, we have one member that wanted to speak and we're trying to ascertain his whereabouts at his point. the speaker pro tempore: let me give an update on times remaining. the gentleman from oklahoma has 5 1/4 minutes remaining. the gentleman from minnesota has 3 1/2 minutes remaining. the gentleman from massachusetts has two minutes remaining. the gentleman from minnesota is ecognized. mr. peterson: mr. speaker, i know that members want to get out of here and get on planes

and so forth so we'll yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time? mr. peterson: well, mr. speaker -- go ahead. you going to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for two minutes to close. mr. mcgovern: mau, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, first of all let me say that -- thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, first of all let me say that i'm grateful to mr. peterson and chairman lucas. i appreciate their dedication on these issues. it's good to be on the agriculture committee and proud to serve with them as well as with other members on each side of the aisle. unfortunately, i cannot support this bill. mr. speaker, let me speak to my fellow democrats. last night we sat in this chamber and we listened to the president give his state of the union address. and when he talked about raising the minimum wage, we all stood up and cheered. when he talked about the need to address income inequality, we all applauded, but cheers and applause are not enough.

and i ask my colleagues to think back, to remember listening to their parents and grandparents talk about how franklin roosevelt always stood up for the little guy. remember those pictures of bobby kennedy touring through appalachian and touching the cheeks of hungry children. that's why we became democrats in the first place. those are the people that got us into politics. those are our people. don't throw that away just to be able to say you voted for a farm bill. don't turn your backs on our heritage and our history by giving bipartisan cover to what i believe is a flawed bill. we don't have to do this. the price of admission to pass a farm bill should not be more cuts to snap. and make no mistake about it. my friends on the republican side are not through when it comes to snap. they're going to come back after this program again and again and again. we need to push back. we need to say enough. you know, some -- you know, some have rationalized these cuts. some have tried to explain them

away as being nothing but closing a loophole. they are wrong. people are going to be hurt. people all over this country, 1.7 million people are going to be impacted by this. there should be nobody in this country, the richest country in the history of the world, who should ever go hungry. that should be a nonparticipate issue. but to -- nonpartisan issue. but to my democrat colleagues, this is something we've championed over and over again during the existence of this country. so i urge my colleagues to vote no on this conference report. vote your conscience, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. peterson: mr. speaker, mr. airman, i'll close, i guess, as well. i again want to thank the chairman and all of the members on both sides of the aisle for their work and hanging in there all these months and years to get to this point and

congratulate the chairman on what i expect to be a successful outcome in a little bit of time here and with that i'd ask everybody to support this conference report and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. lucas: mr. speaker, i yield myself -- the speaker pro tempore: 5 1/4 minutes. the gentleman is recognized. mr. lucas: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to join my colleague by adding to the congressional record a majority of the -- a list of the majority staff members. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. lucas: i say with the cooperation of the members of the committee itself, the cooperation among of house and senate members was exemplary. i'd also note that the work of our staff, those good men and omen, house and senate, over the course of these years cannot be underestimated or underappreciated. e hours, the spirit of

comity, the focus on accomplishing, trying to do good policy, it cannot be understated how important those ood folks have been. mr. speaker, let me close by saying this. no one cares more about agriculture policy, farmers and ranchers, consumers and everyone in the process that takes it from the seed to the plate or the bowl than i do. but i think in good faith i can say my colleague, mr. peterson, cares just as much as i do. members of our committee care just as much as we do. this bill, done in what i would like to define as regular order, through the committee process and the floor and the conference, may not have exactly everything my friends

on the right would want or my friends on the left would want, but it represents making the process work, achieving consensus, putting into place policies that are better than what were there before to drive this effort forward. i know that we sincerely disagree on many things, and i know some of my friends don't sometimes act like they care about what happens out on the farm or the ranch. i know that's not the case. they do care, but i would simply say this. no matter how much money we spend on supplemental programs to make sure our fellow citizens have enough to eat -- and that's important -- never forget, if there's not a product on the shelf, if there's not meat in the case, if there's not vegetables or

fruit available, it doesn't matter how much you subsidize. the food has to be there. and that's why i've said all along, a farm bill still has to have farm in it. this agricultural act of 2014 lives up to that. it makes a commitment to our fellow citizens who are in tough times. but it will also assure that the food will be there. don't take us down the path that many other countries have gone through in the last century of people lined up at empty shelves, people hording particular ag products because it's available that day because they'll trade it the next day when something might be available. let's continue to do this miracle called american agriculture. and oh, by the way, depending on how you define miracles in

the environment we work together in, this farm bill might not be quite >> members went on to pass the farm bill in a 251-166 vote. it cuts the supplemental nutrition assistance program, also known as food stamps, by $8 billion. farmso ends direct subsidies for a savings of 4.5 billion dollars per year. the senate is expected to vote on the bill thursday. more live coverage monday at noon eastern. coming up on c-span,

president obama talks about retirement savings at a steel mill in pennsylvania. and republicans and democrats give their impressions of last night state of the union address. officialsigence briefed congress on national security threats. bringing attention to what women do or how they have contributed always returns to the question of the body. for one thing, many people object to bringing women's studies or history enjoy middle school, high school classroom because there is an assumption that women's studies is only about sex, birth control, abortion. and actually, it is also about women in politics, women in law, women working on farms, queens, prime ministers. and my job is to break