first up, the rule for that farm bill. bloomberg writes that rule contains an unrelated provision that would block lawmakers from forcing the chamber to vote on certain yemen legislation until a new congress takes over in january. debate and vote on that rule coming up shortly in the u.s. house. live coverage now here on c-span. the speaker: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by our chaplain,ather conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. dear god, we give you thanks for ving us another day. the sun grows dim and the dayght is measud. in the darkness, phantoms loom. the eye cannot discern as the distance fades. be for us light, o lord. bless the members of this people's house with clear judgment that the work to be concluded might propel our nation into a prosperous future. and as always we pray that whatever is done this day be for your greater honor and glory, men. the speake the chair has examined the journal of the last day's oceedings and announces to the house his appro thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of

bush, signed into law the 1990 farm bill. for the first time since 1990, congress is poised to pass a new farm bill in the same year that the legislation was first introduced. in many ways the 1990 farm bill laid the groundwork for today's u.s. farm policy. u.s. farm policy in longer the old command control policies of the new deal but a market oriented, risk management approach that helps america's farmers and ranchers survive natural disasters and the predatory trade practices of foreign countries like china. our nation's farmers and ranchers are the very best in the world. but they cannot compete alone against a sea of rising -- high and rising foreign subsidy, tariffs, and nontariff trade barriers. nor can they survive alone in the face of record droughts, hurricanes, wildfires, and other natural disasters. that's why we have a farm bill. mr. speaker, not since the early 2 thouths have a farm bill been more desperately needed than today. our farmers and ranchers are going through a difficult recession right now. net farm i

>> the farm industry is the number one industry affected by trade. our top legislative priority will be passed by the um ca but that's a win for agriculture, complements for this point but we've got to get it over the line. that's just one. we need new free trade agreements, ag trade is a huge aspect of viability for the american farmer . >> are conversation on the farm bill and agricultural policy continues. . if you work in the agriculture industry and want to give your thinking on the topic, (202) 748-8002 p and you can post thoughts and comments on twitter. portions are previous guest talked about in the farm bill was subsidies for farms. can you make the case for why farmers need that kind of thing from the federal government? i'm sure you have heard they don't. guest: one of the portions talked about previously was subsidies for farms. can you make the case why farmers need that kind of thing from the federal government? >> yes i can. we've heard the dialogue, more than ever commissioners secretaries had a viable secretary in the state, crop in

>> the farm bill is a massive piece of legislation. it's -- it touches a lot of different parts of the economy. so primarily, of course, the supplemental nutrition assistance program is the largest part of the bill. that's formerly known as food stamps and then craft insurance for farmers, initiatives to help them improve the land that they're working on, the soil, the water quality. rural development, agricultural research, and there's also credit and trade, too. investment in those types of programs. >> what's the price tag? >> about $860 billion over a decade, so pretty significant price tag. >> how does that compare to previous farm bills? >> the goal of the house and senate agricultural lawmakers is to keep it budget newtal. it's going to cost no more than the current law is projected to cost over a decade. and the last farm bill, they did cut -- they did cut spending. i think the goal is over time to drop the price tag. >> is there a deadline for this bill, and what happens if the deadline is not met? >> it expired in the new fisc

the farm bill, what is the ultimate purpose? guest: the farm bill is a massive piece of legislation, touches a lot of parts of the economy. the farm bill is a massive piece of legislation, primarily it's a nutrition assistance program, food stamps and then there's a lot of crops and conservation initiatives to help improve the land and water quality, rural development and also credit and trade. >> it will cost no more than its projected cost for over a decade. host: they did cut spending, the goal is to a dereturn to drop the pr down. >> is there a deadline for this bill and what happens if the deadline has not been met? >> it's already expired but a lot of the programs are mandatory spending. that means they continue regardless of how congress appropriates the money . >> my impression is that it will mostly resemble the senate it's not a terribly different -- in the current law. and i think right now they are in a good place i think it will probably pass in the senate on his back on the floor next week. the house passed its ver

the fact we are expanding access to the f.s.a. farm loans for veterans and beginning farmers, reating a new providing for those of us in the bread basket of the world. rural development is crucial and the rural development funds are vital. so many things have been able to occur because of this funding. i ask my colleagues to support this bill because this is a perfect coming together as former congresswoman shirley chisholm says, a tree grows in brooklyn. it's a good coming together of you are been and rural supporting a dynamic bill and providing that americans are not food insecure and our children have the nutrition that they need. let us vote for this bill. i yield back. with -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from minnesota reserves. mr. mr. conaway: how much time is left on both sides? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas has 13 1/2 minutes and the gentleman from minnesota has 11. mr. mr. conaway: i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota is recogni

rates in the farm -- as the into theeriorates farm, a goes into the soil. we are eating that. you talk about the lead damage to the people in flint. it is an absolute disgrace that moore has not been done there -- more has not been done there. host: matt in colorado. caller: thanks for having me on. i am a proud libertarian. ishink a portion of what going on with agriculture that we need to focus on is with trump's immigration policies. we are seeing a stunted flow of immigrants which help keep food costs down through their lower cost of labor. this is going to impact the poor and the brunt of immigration policy begins to hit the food costs in this country. food is not a luxury item and this is going to hit the poor. we need to get to a sensible place on tariffs on agriculture. we need to get back to sensible like theon policy program that existed in the 50's and 60's. host: we showed you the houston chronicle on president george h.w. bush. this is canada's national post. the headline above the picture, last of the greatest generation to serve. a picture of the president lying

bush, signed into law the 1990 farm bill. for the first time since 1990, congress is poised to pass a new farm bill in the same year that the legislation was first introduced. in many ways the 1990 farm bill laid the groundwork for today's u.s. farm policy. u.s. farm policy in longer the old command control policies of the new deal but a market oriented, risk management approach that helps america's farmers and ranchers survive natural disasters and the predatory trade practices of foreign countries like china. our nation's farmers and ranchers are the very best in the world. but they cannot compete alone against a sea of rising -- high and rising foreign subsidy, tariffs, and nontariff trade barriers. nor can they survive alone in the face of record droughts, hurricanes, wildfires, and other natural disasters. that's why we have a farm bill. mr. speaker, not since the early 2 thouths have a farm bill been more desperately needed than today. our farmers and ranchers are going through a difficult recession right now. net farm i

this is right now, ag is struggling, and farm income is down. the usda recently said this week farm income may be down 12% this year. so the bottom line is we need that farm bill. we're looking forward to its passage, and indeed, our members are keen on getting this passed. >> is that drop in income because of trade policy? >> some of it is, yes, but it's a conglomeration of different effects that have occurred coming into this year. the trade stability hasn't been helpful. >> talk about the impact specifically on farmers and is it because of tariffs put in place by the trump administration? >> yeah, the farmer community, the number one industry sector that's been impacted by trade. nafta supports a stable trade policy. we support, and our top legislationive priority is to pass the usmca, a win for agriculture. the administration is to be given compliments to getting us to this point, but we have to get it over the line. that's just one. we need a new free trade agreement. ag trade is a huge aspect of the revenue and viability for the american farme

the farm bill doubles the amount of farmers that they can borrow to expand and improve their far farms, it expands and goes all over rural broadband, we are doing broadband, everyone wanted it so badly. it's amazing how sophisticated the whole farm industry has become. but it expands rural broadband and dedicates additional resources to fight the opioid crisis. tremendous crisis that we have it down about 18% but it's just not acceptable. it's an incredible problem for our country. it opens new markets for american agriculture all over the world. in addition to signing this critical legislation today, i am directing my administration to take immediate action on welfare reform. thanks to our thriving economy, we have already lifted more than 4.6 million americans off the food stamp rolls since the election and more work remains to be done. lot more work remains to be done, but it's been incredible, the strides that we've made and i will say it's really because of the fact that the economy is doing so well, and the farms now are being lifted and again, go back to president xi of china at

pelosi: yesterday, we passed the farm bill, the bill that really is brought together in the senate in a bipartisan way. unfortunately, the republicans almost loft it on the farm bill because of some of the provisions they had for feeding the american people, nutrition programs and the rest took democratic votes to help them pass the farm bill. and it is a bill that is much needed for our farmers and ranchers. it has a strong nutrition part to it and it has strong bipartisan support. there were only 47 votes against it in the house of representatives. unfortunately, we are hearing now that the president may undermine the will of congress by doing executive order to take food out of the mouths of babies and families in our country as well as undermining the forestry parts of the legislation. again, we tried to make progress in a bipartisan way and the president will try to undermine that legislation. on a separate note, we have had some success in our me too legislation and house and senate have come together and still have things we want for the house. but we have a great compromise. i

the public. they call it noell's ark chimp farm. hoping all these lovable creatures can keep tourists entertained and support them and their rescue efforts. it doesn't quite work out that way. >> the attitude and the people changed. people would picket. they were being chastised. >> that's next. >> but first, our "strange inheritance" quiz question -- in 1953, j. fred muggs becomes the first regular animal cast member on a live television show. which show was it? "the nfl on cbs," "the price is right," or, the "today" show? the answer after the break. ♪ >> so, which 1950's tv show featured j. fred muggs? it's the "today" show. to raise ratings, producers cast the chimp as host dave garroway's sidekick. >> in 1971, bob and anna mae noell turned the florida headquarters of their traveling animal show into a family compound and permanent roadside attraction. they call it noell's ark chimp farm. >> everybody would come and see grandpa play with the gorilla... ♪ >> ...because that was very abnormal to see a 650-pound gorilla playing with

it didn't have the votes to pass the rule without our help for the farm bill. they do not have the votes to pass the president's proposal for the wall. i don't know why -- nothing is going to change in that regard. i don't know why we just don't proceed to keep government open so people can be home for the holidays and enjoying all of that. the trump shutdown. we're very excited about our for the people agenda. lowering health care costs, increasing paychecks, infrastructure for america and we think it can be a bipartisan initiative working with the president and again, cleaning up government. we will have h.r. 1 as one of our earliest passes of legislation. an open congress, there will be a town hall meeting with openness, bipartisanship and with our proposals starting with the most unifying and broadest support in the public. any questions? reporter: have you spoken to the president again since he called you on tuesday afternoon? would you describe it as part of the negotiation or waiting to see if he accepts the offer you and leader schumer gave him? ms. pelo

in every title of the farm bill you can find policies that reflect the wide variety of things that we grow and how we grow them. and i'm proud to say that this farm bill has continued the trajectory of progress to diversify american agriculture. from expanded crop insurance to historic support for urban farmers and improved coverage options for our dairy farmers, this bill helps all types of farms, all sizes of farms, and farmers in every region of the country. in order to cultivate the next generation of agriculture, we made permanent investments to support veterans, socially advantaged and beginning farmers, and we expand agricultural market opportunities so that our farmers can make a living. historic investments in organic farming help producers tap into one of the fastest growing sectors of agriculture. new permanent support for international trade promotion will help our farmers sell their products abroad. and streamlined permanent investments for farmers, market, food hubs, local food processing will help our farmers sell to their neighbors. while we know the farm bill supports

backing down, the farm bill can provide. there is a lot of worry that when the democrats take over the house that they will try to expand food stamps and bog down the farm bill. republicans said, let us get it done. they are still waiting for congressional budget office scores. there is a lot of ways to do that in the bill. i am expecting it to pass before the end of the bill. host: one more item. it has a firm a bipartisan support. the effort on criminal justice reform. it is generally over in the senate, where does it stand? erik wasson: the big question is mitch mcconnell. he has stood in the way of it moving forward. president trump has not used his bully pulpit. different presidents might be able to browbeat the senate majority leader on the floor. there is some talk of providing for it in the spending bill. i don't see a big change making it onto the bill. it is looking dicey for it. host: read more about all of the issues we have talked about. erik wasson at bloomberg.com. that is where you can find his articles. to --

to get on with the story we must return to the farm. to. meet six shots. the owner billionaire alla muti has a longstanding interest in ethiopia but investigating land investments in ethiopia is dangerous. with his arrest and dumbbell a freshness mind argyll has fears about the government. but i was a foreigner making a film about i grew cultural development i could contact the company. ladyship building it this was it. so the story. before we start you know is just in case there are some confidentiality. which may not be disclosed to some interviews they've made quiet not fish out on the ship. and so yes yes. this is you know one thousand. and this one this it is two thousand that they are no sanction these city thousand that this one is four thousand a day that sort of become ten thousand if that's so of course all of the clearly got to be think of this here that almost all of it so all of this is it is. there and the sand and the fact that it's now on on a structure that was in the six months this is of ice a million five to it well defined. as you know

to get on with the story we must return to the farm. meat sushi. the owner billionaire alla moody has a longstanding interest in ethiopia but investigating land investments in ethiopia is dangerous. with his arrest in dumbbell a fresh in his mind argyle has fears about the government. but as a foreigner making a film about agricultural development i could contact the company. now does it mean you get this was it. so the story. before we started all this to get some coffee date shouty. which may not be disclosed in some interviews they've made quiet not fish out of the ship at all. and so yes. this is you know one thousand. and this one this it is two thousand back that the young section the city thousand and eight that this one is four thousand that sort of become ten thousand that so of course all of that clearly got to duty of the set it almost all of it so this is it is. there and the same time the fact that he's now under construction was in the six months is that i submitted five times it would be finalized. as you know it just. expired and the

fortunately the senate took a major step yesterday by passing the farm bill. we got that much closer to delivering a big shot in the arms to farmers in rural communities across our country. along wildlife providing certainty to agricultural communities, i'm especially proud that the legislation will open a new door for farmers in kentucky and around the country to explore the full potential of industrial hemp. this is the culmination of a lot of work by a number of us here in washington but really the victory is for the growers, processors, manufacturers and consumers who stand to benefit from this growing marketplace. american hemp has a long and distinguished history. some of this very body's notable figures including thomas jefferson and henry clay are believed to have grown it. during world war ii the federal government encouraged hemp production to support the war's effort. unfortunately because of hemp's illicit cousin, marijuana, the federal government banned it altogether for generations. in the 2013 kentucky agricultural leaders showed me hemp's incred

the saudi arabian companies preparing to farm an enormous area. and they've already come far they've come really far. to get on with the story we must return to the farm. was. happy to see. the owner billionaire alla moody has a longstanding interest in ethiopia but investigating land investments in ethiopia is dangerous. with his arrest in dumbbell a freshness mind argyll has fears about the government. but as a foreigner making a film about agricultural development i could contact the company. now he's appealing it this was it. so the story. before we start you know existing because there are some confidentiality. which may not be disclosed in some interviews they've made quiet most fish out of the ship but all i thought and so yes. this is you know one thousand. and this one like this it is two thousand back that the yellow section the city thousand in that this one is four thousand a day that saw. ten thousand there so of course all of the clearly got to be three of these had it almost all of it so this is it is. there and the same time the fac

but the bulk of the farm bill is on the food stamp program. here's our fundamental belief and this is why this administration is implementing this and they are basically closing the gap on what we couldn't do from a lawmaking perspective during the farm bill debate, and that is they are just trying to incentivize people to work who are work capable adults. this doesn't apply to pregnant women, the disabled, the elderly. this is about if you're able to work and you are receiving government assistance, you ought to work. in our bill we had a 20 hour work week. you could volunteer, work, or retrained. i think that's good policy for america, for our economy and, quite frankly, it's good for the people on food stamps. too many for generations of entrapped in the cycle of dependence. i think our government has aided and abetted in that because they have provided the proper incentives for people to make the most of their talents and their time and their god-given gifts. so to me the current status is flawed and i believe these policies will work to s

the farm workers, most of them are foreigners and it is good for the economy and good for business. the last caller said, who was going to pick the fruit, mow the lawn? these are the jobs that immigrants do because they do not have much education. we need to solve problems and stop playing political games like republicans. save we can get in one more call before the house comes in, although, we may not be able to do that. we appreciate all of the calls this morning on the "washington journal." head over to c-span3 if you want to watch the hearing on google that we take you live to the house floor. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's room, washington, d.c., december 11, 2018. i hereby appoint the honorable glenn thompson to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, paul d. ryan, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 8, 2018, the house -- the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by t

to find out how the meat can be produced in a more humane way i hate to carsten bugs farm. the extra costs start right from the beginning organic chicks for example are more expensive. instead of thirty six cents for a chick he pays more than triple that price these chicks come from an organic poultry breeder. a look at custom bugs grown animals gives me an idea of what organic farming means the chickens get to run outside every day but contact with nature also means that they're more likely to be infected with germs and die that means higher potential losses for the farmer but his chickens have intact feathers and can run around without difficulty i thought of the thing for the first requirement is given that we humans raise animals to eat the animals be treated well as we raise them eye and that has to include the ability to walk properly all animals should be able to move naturally. the growth of the chickens here grow more slowly than with conventional farmers. and they live longer than six weeks. long how long will this one grow up in the stall up to twelve weeks by t

i want to have the farm. ellen is making notes for tomorrow's lecture from her car also has to serve as her workspace. the affordable housing crisis has been especially severe on the west coast of the us california has the highest rate of unsheltered homelessness and the country. got to keep going. i don't have time to really be afraid. i do that then i'll become. static. people like alan are locked in a daily struggle for survival here in the shadow of silicon valley at the heart of america's digital revolution people are becoming invisible. i. completely changed. my name is just the last month i live abroad and they were hiding jobs burke and i'm sixteen years old. i know when you go visit friends but. now if they states will faso i'd buy this bed all. i mostly played. at home. i'm missing some music at the moment. and rafa his songs at the moment i feel i can relate. to. when i grew up i'd like to be a lawyer but at the moment i'm rethinking that because i'm thinking of becoming an english teacher. because

one hundred fifty kilometers to the south is the center of the island cinnamon production. silver farm cinnamon as people have done here for generations after removing an outer layer of bark they pry off strips of inner bark the quills will later be packaged as cinnamon sticks. we also pack in all the little bits. and then we let the entire thing dry in the sun. room. for. cinnamon is an important sideline that the family relies on to get by donations husband also works as a cabinet maker her brother has an administrative job. until now the wood left over from the cinnamon harvest was waste by product. now the family can sell it to jet wing and earn extra cash. hiran qurei is visiting another supplier who's been selling waste wood for a while small bakeries for instance sometimes use it as fuel but since jet wing is started ordering from him things have grown much simpler. these days i can sell in bulk to bulk buyers in the past it was all small scale stuff. sri lanka's biggest buyer of the fuel snapping up around half of what's available the company is already pushing the limits of wh

but you know that's fast and then they begin to understand that the farming sector generally needs to move away from the extreme forms of monoculture we've seen and begin growing a wider crop mix so we are the mission. before everyone goes home the goats have to be fed. there are keepers who tend to be animals but the students like to do it themselves if they're able. to. and here biological diversity is a year round subject. but in winter when mostly indoors in the workshop this year we build a beehive and an insect hotel. and there's always stuff to do like clearing out the animal boxes cleaning the yard giving the animal straw and hey it's definitely more fun than sitting behind a desk in class. the ducks and chickens would agree the students and teachers are proud that their unique lesson plan has won them international recognition and they're now an officially designated european eco school. while. they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder a romanian photographer has made it her mission to prove that seeing what she calls the atlas of beauty after quitting her job as a televi

who's danish runs the largest husky farm on spitsbergen island between norway's north cape and the north pole dog sled tools are very popular here. monk started his farm six years ago in two thousand and eleven with sixty dogs today he has over two hundred fifty they're a cross between the alaskan posse and the greenland dog. countrified more with the order and they also like talking. less of course of. course there is a sort of. aggression towards humans is important considering the large number of tourists who visit the farm every day and want to pet the animals. the husky farm is located at the end of the island's main road which is a good ten kilometers long haul in only archipelago that spitzbergen is part of has only forty kilometers of roads even though its surface area is one half times as launches denmark. fewer than three thousand people live on spits back and most of them in the capital long year b.m. named after an american who founded a mining company here in nine hundred six coal mining used to be spits baggins major source of income now it's tourism science and research ar

the final version of this bill does just that. this farm bill expands gains made in the dairy safety net, especially for small and medium-size farms. there is still a lot of challenges ahead for dairy farmers, but hopefully these provisions will help minnesota's farmers who fairing falling milk prices -- facing falling milk prices. many farmers told me they were worried about skyrocketing health care costs. health care leaders from douglas county hospital and lake region health care spoke to us about the unique health challenges facing rural communities. in minnesota we're focused on finding innovative solutions to address rural health challenges and it's clear that federal agencies need to do more to examine the barriers to the people faced to accessing care in rural communities. that's why i helped shepherd the bipartisan liaison act through the agriculture committee and i helped introduce this bill with senator doug jones of alabama and senator mike rounds of south dakota. the rural health liaison act will create a new position in the de

we think the farm bill is in good shape and are farm bill is well taken care of and that will be bipartisan. it will happen soon. then we have the wall. that will be the easiest of all. what do you think? maybe not? we are going to see but we will see what happens. it is not an easy situation because the democrats have a different view and i can say we have great republican support. we do not have democrats support that we're going to talk about that now. one thing i have to say is tremendous amount of wall have already been built and a lot of wall when you include the renovation of existing fences and walls, we renovated a tremendous amount and we have work. lot of in san diego we are building walls now and next to san diego we have completed a major section of wall and it has work worked well. a lot of wall has been built. we do not talk about that but we might as well start because it is being built now. we will continue and one where or another -- one way or another it is going to get built. awould like to not see government shutdown. we will see what happens over the next short period

the wilkes farming community has been the beneficiary of mr. lovett's courage to take risk and his determination to succeed. in 1989, holly farms was acquired by tyson foods and in wilkes, the industry still generates more than $300 million in gross annual revenues, employs 3,300 people and supports 200 family farms. with a lot of hard work and limited means, mr. lovett became a pioneer of the poultry industry and his legacy is enshrined in the wilkes community. he's an example for us all of the endless possibilities in our country and what the seeds of big dreams with the support and collaboration of family and community can grow into. i yield back, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back her time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee, mr. kustoff, for five minutes. mr. kustoff: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to honor the students of munford high school marching band. about 265 students from tipton county, tennessee, will represent munford high school in the tournament of roses parade. this annual tra

at least happening right now in the current farm bill. and i hope we can have the opportunity to discuss this in any other opportunity, even having a hearing on this issue. my constituents are concerned on how this prohibition will hurt them and their families. and it's my responsibility to advocate for them. same as the territories of the united states. we all -- we're all against this. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from puerto rico yields back. the gentleman from illinois, mr. shimkus, is recognized for 1 and a half minutes. mr. shimkus: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. shimkus: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, before i begin i want to express my sincere thanks to general vincent brooks, my classmate from west point, upon his retirement today after 38 years of active military service. mr. speaker, i came down to the floor to read a facebook post from another west pointer honoring his close friend who die

the sheer scale of this wind farm. s example of the power of wind, we start our weather review of 2018, in the netherlands in january. winds review of 2018, in the netherlands injanuary. winds so strong that blows people off their feet. these are some of the strongest winds ever recorded here. this storm that strikes the us city of boston in january is dubbed a bond cyclone and commands wins with snow and flooding and then, this. as plummet, the flood freezes, consuming dozens of ca i’s flood freezes, consuming dozens of cars with ice. in the uk, the first day of spring looks like this. the infamous beast from the east had arrived. snow blanketed large swathes of the british isles, giving the coldest march day on record. but if there's ever an example of keep calm and carry on, it's from this bus driver and her quick reactions in scotland. the big freeze covered much of europe too, giving rome its biggest snowfall in decades. so, of course, that means a mass snowball fight in saint peters square. the cold start to sprin

i wanted to talk about criminal justice reform and let you know how positive that is and the farm bill and how positive that is and talk about the wall. it's a tough issue because we are on opposite sides. i really think border security. but the wall will get built. a lot of the wall has been built. it has been effective. i asked for a couple of notes on that. if you look at san diego, illegal traffic dropped 92% once the wall was up. el paso, illegal traffic dropped 72% and ultimately 95% once the wall was up. in tucson, arizona, illegal traffic dropped 92%. yuma, it dropped illegal traffic, 95%. when i say drop. the only reason we have any percentage where people got through because the wall can go around. it dropped 100% where the wall is. very effective. if you really want to find out how effective a wall is just ask israel, 99.9% effective and our wall will be as good as that if not better. we have done a lot of work on the wall. a lot of wall is renovated. we have walls that were in very bad condition that are in a-1 tip-top shape. and some wall has been reinforced by our militar

we passed the last farm bill. farm bankruptcies are up by 39% since 2014. financing has become more expensive. commodity prices have plummeted. input costs are rising. and the trade outlook is volatile and uncertain, to say the least. farmers across the country, regardless of where they call home or which crops that they grow, are hurting. the farm bill that congress approved last week delivers meaningful and real relief for our farmers and ranchers in these very difficult times. it's a big deal for my home state in arkansas as well as across the country. agriculture is the driving force of the natural state's economy, adding around $16 billion to our economy every year and accounting for approximately one in every six jobs. that's why agriculture advocacy groups in arkansas were very excited when we passed the final version. the arkansas farm bureau said it was, and i quote, pleased that congress has recognized how important the new farm bill is to the hardworking farmers and ranchers of this country, end quote,

i wanted to talk about the farm bill. how positive that is. the wall is a tough issue. we are on opposite sides. i really think i can say border security but certainly wall. a lot of the well is built. it has been very effective. i asked for a couple of notes on that. if you look at san diego, illegal traffic dropped 92% once the wall was up. el paso. 72%legal traffic dropped and then ultimately 95% once the wall was up. in tucson, arizona illegal traffic not -- illegal traffic dropped 92%. yuma, 95 to 96%. dropped, the only reason we have any percentage where people got through is because people walk and go around areas that are not built. it drop to virtually 100% in areas where the wall is. howou want to find out effective a wall is, ask israel. wall will be every good as -- every bit as good as that if not better. a lot of wall is renovated. we have wall in very bad condition. now in a onet is tiptop shape. our military has done a fantastic job. we may not have an agreement today. we probably will not. we have an agreement on other things. nancy, would you like to s

i grew up on the wheat and cattle farm about 30 miles west of wichita and i was raised largely by my grandparents who left school in sixth and ninth grade too late to work. i'm a first-generation college student in the first of my family to have the privilege really is being paid for my passion rather than breaking my body in labor -- with labor. i worked those sorts of jobs before and just have the gratitude that somebody pays me to do what i have a sense i was sent here to do. that aspect of my upbringing is relevant to my first brush with lawrence because as a kid in a rural public high school, kingman high school, kingman county west of wichita. >> go eagles. >> go eagles. [laughter] in that school, i was a very ambitious kid by nature. public school was the only place that a kid like me who was from a family where education hadn't really been earnest, but because there wasn't even like the time or resources for harnessing that public school for me was the only place that i was going to access the sort of opportunity that i craved and needed. in school i heard something through th

that garden waste lands next door at the schools farm yard. the forum has a number of residents including ducks pigs and chickens. and then there is legal the mule and shall not the pony they graze in the schools former sports field they're done lands on a compost heap and becomes the fertilizer that can be used for the next generation of plants. the school is gradually becoming surrounded with greenery the main building is pretty bare outside the playground up front as well but not for much longer the concrete is about to be turned into a bed of reeds like this part of the grounds. the green ideas are all part of a conscious move by the school to encourage biological diversity when germany launched the national strategy on biological diversity back in two thousand and seven the schools teachers got together and thought about ways to anchor the idea and lessons biological diversity now has a fixed place in the curriculum. we have. the same subjects as other schools we have art physics sports foreign languages. but we've also incorporated biolog

the farm bill should be important to every american. ink too many of us in the cities don't really pay attention to where our food comes from. so that's great. that was an example after months of struggling of a bill that's going forward as the president said, with bipartisan support. the ag secretary supports it. it stands in sharp contrast to what we just watched at the top of our show that went on in the oval office. give me your characterization of the next couple of years in congress. and how you're going to succeed in getting bills done. >> well, we've got to find ways to work together. i think the farm bill is really a good example. we've talked about the strengths. we've talked about why it works. remember, it's countercyclical so it provides help to farmers and ranchers when they need it but not when they don't. again, it's back to what best serves the american people on these important issues. that's how we all have to look at it. >> senator john hoeven, pleasure to talk to you. thank you for joining us. senator john hoeven of