[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 12, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H1597-H1598]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     SHORT-TERM FARM BILL EXTENSION

  Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and pass the Senate bill (S. 2745) to extend agricultural programs 
beyond March 15, 2008, to suspend permanent price support authorities 
beyond that date, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The text of the Senate bill is as follows:

                                S. 2745

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF AGRICULTURAL PROGRAMS.

       (a) Extension.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
     section and notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
     authorities provided under the Farm Security and Rural 
     Investment Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-171; 7 U.S.C. 7901 et 
     seq.) and each amendment made by that Act (and for mandatory 
     programs at such funding levels), as in effect on September 
     30, 2007, shall continue, and the Secretary of Agriculture 
     shall carry out the authorities, until April 18, 2008.
       (b) Conservation Programs.--
       (1) Farmland protection program.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, the Secretary of Agriculture (referred to 
     in this subsection as the ``Secretary'') shall continue the 
     farmland protection program established under subchapter B of 
     chapter 2 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act 
     of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3838h et seq.) at a funding level of 
     $97,000,000 per year.
       (2) Ground and surface water conservation.--Notwithstanding 
     any other provision of law, the Secretary shall continue the 
     ground and surface water conservation program established 
     under section 1240I of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
     U.S.C. 3839aa-9) at a funding level of $60,000,000 per year.
       (3) Wildlife habitat incentives program.--Notwithstanding 
     any other provision of law, the Secretary shall continue the 
     wildlife habitat incentive program established under section 
     1240N of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb-1) 
     at a funding level of $85,000,000 per year.
       (c) Exceptions.--This section does not apply with respect 
     to the following provisions of law:
       (1) Section 1307(a)(6) of the Farm Security and Rural 
     Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 7957(a)(6)).
       (2) Section 524(b) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 
     U.S.C. 1524(b)).
       (3) Section 25 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 
     2034).
       (4) Section 601(j)(1) of the Rural Electrification Act of 
     1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb(j)(1)).
       (5) Section 231(b)(4) of the Agricultural Risk Protection 
     Act of 2000 (7 U.S.C. 1621note; Public Law 106-224).
       (6) Section 9002(k)(2) of the Farm Security and Rural 
     Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8102(k)(2)).
       (7) Section 9004(d) of the Farm Security and Rural 
     Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8104(d)).
       (8) Section 9006(f) of the Farm Security and Rural 
     Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8106(f)).
       (9) Subtitles A through C of title I of the Farm Security 
     and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 7911 et seq.), 
     with respect to the 2008 crops (other than the 2008 crop of a 
     loan commodity described in paragraph (11), (12), (13), or 
     (14) of section 1202(b) of the Farm Security and Rural 
     Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 7932(b))).
       (d) Suspension of Permanent Price Support Authorities.--The 
     provisions of law specified in subsections (a) through (c) of 
     section 1602 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 
     2002 (7 U.S.C. 7992) shall be suspended through April 18, 
     2008.
       (e) Relation to Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008.--
       (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), this 
     section does not apply to the Agriculture, Rural Development, 
     Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies 
     Appropriations Act, 2008 (division A of Public Law 110-161; 
     121 Stat. 1846).
       (2) Repeal of superseded extension.--Section 751 of the 
     Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, 
     and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008 (division A of 
     Public Law 110-161; 121 Stat. 1883) is repealed.
       (f) Effective Date.--This section and the amendment made by 
     this section shall take effect on March 15, 2008.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Minnesota (Mr. Peterson) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Goodlatte) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota.
  Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 2745, a bill to extend 
current farm programs until April 18, 2008. Mr. Speaker, our farm 
policies ensure that all Americans have access to safe, secure and 
abundant food supply while providing a safety net for American farmers 
and ranchers. It also authorizes important nutrition programs for our 
country's neediest citizens, encourages vital conservation programs and 
supports the development of agriculturally based renewable energy.
  Mr. Speaker, all of us on the Agriculture Committee would rather have 
a new farm bill signed into law rather than be here today asking for an 
extension.
  After hearing about the popularity of the 2002 farm bill from farmers 
and ranchers nationwide in a series of field hearings our committee 
held in 2006, we set out last year to build on a strong farm safety net 
while making new investments in rural America and for our Nation's 
neediest citizens who depend on Federal food programs for a square 
meal.
  The new farm bill that this House passed last July makes those 
investments in nutrition, fruits and vegetable production and farm-
based renewable energy. It reforms our farm programs and reinforces the 
strong farm safety net. It includes an agreement between industry and 
consumer groups on mandatory country-of-origin labeling for meat. All 
that progress will be lost if we do not get this bill finished and 
signed into law.
  Nevertheless, Mr. Speaker, we are taking steps toward a bipartisan, 
bicameral bill that Members can support. And I believe we have made 
enough progress in that endeavor to support a 1-month extension.
  So, in closing, I would like to thank my friend and the ranking 
member, Mr. Goodlatte from Virginia, for his work over the last few 
months and for standing alongside me in working with the Senate and the 
administration in order to get this farm bill to a conclusion.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 2745, a bill to extend 
current farm programs until April 18, 2008.
  Mr. Speaker, our farm policies ensure that all Americans have access 
to a safe, secure and abundant food supply while providing a safety net 
for America's farmers and ranchers. Farm bills also authorize important 
nutrition programs for our country's neediest citizens, encourage vital 
conservation programs, and increasingly support the development of 
agriculturally based renewable energy, which will help reduce our 
dependence on foreign oil.
  Mr. Speaker, all of us on the Agriculture Committee would rather have 
a new Farm Bill signed into law rather than to be here today to ask for 
an extension. When the House Agriculture Committee kicked off the Farm 
Bill process in 2006 with Farm Bill field hearings all across America, 
we hoped a new Farm Bill for American agriculture would have been 
signed into law by now. Even though the farmers and ranchers we heard 
from in those hearings were strongly supportive of the farm safety net 
of the 2002 law, we knew passing a new Farm Bill would not be easy in 
this kind of budget environment.
  Mr. Speaker, the Farm Bill has been a victim of its own success. The 
2002 law saved taxpayers billions but resulted in a 60 percent cut in 
budget authority for traditional farm programs when budget baselines 
were released a year ago.
  Nevertheless, the Agriculture Committee wrote a Farm Bill from the 
ground up; a new Farm Bill that makes historic investments in fruit and 
vegetable production, conservation, nutrition, and renewable energy 
while reinforcing the strong safety net for America's

[[Page H1598]]

farmers. The House-passed bill institutes mandatory country-of-origin 
labeling for meat. And despite what is said by editorial boards in big 
cities, this Farm Bill contains significant reforms that just a few 
years ago many people thought would be impossible to pass. We have 
eliminated the three-entity rule. We have implemented direct 
attribution of payments for transparency. And thanks to a hard cap on 
eligibility, millionaires will no longer be receiving farm payments.
  The Senate passed their Farm Bill in late December, and staffs have 
been working hard ever since the New Year to work out many of the 
policy issues we will face once an overall funding level is reached.
  Mr. Speaker, we are taking gradual steps to reaching a bipartisan, 
bicameral bill that everyone can support, and I believe we have made 
enough progress to support a 1-month extension.
  Many people would like to see different things with this Farm Bill, 
but the truth is, Mr. Speaker, that all of the advances we have made in 
fruit and vegetable production, nutrition, conservation, reforming farm 
programs, and encouraging farm-based renewable energy will go out the 
window if we do not get this bill done and signed into law. The forward 
progress we have made over the last few weeks lead me to believe that 
we can get this done. Our farmers and ranchers expect us to finish a 
new farm bill for a new age of agriculture.
  In closing, I would like to thank my friend and Ranking Member Mr. 
Bob Goodlatte of Virginia for his work over the last few months and for 
standing alongside me in working with the Senate and the Administration 
in order to get this Farm Bill to a conclusion.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2745, the short-
term farm bill extension that will extend some provisions of the 2002 
farm bill until April 18. The other body passed the same provision this 
morning, and this body must pass this bill so both bodies can continue 
to work on conference negotiations.

                              {time}  2030

  Mr. Speaker, I would like nothing more than to stand before you today 
and report that we are on the brink of an agreement on the farm bill. 
However, progress on a new farm bill agreement has been painfully slow, 
and this process has become a source of frustration for me and my 
colleagues, and the chairman I know as well, as well as millions of 
rural Americans awaiting a new farm bill.
  If we do not seek prompt and substantive action on the farm bill, I 
believe we must pursue a different course of action, because our 
farmers and ranchers have already waited too long. Interminable delays 
in implementing a new farm bill may not have real ramifications in 
Washington, but in rural America the effects are real, and they are 
substantial.
  I appreciate the efforts of our committee chairman to try to keep 
this process moving. I know at times he has shared my frustrations. We 
all recognize the need for a new farm bill, and we continue to work 
toward completing a farm bill and getting it to the President for him 
to sign into law by April 18.
  I urge my colleagues to support this farm bill extension to give us a 
little more time to try to overcome the budget obstacles that have been 
standing in the way of the farm bill finish line since last year.
  We started this process together in a bipartisan fashion more than 2 
years ago. We worked together in the committee to move a farm bill 
forward, but we have been hindered time and time again outside the 
committee by the fact that others in the Congress have failed to 
recognize the fact that this farm bill starts out $58 billion below the 
last farm bill in terms of what it will cost to continue the farm 
legislation forward. That is a great thing. That is a tremendous 
savings for the American taxpayer. But when we are trying to write a 
modern, forward-looking farm bill that encompasses changes in 
conservation, in nutrition, in energy, in specialty crops, and we are 
trying to reform the commodity title of the farm bill, we needed to 
have some additional resources.
  The chairman and I went to the Budget Committee last year in a 
bipartisan fashion and asked for some money above the baseline, not $58 
billion coming back to us, but $5 billion, $10 billion above that 
baseline, which still would have been a huge savings for the taxpayers 
and allowed us to write a farm bill inside the committee and bring it 
to the floor of the House without being dependent on another committee 
or another source. The same problem existed in the Senate.
  The outcome has been that we have been spinning our wheels having to 
deal with other outside influences rather than getting the job done in 
the committee because of this funding not being available. We are going 
to have to look at some new alternatives if we don't get a breakthrough 
here in the next couple of days, because even this extension will 
expire very, very soon, and the time it takes to write a farm bill that 
encompasses a whole host of issues, from what goes on on the farm to 
all of our nutrition programs, to our environmental and conservation 
programs, to research programs for agriculture, to a whole host of 
other areas that are very, very important, not just to America's 
farmers and ranchers, not just to people living in rural America, but 
to every American consumer who depends upon our farm community to 
continue to provide the safest, most abundant, most affordable food 
supply in the world, and we will be working together.
  I appreciate the chairman's working with me and with other Members on 
this side of the aisle to accomplish that goal. He has been tenacious 
in that effort. But we need to either move on, or we need to get the 
help that was promised a year ago to finally come to the committee so 
we can get the job done.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of 
my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Peterson) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 2745.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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