[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 88 (Tuesday, June 12, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3931-S3932]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Amending the Farm Bill

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, last week the President said the 
private sector is ``doing fine.'' Well, the fact is the private sector 
isn't doing fine and the President's comments make me wonder what 
private sector he may be talking about.
  Since he took office, we have had 40 straight months of unemployment 
of over 8 percent and more than 23 million Americans are either 
unemployed, underemployed, or have given up looking for a job 
altogether. Last month's job report said the economy added only 69,000 
jobs--far below what forecasters had predicted. That is the Obama 
economy, and it is not doing fine.
  With the debt the size of our GDP, the President's recent push for 
even more government spending is equally out of touch. Taking more 
money out of the private sector, out of the hands of businesses and job 
creators or borrowing it to pay for yet another stimulus has 
consequences. We need to reduce the size and scope of government,

[[Page S3932]]

not expand it. We need to put in place a progrowth policy to allow the 
private sector to flourish.
  That is why Republicans have been calling for years for comprehensive 
tax reform and for both parties to sit down and begin the process of 
reforming entitlements. That is how we will get our fiscal house in 
order and help the economy grow as well. But without Presidential 
leadership, it simply can't happen.

  Controlling only one Chamber, Republicans in Congress can only do so 
much. The Republican-led House has passed budgets while, for 3\1/2\ 
years, the Democratic-led Senate has refused to do so. And they have 
passed 28 job-related bills over in the House that our Democratic 
friends here in the Senate refuse to take up. For our part, Senate 
Republicans will continue to pursue a pro-jobs agenda, and I encourage 
our Democratic friends to join us before the administration's spending 
and debt spree forces us into the sort of economic spiral we currently 
see facing folks over across the Atlantic. They can start by working 
with Republicans on our commonsense amendments to the farm bill.
  The President may think the private sector is doing fine or that the 
government isn't big enough, but those in rural America are definitely 
not doing fine. The biggest threat to farmers in Kentucky and across 
America is this administration's job-killing regulations. That is why 
Republicans are calling for votes on commonsense amendments that would 
either eliminate or prevent future job-killing regulations from going 
into effect which would provide the necessary relief for American 
farmers and give a boost to rural America in these challenging economic 
times.
  Last year, while visiting Atkinson, IL, the President blew off one 
farmer when he asked about policy regulations. The President said, 
``Don't always believe what you hear.'' Either the President doesn't 
know what his administration is doing or he doesn't want the American 
people to know it is his policies that are hurting farmers all across 
the country. It is either one or the other.
  Here are a few examples of this administration's policies that are 
suffocating the American agricultural industry and the Republican 
amendments we want the Senate to take up.
  Last fall, the Department of Labor attempted to regulate the 
relationship, believe it or not, shared between parents and their kids 
on family farms. The proposed rule would have prohibited those under 
age 16 from manual labor such as stall cleaning, using a shovel, and 
using a battery-operated screwdriver. Many people in my State consider 
this the type of manual labor that is widely referred to as Saturday 
morning chores. Senator Thune is offering an amendment that would 
require the Department of Labor to consult with Congress before 
implementing such regulations.
  The EPA wants to lift the ban that prevents Washington, DC, 
bureaucrats from regulating nonnavigable waters. The expanded Federal 
jurisdiction would bring the EPA and their redtape and taxes into the 
backyards of millions--literally millions--of Americans. The economic 
impact would be disastrous.
  Congress passed a navigable ban to protect families, small 
businesses, and farmers from Washington bureaucrats trying to seize 
control of their water or their land. The U.S. Supreme Court twice 
affirmed the limits of Federal authority under the Clean Water Act. 
But, apparently, the EPA believes they are above the other two branches 
of government, and Senators Paul and Barrasso are offering two 
amendments that would stop the EPA in its tracks.
  The EPA is considering a regulation that would require farm and ranch 
families to take as yet undefined measures to lower the amount of dust 
that occurs naturally--I am not kidding--lower the amount of dust that 
occurs naturally and is transmitted into the air due to agricultural 
production activities. It is hard to go through this and maintain one's 
composure. These activities include such things as combining, haying, 
moving cattle, tilling a field, or even driving down a gravel road. 
Failure to do so would result in a substantial fine. Senator Johanns is 
offering an amendment that would prevent the EPA from issuing any new 
rule that regulates agricultural dust. I kid you not, they want to 
regulate agricultural dust.
  Finally, Senator Crapo and Senator Johanns are offering an amendment 
that would help farmers across the country continue to manage their 
unique business risks associated with their day-to-day operations. The 
amendment would prevent unnecessarily diverting capital away from job 
creation and investing in their businesses in a way that was never 
intended by the sponsors of the Dodd-Frank Act. Preventing this 
unnecessary burden would promote economic growth, protect farmers and 
businesses, and ultimately help save American jobs.
  In these extremely difficult economic times, rural America is already 
struggling to get by and it simply can't be bothered by an overreaching 
Federal Government that has literally no idea of the unintended 
consequences of its policies.
  These five commonsense Republican amendments I have outlined, along 
with several others, put an end to numerous job-killing regulations, 
and each of these amendments deserves a vote.
  I now wish to address another matter.
  (The remarks of Mr. McConnell and Mr. Reid pertaining to the 
introduction of S.J. Res. 43 are printed in today's Record under 
``Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader is recognized.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I will take my time now and talk about a 
number of things.