[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 29, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H1484]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BUSINESS AS USUAL
(Mr. STUTZMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. STUTZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor in strong opposition
to the farm bill conference report.
The farm bill is just more business as usual here in Washington. Last
summer, the American people won an important victory for common sense
and transparency when we ended this unholy alliance between food stamp
and farm programs. Together, in this House, we defeated business as
usual by passing the first farm-only farm bill in nearly 40 years. But
business as usual fought back, and here we are today.
Not only does this farm bill recombine food stamps and farm programs,
it actually spends even more than the first bill the Senate passed.
This is exactly the kind of logrolling that we fought to prevent this
summer.
Mr. Speaker, Congress works best when we do our work in the full
light of day. Unfortunately, this farm bill was written behind closed
doors. It has stripped long-term reforms. It spends money we simply
don't have, and it stripped out important policies that negatively
affect our livestock industry.
As a farmer and a conservative, I will not vote to take a step
backwards.
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