[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 29, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S561-S562]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             THE FARM BILL

  Mr. HARKIN. Madam President, I was privileged to be in our capital 
city of Des Moines 2 days ago, on Monday, January 27, and I was 
privileged to visit a lot of my friends in the Iowa legislature. I was 
in the Iowa House on Monday morning when a resolution was brought up by 
Representative Dan Muhlbauer and read and adopted unanimously. It was a 
resolution requesting the U.S. Congress to immediately enact a new 
Federal food, farm, and jobs bill. I won't read it all, but ultimately 
I will ask unanimous consent to have this resolution printed in the 
Record. The resolution basically points out how much a farm bill means 
to our fellow Iowans.
  The resolution states:

       Be it resolved by the House of Representatives--

  That is the Iowa House of Representatives--

     that with the reconvening of the United States Congress after 
     its holiday recess, the United States House of 
     Representatives and the United States Senate should enact a 
     new food, farm, and jobs bill with all possible speed but no 
     later than January 31 of 2014.

  I guess the good news I have now for Representative Muhlbauer and his 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the Iowa legislature is that 
we heard them. Under the great leadership of Senator Stabenow, we now 
have a farm bill ready to come to the floor after the House passes it, 
I hope sometime today. We hope to have it on the Senate floor maybe as 
early as tomorrow--if not, the first of the week--to get the job done. 
I think everybody has signed off on it. It is a good farm bill. It has 
taken a long time and a lot of hard work to get there, but a lot of 
good people worked together on both sides of the aisle in both the 
Senate and in the House to get it done. So I thank Representative 
Muhlbauer and his colleagues for holding our feet to the fire and 
sending us this resolution.
  I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record House 
Resolution No. 102.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                        House Resolution No. 102

       Whereas, the United States Congress regularly establishes 
     agricultural and food policy in an omnibus farm bill in a 
     bipartisan spirit of cooperation, exemplified by the federal 
     Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-
     246 which originally was to expire in 2012, but was extended 
     by the 112th Congress in the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 
     2012, Pub. L. No. 112-240; and
       Whereas, a new food, farm, and jobs bill is critical to 
     maintaining a strong agricultural economy and an abundant 
     food supply that benefits all Americans, including by 
     providing programs relating to farm commodity support, 
     horticulture, livestock, conservation, nutrition assistance, 
     trade and international food aid, agricultural research, farm 
     credit, rural development, bioenergy, forestry, and 
     innovative strategies to revitalize this nation's rural 
     economy by creating jobs in small towns and rural 
     communities; and
       Whereas, in Iowa, agricultural producers have faced a 
     multitude of disasters, including drought, flood, and 
     blizzard conditions which have been alleviated by disaster 
     assistance under farm bill programs; and
       Whereas, during 2013, the United States Senate and House of 
     Representatives have been engaged in prolonged negotiations 
     to enact a new food, farm, and jobs bill that is now in 
     conference committee which is considering differences between 
     the Senate version, titled the Agriculture Reform, Food, and 
     Jobs Act of 2013 (S. 954), and the House version, titled the 
     Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act of 
     2013 (H.R. 2642); and
       Whereas, without the passage of a new food, farm, and jobs 
     bill the United States will be subject to previously enacted 
     permanent law, including commodity price support statutes 
     effective in 1949; and
       Whereas, the prolonged delay in passing a new food, farm, 
     and jobs bill has created uncertainty for agricultural 
     producers and will negatively impact the nation's overseas 
     trade; and
       Whereas, without the immediate passage of a new food, farm, 
     and jobs bill consumers will increasingly suffer economic 
     consequences; Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives, That with the 
     reconvening of the United States Congress after its holiday 
     recess, the United States House of Representatives and the 
     United States Senate should enact a new food, farm, and jobs 
     bill with all possible speed but no later than January 31, 
     2014; and be it further

[[Page S562]]

       Resolved, That a copy of this resolution shall be 
     transmitted to the President of the United States Senate and 
     the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives; 
     and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this resolution shall be 
     transmitted to the Honorable Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of 
     the Committee on Agriculture. Nutrition, and Forestry of the 
     United States Senate, and the Honorable Frank Lucas, Chairman 
     of the Committee on Agriculture of the United States House of 
     Representatives; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this resolution shall be 
     transmitted to each member of the Iowa congressional 
     delegation; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this resolution shall be 
     transmitted to the Honorable Tom Vilsack, Secretary of the 
     United States Department of Agriculture.

  Mr. HARKIN. I thank the Chair and I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.

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