[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 20 (Monday, February 3, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E152-E153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 2642, FEDERAL AGRICULTURE REFORM AND RISK 
                         MANAGEMENT ACT OF 2014

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 29, 2014

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I voted against the farm bill conference 
report because it represented a missed opportunity to enact necessary 
and long-overdue reforms. Supporters of this legislation claim $23 
billion in savings, but by setting commodity target prices at today's 
high prices, independent experts expect that as prices drop, this 
legislation would cost us more in the long run.
  The bill does have some bright spots. The removal of the King 
amendment and the inclusion of language cracking down on animal 
fighting are victories for animal welfare. The SNAP cuts are not as 
draconian as the version that passed the House last year. I am thrilled 
that the amendment I worked on with Representatives Polis and Massie 
easing restrictions on the cultivations of industrial hemp was 
included, which shows we are ready to look at hemp as an agricultural 
commodity, and not a drug. There are welcome investments in renewable 
energy and organics in this bill as well.
  On the whole, however, the bill falls short of enacting necessary 
reforms, and maintains the pattern of cutting SNAP benefits for our 
most vulnerable while spending taxpayer dollars on wasteful agriculture 
subsidies. In Oregon alone, 78,000 households will face cuts to their 
nutrition assistance as a result of this bill, while simultaneously the 
bill adds to the already-bloated crop insurance program and creates 
even more subsidies that benefit large agribusinesses and encourage 
farmers to farm the system, not the land. It continues loopholes that 
allow one farm to claim multiple subsidy payments despite the fact that 
both the House and Senate passed farm bills eliminating these 
loopholes.
  I am also disappointed that this legislation cuts overall funding for 
conservation programs, and fails to enact many important reforms that I 
have put forward in my legislation--the Balancing Food, Farm and the 
Environment Act of 2013--that would strengthen the conservation title. 
I was pleased to see the inclusion of language establishing 
conservation compliance, as well as enactment of a

[[Page E153]]

Regional Conservation Partnership Program, which will help encourage 
farmers to work together to protect water quality, water supplies or 
wildlife habitat at watershed or regional scales. Overall, however, 
conservation language could and should have gone much further to 
provide adequate funding while optimizing results and making it easier 
for farmers to apply their conservation knowledge to their land.
  On balance this bill represents the minimum effort that enabled its 
passage. It is fiscally irresponsible and continues the alarming trend 
of subsidizing large agribusiness while cutting benefits for our most 
vulnerable Americans. We can and should do better, and I will continue 
working to reform our federal agricultural policies to that end.

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