[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 26, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H1944]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1030
            DIVERSE LOCAL AND NATIONAL SUPPORT FOR FARM BILL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, on February 7, 2014, 
President Obama signed into law the Agricultural Act of 2014, the 5-
year farm bill reauthorization that passed Congress with bipartisan 
support and reduces annual budget deficits by $16.6 billion over 10 
years.
  Industry professionals across my home State of Pennsylvania and 
nationally--including farmers, foresters, conservationists, 
researchers, and policy advocates--have praised the law as a historic 
improvement, the Federal agriculture policy that will improve land 
management, support key areas of economic activity, and bolster 
important investments in education and applied research.
  Susan Benedict, an American Tree Farm System certified forest owner 
from State College, Pennsylvania, stated:

       -As a Pennsylvania tree farmer, I can happily say this farm 
     bill was well worth the wait. With the promotion of new 
     market opportunities in the Biobased Markets Program and 
     green building markets, improved access to critical 
     conservation programs, and increased regulatory certainty 
     when protecting water quality of my forest's roads, this farm 
     bill is truly the best farm bill yet for forests. I applaud 
     conference committee members for championing strong forestry 
     provisions, such as the Biobased Markets Program changes, for 
     America's 22 million family forest owners.

  Kenneth C. Kane, president of Generations Forestry in Kane, 
Pennsylvania, stated:

       From the outside looking in, Congress displayed a level of 
     bipartisanship on the farm bill that has been lacking, which 
     is far better than the gridlock we have encountered. This is 
     a wonderful bill and a good final product from numerous 
     standpoints. From the standpoint of the Forest Service, this 
     bill gives Secretary Vilsack and Forest Chief Tidwell more 
     tools to actively manage forests, which is critically 
     important. Now that these tools are available, the Forest 
     Service must use them. This bill also offers our foresters 
     and private industry more tools to actively manage, so this 
     is also very important.

  Barbara Christ, the interim dean of agricultural sciences at Penn 
State University in State College, Pennsylvania, stated:

       Agricultural policy impacts every American by advancing 
     food security for our Nation and beyond, including providing 
     for critical research and education programs. We are thrilled 
     that a new 5-year farm bill is now a reality. As a specialty 
     crop State, of particular interest to Pennsylvania is the 
     inclusion of the specialty crop research initiative. These 
     programs help keep our Pennsylvania farmers competitive in an 
     increasingly complex environment and help tackle the ongoing 
     challenge of feeding a growing population.

  Robert Maiden, executive director of Pennsylvania's Association of 
Conservation Districts, stated:

       The new Federal farm bill has many strong conservation 
     programs that are lifelines for Pennsylvania farmers. We 
     needed Congress to understand these points and ensure that 
     the importance of conservation efforts wasn't lost in the 
     final farm bill language. The final bill addressed our fiscal 
     challenges by understanding the necessity of reductions to 
     Federal spending while identifying the need to improve 
     conservation program efficiencies and improvements in program 
     delivery. The final bill will allow for cleaner water for 
     Pennsylvania waterways, resulting in healthier communities 
     and stronger economies.

  The president and CEO of the Nature Conservancy stated:

       Despite the polarized political climate and challenging 
     budget times, this farm bill would be one of the strongest 
     ever for conservation and forestry. The farm bill's 
     conservation provisions are practical, cost effective, and 
     provide solid ways for the government to collaborate with 
     individual landowners.

  The president and CEO of the American Forest Foundation stated:

       The long-awaited farm bill provides resources critical to 
     implementing conservation practices on the ground and making 
     good forest stewardship affordable. The improvements in the 
     new farm bill include stronger market opportunities for 
     forests, specifically with improvements to the Biobased 
     Markets Program, and a strengthened commitment to expanding 
     prospects for wood in green building markets, the fastest 
     growing market for wood products. It also includes strong 
     support for programs that combat forest invasive pests and 
     pathogens and provisions to increase forest owners' 
     regulatory certainty when protecting water quality.

  Madam Speaker, it isn't every day that a broad cross-section of 
policy advocates and industry professionals find themselves on the same 
side of a given policy issue. Then again, it isn't every day that both 
parties actually work together for the good of the country and produce 
good public policy that improves the Nation's economic health, while at 
the same time, reforms government, and reduces spending.

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