[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 2, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2667-S2668]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Agriculture

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, the past 8 years have been tough on 
Americans. Despite the fact that the recession officially ended in June 
of 2009, the economy never really rebounded. President Obama presided 
over the weakest economic recovery in 60 years. His Presidency was 
characterized by poor economic growth, a dearth of jobs and 
opportunities, and almost nonexistent wage increases.
  In 2016, the economy grew at a dismal 1.6 percent, far below the 
level of growth displayed by a healthy economy. Typically 3 to 3\1/2\ 
percent is the average, going back to World War II. The GDP report for 
the first quarter of this year underscored the need to implement the 
kind of pro-growth policies that were lacking during the Obama years. 
Republicans in Congress and the White House have already acted to 
repeal a number of burdensome Obama regulations that were foisted onto 
the American people near the end of his Presidency. We plan to keep up 
our efforts.
  Getting rid of unnecessary regulations will go a long way toward 
freeing up businesses to grow and create jobs and put more money in 
Americans pockets. Of course, repealing burdensome regulations is just 
one of the things we need to get our economy healthy again. Fixing our 
broken Tax Code is another. As a member of the tax-writing Senate 
Finance Committee, I will be introducing tax reform legislation in the 
near future, targeted primarily for Main Street businesses that pay 
taxes at the individual rate.
  I am looking forward to working on comprehensive tax reform with 
Chairman Hatch and the rest of my colleagues on the Finance Committee 
as we move forward this year. It is critical that passthrough 
businesses, which are the main focus of my bill, are not left behind in 
this effort.
  Today, I want to talk about spurring growth in a specific sector of 
our economy, one that is very important to my home state; that is, the 
agricultural sector. Like so many other Americans, farmers and ranchers 
in South Dakota and across the country have had a rough time of it over 
the past few years. Market prices for farm and ranch products have been 
on a steady decline since 2013, and net farm income has dropped 
substantially as a result of that. Worse, there is little expectation 
that prices will improve over the next few years, which means farmers' 
and ranchers' incomes are likely to continue to decrease.
  Farmers are struggling to repay their debts. Between 2014 and 2016, 
the delinquency rates on farm non-real estate loans more than doubled. 
Delinquencies on farm real estate loans rose from $1.18 billion in 2014 
to $1.66 billion in 2016. While these numbers are not all-time highs, 
the increases are disturbing and show no signs of reversing any time 
soon.
  Farming and ranching are not just careers in South Dakota; they are a 
way of life, one that connects communities and families to the land and 
one generation to the next. Nearly 3,000 South Dakota farm families 
have been honored as operating century farms, meaning the same family 
has operated at least 80 acres of that farm for 100 years or more. But 
in today's weak agricultural economy, many families are afraid they 
will be the ones to lose the farm or ranch that has been in their 
family for generations. That would be a loss not just for them but for 
our country.
  Few of us understand the sacrifices that go into this way of life. 
When we pick up a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread at the grocery 
store, we don't think of the farmer who rose long before the Sun and 
finished his day long after the Sun had set. Our country is made 
stronger by the hard work, fierce dedication, and unconquerable spirit 
of America's farmers.
  We need to make a concerted effort to help farmers meet the 
challenges they are facing right now so that America can continue to 
help feed the world and Americans can continue to have access to the 
home-grown products they depend upon.
  So how do we do that? One thing we can do that would immediately 
improve agricultural prices would be to quickly negotiate new bilateral 
trade agreements. Agriculture is heavily dependent upon trade, and in 
today's economic climate, we cannot afford to have our agricultural 
exports restricted by inadequate trade policies.
  U.S. farmers have lost ground internationally. Our current share of 
the global grain market is just 30 percent, down from 65 percent in the 
mid-1970s. We need to take steps to level the playing field for 
American farmers and ranchers so they can be more competitive 
internationally. I have encouraged the President to start by 
negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with Japan.
  Japan is one of our most important trading partners, but U.S. farmers 
too often face hefty tariffs on the products they sell in Japan. U.S. 
negotiators made important progress toward reducing these barriers 
during the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations.
  We need to build on the work they did and negotiate a bilateral 
agreement with Japan as soon as possible. This would benefit a wide 
variety of American producers, including South Dakota beef producers 
who currently face a massive 38.5-percent tariff on the beef they sell 
in Japan.
  Trade agreements would help tremendously, but there is more we need 
to do to ensure the long-term sustainability of production agriculture 
in the United States.
  Every 5 years, Congress has the opportunity to reset Federal farm 
policy when it passes the farm bill. The current farm bill expires in 
2018, and it is not too early to start the drafting process for the 
next bill.
  I served on the Agriculture Committee in the House and now serve on 
the Senate Agriculture Committee under the strong leadership of my 
friend from Kansas, Chairmanship Pat Roberts. I will be working on my 
fourth farm bill, and I take this responsibility very seriously.
  I spend a lot of time talking to farmers and ranchers while I am back 
home in South Dakota, and I have been developing legislation based on 
the feedback they give me about Federal programs. I have already 
introduced two key proposals that I hope will be part of the final farm 
bill that we pass next year, and I will be introducing several more 
farm bill legislative proposals this year.
  All farmers are familiar with the Conservation Reserve Program, or 
CRP, which provides incentives for farmers to take environmentally 
sensitive land out of production for 10 to 15 years. But a lot of 
farmers have told me that they don't want to retire portions of their 
land for a decade or more. To address this, I am proposing a new 
program that would reduce operating costs by providing a modest rental 
payment and increasing crop insurance premium discounts.
  The program I am proposing, the Soil Health and Income Protection 
Program, would provide a new, short-term option for farmers that would 
allow them to take their worst performing cropland out of production 
for 3 to 5 years, instead of the 10 to 15 years required by CRP rules. 
This program would result in improved soil health and reduced crop 
insurance costs, and it would provide beneficial areas for wildlife 
while also improving the bottom line for participating farms.

[[Page S2668]]

  The other key proposal I have introduced would make a number of 
revisions and management improvements to the CRP program and other U.S. 
Department of Agriculture easement programs.
  CRP plays a very significant role in South Dakota's economy, as it 
provides a major portion of the habitat for the Chinese ringneck 
pheasant, which brings more than $250 million each year to my State's 
rural areas, towns, and cities. Unfortunately, farmers have spent years 
frustrated by some of the ways the Department of Agriculture has 
managed this program.
  We need to make sure that Federal farm programs don't discourage 
farmers and ranchers from participating, especially in times like 
these, when these programs are sorely needed to provide valuable safety 
net assistance and to help protect soil and water.
  My conservation program legislation addresses major concerns that 
farmers have with CRP and other USDA conservation programs by allowing 
commonsense use and management of land enrolled in these programs, 
which improves these programs for farmers and at the same time saves 
taxpayers' money.
  My legislation also expands the CRP acreage cap by 25 percent and 
uses historical acreage averages to make sure CRP will be available in 
States that have used it and that need it the most. Above all, the 
acres enrolled in CRP and other easement programs must be effectively 
used and managed to maximize their usefulness and effectiveness for 
land and water conservation and wildlife, and I will work to make that 
happen.
  In addition, both of my legislative proposals contain provisions to 
provide additional support to young, beginning, and socially 
disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, as well as to military veterans. We 
need to ensure that young and beginning farmers and ranchers and others 
have opportunities to succeed, especially now, when even seasoned 
farmers are struggling.
  Along with trade agreements and the farm bill, there are other things 
we can do to help farmers and ranchers and small businesses. This year, 
we plan to take up major reform of our broken, bloated Tax Code. Making 
sure that we consider the needs of farmers and ranchers during this 
debate will be one of my priorities.
  We can also help farmers and ranchers by removing burdensome 
government regulations that do little to help the environment but force 
farmers to spend untold hours and dollars on compliance.
  One example of this kind of burdensome regulation is the so-called 
waters of the United States rule, something with which every farmer and 
rancher is familiar. This EPA regulation improperly used the Clean 
Water Act to justify expanding the EPA's regulatory authority to waters 
like small wetlands, creeks, stock ponds, and ditches. The rule 
specifically targeted the Prairie Pothole Region, which covers five 
States, including nearly all of eastern South Dakota. I am grateful 
that the President chose to protect farmers and ranchers by announcing 
a review of this rule in February of this year.
  We could further support American farmers by removing yet another 
unnecessary regulatory hurdle, and that is the Reid vapor pressure 
regulation, which restricts the sale of E15 fuel during the summer 
driving season.
  Providing a waiver for E15, as enjoyed by other fuels, is a 
bipartisan, no-cost way to roll back regulation and grant consumers 
real choice at the pumps, as well as to help our farmers.
  Our Nation and the world depend on American farmers and ranchers. We 
need to make sure they can sustain their operations and continue to 
efficiently feed America and the world.
  I look forward to continuing our work on tax, trade, regulatory, and 
farm bill policies that support farmers and ranchers in South Dakota 
and throughout our country.
  When agriculture does well, I would argue, our national economy does 
well.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.