[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 195 (Tuesday, December 11, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H10032-H10033]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      FARM BILL CONFERENCE REPORT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I proudly signed 
the farm bill conference committee report because, after years of hard 
work, we are set to deliver a win for rural America. Quite frankly, it 
is a win for all Americans who count daily on access to affordable, 
high-quality, safe food.
  We know that farm country is hurting. USDA recently announced that 
net farm income for this year is dropping by 12 percent to levels we 
have not seen since 2002. There is hope though. By passing the farm 
bill conference report, we can give producers and their lenders 
certainty. They will know what farm policy will be in place for the 
next 5 years.
  We also made modest adjustments to the Marketing Assistance Loan 
program to help with cash flow after harvest and to providing marketing 
for U.S. commodities.
  There are also important enhancements to dairy policy included in the 
conference report. Building upon investments made to the dairy safety 
net as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, we are offering new 
coverage levels for the first 5 million pounds of production, which 
drastically reduces premiums on certain levels for larger producers.
  These are just some of the many updates in the 2018 farm bill that 
will set our American farmers on a better path for the next 5 years.
  The 2018 farm bill strengthens the farm safety net, protects crop 
insurance, maintains and preserves conservation funding, improves SNAP 
program integrity and incentivizes work, and, importantly, provides 
certainty to rural America.
  This agreement reached between the House and the Senate strengthens 
and maintains important programs like the Price Loss Coverage, the 
Agriculture Risk Coverage, marketing loans, dairy margin coverage, 
livestock disaster programs, and crop insurance.
  As vice chairman of the committee, I know that a lot of work went 
into building and negotiating a great bill for our farm families. I 
would like to thank Chairman Mike Conaway and Ranking Member Collin 
Peterson for their commitment to passing this bill in 2018.
  This Congress, I proudly chaired the Nutrition Subcommittee. The 
House bill included provisions to give many Americans the skills needed 
to obtain a family-sustaining job.
  While this conference report is a compromise, it does include 
significant incremental victories that will improve the integrity of 
the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, so it will be 
more effective for those who truly need it. The Nutrition Subcommittee 
hosted 21 hearings on SNAP and heard from more than 80 witnesses on how 
to improve the program and work toward the ultimate goal of ending 
hunger in America.
  Mr. Speaker, make no mistake. The 2018 farm bill makes real 
improvements to our Nation's largest antihunger program. These 
provisions will only further enhance the program so it will be there 
for the most vulnerable among us, the truly needy.
  Now, I am hopeful that we can continue this conversation and soon 
revisit numerous provisions from the House farm bill's nutrition title. 
Specifically, there is so much more that can be done through SNAP to 
help more Americans find good-paying, family-sustaining jobs--an 
ultimate food security. That is the American way.
  The farm bill conference report also helps improve our response to 
natural disasters, including catastrophic wildfires that have ravaged 
parts of the Nation. To help encourage new markets for domestic forest 
products, the conference report invests in research

[[Page H10033]]

and development specifically for these new wood-based materials.

                              {time}  1015

  We put emphasis on connecting rural America through significant 
improvements to broadband delivery. We are dedicating funding to rural 
health projects to help Americans struggling with opioid addictions and 
other substance abuse disorders.
  This is just some of what is included in the conference report. There 
is much more policy included that provides key wins for producers, 
rural communities, and American consumers.
  I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this conference report and 
deliver much-needed certainty to rural America and all Americans who 
are in need of affordable, high-quality, and safe food.

                          ____________________