[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 196 (Wednesday, December 12, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H10115-H10128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 2, AGRICULTURE 
                       AND NUTRITION ACT OF 2018

  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I 
call up House Resolution 1176 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows

                              H. Res. 1176

       Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be 
     in order to consider the conference report to accompany the 
     bill (H.R. 2) to provide for the reform and continuation of 
     agricultural and other programs of the Department of 
     Agriculture through fiscal year 2023, and for other purposes. 
     All points of order against the conference report and against 
     its consideration are waived. The conference report shall be 
     considered as read. The previous question shall be considered 
     as ordered on the conference report to its adoption without 
     intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate; and (2) 
     one motion to recommit if applicable.
       Sec. 2.  The provisions of section 7 of the War Powers 
     Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1546) shall not apply during the 
     remainder of the One Hundred Fifteenth Congress to a 
     concurrent resolution introduced pursuant to section 5 of the 
     War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1544) with respect to the 
     Republic of Yemen.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Washington is recognized 
for 1 hour.
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield 
the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. 
McGovern), my friend, pending which I yield myself such time as I may 
consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is 
for the purpose of debate only.


                             General Leave

  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Washington?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, the Rules Committee met and 
reported a rule, House Resolution 1176, providing for further 
consideration of a very important piece of legislation for America's 
farmers and ranchers: the conference report to accompany H.R. 2, the 
Agriculture and Nutrition Act, commonly referred to as the farm bill. 
This rule provides that the conference report shall be considered as 
read.
  Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, as the House considered its version 
of the farm bill, I spoke in this Chamber about a farm bill listening 
tour I conducted in my own district, traveling to every county that I 
represent to hear from and listen to input and the concerns from 
farmers, ranchers, and producers across the State of Washington.
  In the days since the House passed that bill earlier this summer, 
there has been growing concern that the job would not get done and that 
the 2014 farm bill would expire and our Nation's farm country would be 
left without the crucial tools this legislation provides to strengthen 
the farm safety net and provide certainty and flexibility to America's 
farmers and ranchers.
  Fortunately, with the legislation before us today, we can report that 
this is not the case. After months of painstaking negotiations between 
the House and the Senate conferees, we have an agreement before us. 
This agreement, while not including several provisions I would have 
liked to have seen, sets us on a better path for our farmers and 
ranchers, for our rural communities, for small businesses, and for 
consumers across the country at the grocery store and at kitchen 
tables.
  With this conference agreement to the farm bill, I can now go back to 
my district and confidently report to my constituents that we have 
provided a strong foundation to help our farmers survive a 50 percent 
drop in net farm income over the past 4 years. I can go back to 
Okanogan County and tell my constituents in Pateros that we have

[[Page H10116]]

strengthened market access programs and provided strong resources to 
open new sources for exporting across the globe.
  I can tell farmers in Grant County that we have protected crop 
insurance and made several key improvements, including for whole farm 
revenue coverage for specialty crop producers. I can tell dairy 
producers in Yakima County that we have improved the dairy safety net 
for large, mid-sized, and small dairies. I can report back to producers 
in Prosser, in Benton County, who stressed the importance of 
agriculture research, that we have provided an increase in funding for 
research, extension, and education projects.
  With the bill before us, I can let key agriculture partners in our 
community like Washington State University know that we will keep 
American agriculture at the forefront of innovation and productivity. 
Farmers from East Wenatchee will hear from me that this farm bill 
invests in critical cost-share and incentive-based programs to help 
farm families improve our soil, water, and other natural resources. I 
can tell farmers in Othello, in Adams County, concerned with the 
regulatory burdens on their shoulders, that this legislation protects 
our producers from costly, additional, and unnecessary red tape.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today as a third-generation farmer to 
say that this farm bill takes strong steps to address challenges facing 
America's agricultural community. The rule we bring before the House 
provides for further consideration of the conference report to H.R. 2, 
the Agriculture and Nutrition Act, legislation that is critically 
important to my district in central Washington, and to rural districts 
across this great country.
  This legislation maintains and strengthens important policies like 
Price Loss Coverage, Agricultural Risk Coverage, commodity loans, Dairy 
Margin Coverage, livestock disaster programs, and crop insurance. It 
enhances and permanently funds the Foreign Market Development Program 
and Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops, which are so vital for 
export-driven agricultural economies like those in my State of 
Washington.
  It increases funding for land-grant universities, research, and 
education, as well as special research initiatives, including for 
specialty crops and organic research.
  This legislation makes strides to expand quality broadband to all of 
rural America by including forward-looking standards to ensure we are 
meeting next-generation rural broadband needs. It also improves the 
tools available to reduce forest fuel loads that increase the size and 
force of catastrophic wildfires. By renewing key categorical exclusion 
and expanding its purpose to allow for expedited reduction of hazardous 
fuels in our forests, we can continue to reduce the threat these 
wildfires pose on rural communities.
  Mr. Speaker, with support from the 2014 farm bill, American farmers 
have been able to combat depressed prices and severe drops in farm 
income, but they would not have been able to do so without a robust 
safety net in place. The conference report before us will build upon 
this effort and ensure a steady food supply will be on the shelves and 
in our markets for years to come.
  As I mentioned, it doesn't include everything I would have liked to 
have seen in this bill, but, in reality, no piece of legislation is 
perfect, particularly comprehensive bills that have been negotiated for 
months But the fact of the matter is, this farm bill includes important 
and significant wins for American farmers and ranchers. It is now our 
responsibility to get the job done.

  Mr. Speaker, the people's House has more than 20 farmers, ranchers, 
and producers serving in this body. Among us are a dairyman from 
central California; a blueberry farmer from Maine; a rancher from South 
Dakota; two rice farmers, one from California and another from 
Minnesota; a cattleman from Kentucky; an almond farmer from California; 
and, yes, a proud hops farmer from the Yakima Valley of Washington 
State.
  This is the first farm bill that I have had the opportunity to engage 
in since coming to Congress, Mr. Speaker. I have spent my whole life on 
the farm, and my life in public service, including serving as 
Washington State's Director of the Department of Agriculture, has been 
spent working on behalf of American farmers, ranchers, rural 
communities, and families.
  It is an honor today to bring this rule forward for the conference 
report to accompany the farm bill, H.R. 2, the Agriculture and 
Nutrition Act. I humbly urge my colleagues to support the rule, support 
the bill, and strengthen the future for America's farmers and all those 
who depend on them.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, 
and I thank the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Newhouse), my friend, 
for yielding the customary 30 minutes.
  (Mr. McGOVERN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I will be submitting a longer statement 
for the Record, so I will be keeping my floor remarks today fairly 
brief.
  Mr. Speaker, I intend to support this farm bill. This farm bill is 
not perfect. It is not the bill that I would have written. But this 
conference report, unlike the farm bill that the House produced, is a 
good, bipartisan product.
  I want to thank Chairman Roberts and Ranking Member Stabenow for 
their tireless efforts to protect SNAP benefits throughout this 
process. Because of their work, hungry people across this country will 
have access to the modest benefits they need to feed their families. I 
thank as well Chairman Conaway, who recognized the importance of 
getting a farm bill over the finish line this year.
  I especially want to recognize the efforts of Ranking Member 
Peterson. He is truly an amazing guy who presides over a committee that 
is very diverse with rural, suburban, and urban Members of Congress. It 
has conservatives, moderates, and liberals like me. Yet, he has managed 
to bring us together and not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. 
Farmers, consumers, and hungry people all across the country owe him a 
debt of gratitude.
  I also want to thank the staff of the minority and the majority who 
put in endless hours trying to negotiate a compromise. I want to thank 
Kaitlin Hodgkins, who was my point person on these ag issues, for all 
of her work.
  Mr. Speaker, the issue of hunger and food insecurity has been my 
primary cause in Congress. I have been proud to work on these issues as 
a member of the Agriculture Committee and to oversee the SNAP program 
as ranking member of the Subcommittee on Nutrition.
  As members of this House well know, I have been very critical of the 
legislation that the Republican majority in this House initially 
produced. It included more than $20 billion in SNAP cuts that would 
have disproportionately harmed the most vulnerable among us--kids, 
disabled, and the elderly--the very people who are often left to wonder 
where they will get their next meal. Many would have been cut off from 
assistance altogether if the House version actually prevailed.
  The Senate, however, took a much different course. Their Agriculture 
Committee chairman, Senator Roberts, actually consulted with Ranking 
Member Stabenow. There were no disastrous work requirements, no 
partisan policies cooked up in some extreme conservative think tank 
somewhere. It largely continued proven policies that both sides have 
traditionally agreed on.
  Thankfully, the conference committee took the same course. This final 
bill does not include any SNAP benefits cuts. No one is getting kicked 
off the rolls, there are no changes to categorical eligibility or 
severing of the link between SNAP and LIHEAP. And importantly, there 
are no additional burdensome work requirements.
  In fact, this conference report makes a number of administrative 
improvement and efficiencies, saving $1 billion. These are reinvested 
into nutrition programs. As a result, more Americans will have access 
to healthy food and SNAP employment and training programs will be 
strengthened.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope the Secretary of Agriculture and the President 
are tuning in to this debate. Right now, we have heard rumors that they 
are trying to work behind the scenes to circumvent the will of this 
Congress by

[[Page H10117]]

instituting more onerous work requirements administratively. Such a 
move, I believe, will likely lead to legal action.
  In the next Congress, when Democrats are in the majority, we will use 
every legislative tool available to block such a move at every turn. We 
will not tolerate more of their disrespect and callousness toward the 
most vulnerable in this country. No more beating up on poor people, 
period. We will be watching them very closely, and if they do 
anything--and I mean anything--to increase hunger in America, we will 
fight them. And that is a promise.
  When a Congress as polarized as the 115th can negotiate and arrive at 
a bipartisan agreement, we should be celebrating it. It is mind-
boggling to think there are some on the other end of Pennsylvania 
Avenue working to overturn it even before it is signed into law.
  Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I wanted to be able to vote for this rule today, 
since I said I was going to support the underlying legislation. But my 
Republican friends screwed it up again. Tucked inside this rule is 
language that turns off fast track procedures for all Yemen resolutions 
through the end of this Congress. That is right. The Republican 
leadership has declared that the worst humanitarian conflict in the 
world, where the U.N. has just announced famine is taking place due to 
the war, is not worth the time and attention of the people's House. 
This is an offensive abdication of our responsibility. We should not be 
sitting idly by, waiting for the start of the next Congress, as this 
conflict rages on. We should be doing something today.
  Mr. Speaker, it is because of this Yemen language that I strongly 
urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this rule.
  Mr. Speaker, this Farm Bill isn't perfect. It's not the bill that I 
would have written. But very rarely do we get the chance to vote on 
professionalism in this body. And this conference report is the product 
of a professional process that was made better by deliberative, 
bipartisan debate.
  The issue of food insecurity has been my primary cause. As members of 
the House know well, I have been very critical of the Farm Bill that 
House Republicans initially produced. It included more than $20 billion 
in SNAP cuts that would have disproportionately harmed the most 
vulnerable among us. Kids. The disabled. And the elderly. The very 
people who are often left to wonder where they'll get their next meal. 
Many would have been cut off from assistance altogether.
  These cuts were put forward to try and hoist an unproved and 
drastically underfunded state-based workforce bureaucracy experiment on 
the entire nation. Without any evidence or any study proving its 
effectiveness, House Republicans wanted to disadvantage poor parents.
  The Senate, however, took a much different course. Their Ag Committee 
chairman, Senator Roberts, actually consulted with their ranking 
member, Senator Stabenow. There were no disastrous work requirements. 
No partisan policies cooked up in some extreme conservative think tank 
somewhere. It largely continued proven policies that both sides have 
traditionally agreed on.
  Thankfully, the conference committee took this same course. This 
final bill doesn't include devastating SNAP benefit cuts. No one is 
getting kicked off the rolls. There are no changes to categorical 
eligibility or severing of the link between SNAP and LIHEAP.
  The conference committee rejected the House's onerous child support 
enforcement proposal, and instead required a study of the current child 
support option. This study will only be useful in improving policy if 
USDA includes the experiences of grandparents, victims of domestic 
violence, and others who may avoid participating in SNAP out of fear 
that the provision.
  This conference report rejects many provisions of the House bill 
including the state option to privatize SNAP operation. Current law and 
the administration's standards around merit systems personnel was the 
appropriate course.
  And importantly, there are no additional work requirements.
  That's because the existing flexibility that states have to respond 
to local labor conditions works. And as the conference report notes, we 
expect states to continue to be able to identify the areas that they 
wish to include in their areas and to be able to use the labor surplus 
definition of unemployment for the area having to be twenty percent 
above the national average for a two-year period. This has worked well 
for over twenty years. While the flexibly to waive this harsh and 
unfair rule does not go far enough, we do not wish to make it more 
restrictive or limiting for states.
  While the Farm Bill does clarify that state agency-drafted waivers 
need the governor's support, this does not require additional steps in 
the waiver process or interfere with the discretion and authority that 
a chief executive may have in place. The conference committee does not 
intend this provision to interfere with state operations by changing 
the waiver process that states have relied on for twenty years.
  This conference report makes a number of administrative improvements 
and efficiencies, saving a billion dollars. One provision requires 
state participation in the National Accuracy Clearinghouse, which is a 
database that allows for checks of participation across state lines. 
Let me be clear: a data match does not mean an individual is committing 
fraud by intentionally seeking benefits in more than one state. A match 
can also mean that a participants first state of residence has failed 
to act on the individuals' reported move.
  The National Accuracy Clearinghouse can play an important role in 
cleaning up state caseloads. This is important because even if a 
household requests a closure of the case due to a change in residency, 
the state may not act on it in a timely manner, and there's little a 
household can do to prove they tried to close their case. States have a 
duty to assist individuals in the application process and that means, 
to me, that a state must help individuals who have recently moved. 
Without evidence of an individual's intent to defraud the program, 
state agencies should assume dual enrollment is unintentional.
  The conference report sets up a reasonable approach to dealing with 
matches from external data sources. This provision codifies recent USDA 
regulations that identify the limited number of circumstances in which 
a state must follow up with most households to verify information it 
obtains that is likely to impact eligibility or is not required to be 
reported by the household. There is no change to current policy.
  The conference report also supports and codifies recent efforts by 
USDA to establish clearer and more consistent quality control measures. 
I expect USDA to develop clear and consistent review standards but not 
to change what is meant by an error, nor to change the essential 
quality control review process.
  The conference report, as I mentioned earlier, saves a billion 
dollars. These savings are directly reinvested into nutrition programs. 
Because of this, more Americans will have access to healthy food. The 
investments also help to improve SNAP employment and training programs, 
reinforcing the requirement that states properly assess clients and 
assign them to programs appropriate to their needs and skills, and 
asking states to build programs with a demonstrated impact on improving 
outcomes.
  We addressed a long-standing problem--when a SNAP participant is 
referred to a training program, and the program determines that the 
services they provide are not well-matched to the need of the 
participant. States have long been required to do meaningful 
assessments in order to properly assign clients. The expanded 
investment in case management should improve this capacity. And this 
bill emphasized that reassessment is important as well. If a client 
fails to be successful in a program it is often the result of an 
inability to comply versus a refusal to comply with what's needed.
  The bill and report make clear that states must reassess and reassign 
the partisan if appropriate. Participants will no longer lose benefits 
because states are doing a poor job of assigning them to programs that 
don't work for them.
  The conference report also includes an improvement to ensure all 
states use a standard homeless shelter allowance. When implemented, 
this provision must maintain the current flexibly that states have 
around documenting the household circumstances. People experiencing 
homelessness may now be able to obtain and track receipts or records of 
their expenses--that is why a standard allowance is such a useful 
policy. It allows states to deduct modest shelter costs for homeless 
individuals who have no way of documenting those costs. In addition, a 
homeless individual may have costs that exceed the standard allowance 
and they must be able to claim the higher deduction. The standard 
allowance does not preempt the individuals' rights to deduct actual 
costs.
  I have long argued that we should be increasing SNAP benefits, which 
currently average a mere $1.40 per person, per meal, to help hungry 
Americans afford nutritious food. While the bill unfortunately does not 
provide any additional increase in SNAP benefits, it does require USDA 
to revise the Thrifty Food Plan on a regular basis. Prior revisions to 
the Thrifty Food Plan were done in a way that did not increase costs 
despite food prices increasing and decreasing time available to prepare 
many foods at home. This provision allows for

[[Page H10118]]

future revisions to increase the cost of the plan to more accurately 
reflect the reality of food purchasing for most Americans. If the cost 
of the plan goes up, we expect the Secretary to adjust the plan.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope the Secretary of Agriculture and the president 
are tuning into this debate. Right now, they are reportedly working 
behind the scenes to circumvent the will of this Congress by 
instituting more onerous work requirements administratively. Such a 
move, I believe, will likely lead to legal action. And next Congress 
when Democrats are in the Majority, we will use every legislative tool 
available to block such a move at every turn.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Mitchell).
  Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the conference report to H.R. 
2, the farm bill.
  Our ag community has faced far too much uncertainty and challenges 
this past year, and I am glad to see we are finally able to reach a 
consensus that sets our country forward on a better path to help 
farmers, ranchers, and rural communities throughout America--
communities like mine.

                              {time}  1230

  The bill addresses the urgent needs of rural communities and 
agricultural communities, including those in Michigan's 10th 
Congressional District.
  First, the bill authorizes a huge investment in rural broadband, $350 
million a year. As hard as it may be for people to believe, access to 
stable, high-speed Internet is not commonplace in rural America. It 
hinders economic development. It hinders the economic opportunity. It 
hinders them in many ways.
  This bill also raises the minimum standards for rural broadband and 
targets grants and financial support to communities that are most in 
need of assistance.
  The farm bill also assists our dairy producers, especially the small 
dairy producers like in my community who have faced real challenges 
with dairy prices, by expanding affordable coverage for all producers 
of all sizes.
  It maintains the sugar program urgently needed in my district to 
protect American farmers from anticompetitive foreign programs that 
dump sugar at artificially low prices.
  Lastly, the conference report makes important changes to protect the 
financial integrity of the SNAP program and to make it more effective 
for recipients. We need to be concerned that we cannot keep people on 
SNAP forever who can work. We have to help people return to the labor 
market and support themselves, despite what my colleague may believe.
  I am pleased we were able to come to a consensus, finally, with the 
Senate, and I encourage my colleagues to vote in favor of the rule and 
the underlying bill.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I just want to say for the Record, in 
response to my colleague who just spoke, that the average SNAP 
recipient is on the benefit for less than a year, and the majority of 
SNAP recipients who can work, in fact, do work.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Kind).
  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Massachusetts for 
yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise, first, in opposition to the rule. I think the 
gentleman from Massachusetts is correct. Here we are in the waning days 
of this session of Congress, and we can't produce a rule that 
specifically focused on the farm bill. They had to include, in the late 
hours of last night, language that affects our policy as it relates to 
Yemen.
  I commend my colleague from Massachusetts for his efforts to try to 
strip section 2 out of the title of this rule, so we could have a rule 
that specifically addresses the farm bill. It wasn't done. We should go 
back and make sure that it is and allow that policy to develop in the 
debate that we need on the House floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I am a representative of one of the largest agriculture 
producing districts in the Nation, my rural western Wisconsin district. 
I own a farm myself. We rotate corn and beans. We have some beef cattle 
in from time to time. No one appreciates the hard work that our family 
farmers are going through to stay in business today more than I.
  This past year, I had countless meetings with family farmers 
throughout my State. I have never seen the palpable fear in their eyes 
or heard it in their voices than we have this last year after dealing 
with multiple years of low commodity prices. Our family farmers are 
being driven out of the business in droves right now.
  I appreciate, having been involved in farm policy in the past--and 
mind you, we only have a chance to correct farm policy every 5 or 6 
years in this place--how difficult it is to put together a coalition to 
get a farm bill done.
  There are many things in this bill that are commendable. As co-chair 
of the House Organic Caucus, we have perhaps the strongest organic 
title of any farm bill ever produced. We have good agriculture research 
programs in this farm bill, a plus-up in funding for rural broadband 
expansion, a new beginning farmer program, and the nutrition title was 
protected after what was initially reported out of the House earlier 
this year.
  But I reluctantly stand today in opposition of the overall bill 
because it is not addressing the two evils that are driving our family 
farmers out of business today: overproduction and the trade war that 
President Trump has created.
  In fact, they are doubling down on encouraging policy that will lead 
to more production, which will flood the market and drive commodity 
prices down even more, by expanding the title 1 subsidy programs.
  These are taxpayer subsidies that primarily go to a few, but very 
large, agribusinesses. Mr. Speaker, 80 percent of the title 1 subsidies 
are going to the 20 percent largest farm operations in the country.
  The average person back home would be astounded to see how many 
subsidy checks are being mailed to addresses in Washington, D.C., New 
York City, Chicago, and San Francisco. Under this bill, they are even 
expanding those subsidy opportunities by what is called a multiple 
entity rule that was, again, included in the final conference report.
  That means no longer just husbands and wives will qualify for 
subsidies operating on the farm, but sons and daughters, uncles and 
aunts, nieces and nephews, and cousins will be able to qualify now for 
these subsidy programs. Not only will that encourage, again, these 
large operations to ramp up production, driving prices down, but it is 
not fiscally responsible.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Wisconsin an 
additional 30 seconds.
  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, we are in an era now of huge budget deficits, 
yet we are finding an additional $1 billion under the title 1 subsidy 
programs, primarily by taking it out of the conservation fund by 
reducing funding under the Conservation Stewardship Program from $1.8 
billion to $1 billion. That will jeopardize quality water programs 
throughout our Nation.
  So, unfortunately, this bill is not going to solve the problem, the 
crisis that our farmers are facing today, which is driving them out of 
business in record numbers: the overproduction in agriculture in our 
country and this trade war.

  I think we should take a little bit more time and get the policy 
right, because we won't have another opportunity for another 5 or 6 
years, and that is going to be too late for too many of our family 
farmers.
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson), who will expound on the importance of this 
bill and how it does respond to the plights in which farmers find 
themselves today and actually does give certainty to family farmers 
around the country.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
his leadership here managing this rule debate and for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, as vice chair of the Agriculture Committee and a 
conferee, I rise in strong support of this rule and the underlying 
bill, the farm bill of 2018.
  Over the past 3 years, the House and Senate Agriculture Committees 
comprehensively reviewed the 2014 farm bill through a variety of 
hearings to gain feedback from hundreds of farmers, ranchers, 
landowners, and stakeholders. This conference report is the

[[Page H10119]]

final product of this process and months of bipartisan, bicameral 
compromise.
  While there are many important provisions within the bill to 
highlight, at its core, the farm bill is about supporting American 
agriculture and access to food. It is about supporting our domestic 
food supply and our ability to feed, clothe, and provide energy and 
fiber for all Americans.
  One portion of this bill I am particularly pleased with is the dairy 
reforms contained in title 1. These reforms build on the positive 
changes made to the dairy margin insurance program in this year's 
bipartisan budget agreement.
  Our dairy farmers have continued to face difficult times over the 
past decade, and I am hopeful that the 2018 farm bill will help to 
provide some stability in this sector.
  Also of note is a strong conservation title and support for active 
land management. This includes reauthorization of the Conservation 
Reserve Program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, and the 
Regional Conservation Partnership Program.
  Finally, I would like to mention the positive reforms that we made to 
SNAP included in this conference report. These changes will help with 
program integrity. It will encourage work for able-bodied adults 
without dependents and better ensure that SNAP funding and resources 
are going to our most vulnerable and those truly in need.
  I would like to thank Chairman Conaway, Ranking Member Peterson, and 
all the committee staff for their hard work on this conference report 
and dedication to agriculture.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this rule and the underlying farm 
bill and ask my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on both.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, as I said, some of us who support this 
farm bill wanted to support the rule as well. But, again, the 
Republicans thought it was important to basically tuck inside this rule 
language that turns off fast track for procedures for all Yemen 
resolutions through the end of this Congress.
  This is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world right now, and we 
don't have time to talk about it. In fact, the Republican leadership 
takes the extraordinary step of doing everything they can to block 
debate. It is unconscionable.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Khanna), who has been a leader on this issue.
  Mr. KHANNA. Mr. Speaker, Americans around this country are wondering: 
What does a farm bill have to do with the war in Yemen? And the answer 
is absolutely nothing.
  You wonder why people are frustrated with Congress, why they think 
Congress lacks common sense. It is because no one understands why you 
would have a vote on a farm bill and you would tie it to a vote on war 
and peace in Yemen.
  The only reason the leadership is doing this is because they know 
that there are dozens of Republicans who will stand with Democrats to 
stop the killing in Yemen.
  How do they know this? Because Senate Republicans are voting to stop 
the killing in Yemen.
  I came to Congress because of my grandfather, who inspired me. He 
spent 4 years in jail in Gandhi's independence movement. I came to 
Congress to say that America should always stand for human rights.
  I urge my Republican colleagues to look at the pictures in The New 
York Times and Huffington Post: 5-year-old kids, 7-year-old kids 
starving to death, a Yemeni child dying every 10 minutes.
  They tell us to wait until January. That would mean thousands more 
Yemeni kids dead.
  I don't think this is a partisan issue. This is an American issue. 
Let's stop the killing in Yemen. Let's end the famine. Let's have a 
vote in this House so we can stop the civil war in Yemen and save 
lives.
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, we all look forward to the classified 
briefing that we will be a part of tomorrow with the Department of 
Defense and others to talk about the situation in Yemen. It seems 
premature to make decisions regarding that issue at this present time, 
but tomorrow will give us much enlightenment on the issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. 
Walden) to get back to the issue at hand, the farm bill.
  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about the farm bill, the rule 
that allows us to bring this to the floor, and the lives I want to save 
in the West and across America, because this bill takes important steps 
to help improve the management of our Federal forests by extending 
expedited management tools for insect and disease projects in eastern 
Oregon and expanding it to hazardous fuels reduction to reduce the 
threat of fire and smoke. These are real life and safety issues in our 
communities.

  The great tragedies we have seen in California this last summer, in 
Paradise this last fall, I guess, they are repeating themselves year 
after year as climate change and drought and higher temperatures and 
the overgrowth in our forests all come together to create catastrophic 
wildfires, as pictured here. These are monsters when they fire up. They 
kill.
  It is unfortunate that the provisions that the House passed as part 
of the farm bill were rejected by the Democrats in the Senate. It is 
unfortunate because, after these catastrophic fires, we should get in 
and be able to remove the fuel load so that the next fire doesn't burn 
even more intensely, which is what happens. It is a bigger threat to 
the firefighters, because these snags that remain are destined to fall. 
This year, we lost a firefighter to a snag that fell.
  But they rejected that.
  While we are expanding CE authorities, categorical exclusion 
authorities, in some forests, the House provision said we should expand 
it to all forests so that we can begin to catch up and remove the 
excess fuel load from our forests, so that when we do get fire, which 
is a natural part of environment, it does not become so destructive 
that it burns up entire towns.
  Unfortunately, again, Senate Democrats rejected that.
  So we are left with a bill that is pretty good. The farm bill 
provisions are terrific, as the leader has said.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 30 
seconds.
  Mr. WALDEN. But when we are losing towns, and people and firefighters 
in our communities are choked with smoke, we can do better.
  Last night, in Medford, Oregon, the Jackson County Commission held a 
public meeting to talk about this fire situation we face. A dad from 
Jackson County recounted how his daughter with cystic fibrosis had to 
move away. He told the audience: ``It's been devastating for us as a 
family. We wish our daughter could live with us.'' Then he went on to 
say: ``When you can't breathe, nothing else matters.''
  So you want to talk about life and safety and health issues in 
America, we should have done better with the Senate. But we are doing 
okay with this bill, and I intend to support it.

  Today I rise in support of the underlying legislation: the 2018 Farm 
Bill.
  This bill takes steps to help improve the management of our federal 
forests by extending expedited management tools for insect and disease 
projects in eastern Oregon and expanding it to hazardous fuels 
reduction to reduce the threat of fire and smoke.
  We've also allowed more local involvement from counties in forest 
management projects and extended funding for collaborative forest 
projects.
  These all help, but it is unfortunate the Senate Democrats rejected 
provisions from the House bill that would have greatly reduce the 
threat of fires and smoke in all of Oregon.
  The ability to clean up the burned dead timber after a fire--
responsibly and where it makes sense--and replant a new, healthy forest 
for the next generation? Excluded.
  Providing tools that help manage our forests in western and southern 
Oregon--where some of Oregon's worst fires have been in recent years? 
Excluded, even after devastating fires like the Klondike Fire pictured 
here burned more than 175,000 acres.
  People in southern Oregon are tired of choking on smoke every year 
because of poor management. Recently a dad from Jackson County 
recounted how his daughter with cystic fibrosis had to move away saying 
``it's been devastating for us a family. We wish our daughter could 
live with us.'' But, as he went on to say, ``When you can't breathe, 
nothing else matters.''

[[Page H10120]]

  You can understand people's disappointment when they see little here 
to help their region, while efforts continue to lock up more southern 
Oregon forests as more wilderness--a contributor to several large fires 
in recent years.
  As someone from Medford told me last night, if something doesn't 
change, ``We're gonna get killed.''
  Meanwhile, in central Oregon, the 5,000 residents of Crooked River 
Ranch are worried they will become the next Paradise, California. We've 
worked together on a simple public safety bill to make a small 
adjustment to a neighboring Wilderness Study Area so critical fire 
prevention work can be done to protect the community.
  Our bill passed the House unanimously, passed a Senate Committee 
unanimously, has broad support from the local community, and is ready 
to be voted on today.
  Unfortunately, partisan posturing in the Senate is holding this 
critical public safety bill hostage over unrelated public lands 
measures.
  The Senate needs to stop playing with fire and the lives of people of 
Crooked River Ranch, and pass my legislation before the end of this 
Congress. We do not want to see images of homes turned to ash and lives 
destroyed in central Oregon all because politics got in the way of 
protecting lives.

  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Wisconsin (Ms. Moore), who has been one of the leaders in this 
Congress, fighting on behalf of the most vulnerable in our country.
  Ms. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for 
yielding, and I commend my colleagues of the farm bill conference 
committee in both the House and the Senate for strengthening the 
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and rejecting harmful cuts 
and onerous hurdles that would have made efforts of struggling families 
working to escape poverty more difficult.
  This conference agreement very specifically protects SNAP's 
categorical eligibility. What a victory we have won by not throwing 
235,000 children, including 23,000 in my home State of Wisconsin, off 
school lunch, as the House bill proposed.

                              {time}  1245

  It rejected language to impose a lifetime ban on SNAP assistance for 
individuals reentering the community from incarceration. It rejected 
harsh work requirements and extremely limited time restrictions 
proposed in the House bill, which would have left millions of Americans 
hungry and vulnerable.
  And as a true compromise, Mr. Speaker, nobody got everything they 
wanted. For example, we still must work to strengthen access for 
seniors and people with disabilities who face difficulties 
participating in SNAP. That is a fight that we are going to continue to 
fight in the next Congress.
  But for the meantime, let's not have the perfect be the enemy of the 
good, and let's celebrate that we won't be taking food off the table 
for millions this holiday season.
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Kansas (Mr. Marshall).
  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for giving me an 
opportunity to speak today.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the work of the House and 
Senate Agriculture Committees. This afternoon, we will be considering 
the conference report of the 2018 farm bill. I am proud to have had the 
chance to work alongside two of my great mentors, Senator Pat Roberts 
and my House colleague, Chairman Mike Conaway, on this bill.
  While the national media might not spend much time reporting on this 
one, I want to take a moment and recognize both the importance of this 
bill and the work done by the farmers and ranchers it protects.
  Mr. Speaker, Kansans sent us to Congress to get a farm bill done, and 
I am honored to be here today to say we delivered for Kansans.
  I can't hold a townhall or listening session in my district without 
hearing about the importance of this bill. Our farmers need certainty 
and a responsible safety net that can protect them from the whims of 
nature and markets that are far out of control.
  Crop prices have dropped 50 percent since the last farm bill, and 
that impact is showing up in the bottom lines of producers across the 
country. In Kansas, farm bankruptcies are up six times in just 3 years. 
I am not here to fear-monger but to share the seriousness of the state 
of the agriculture economy.
  Mr. Speaker, as I vote here today, I will be thinking of and honoring 
my parents and grandparents, knowing this legislation well preserved 
the rural way of life from which I was raised and the work ethic that 
was taught to me on those family farms.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, again, for those of us who support the farm bill, we 
want to be able to support the rule for consideration of the farm bill; 
but, unfortunately, the Republican leadership decided to mess things up 
by inserting language that would prevent this Congress from debating 
the war in Yemen, one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
  The gentleman from Washington states: Well, we are going to have a 
briefing tomorrow. It is not timely.
  Well, the bottom line is, in this rule, it not only prohibits us from 
debating the war in Yemen with regard to the War Powers Resolution, it 
prohibits us from debating it for the rest of the Congress. What if we 
learn something tomorrow that prompts action on the other side of the 
aisle? You basically have said, ``No. No.''
  This is ridiculous.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Doggett), the distinguished ranking member of the Ways and Means 
Subcommittee on Tax Policy.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, what cruel irony that this rule, dealing, 
in part, with too much food in America, will deny food to millions in 
Yemen.
  In that remote corner of the world, of which most Americans know very 
little, 85,000 children have already died, and another 12 million 
people are on starvation's brink. This very day, more children will die 
of starvation and disease.
  In an eloquent plea this week, Nick Kristof reports on one of them, 
an 8-year-old boy who is starving, and his limbs are like sticks. ``He 
gazes stolidly ahead, tuning out everything,'' as his ``body focuses 
every calorie simply on keeping [his] organs functioning,'' weighing 
just over 30 pounds.
  United Nations officials have warned that ``this could become the 
worst famine'' in the world in a generation. Mr. Kristof rightly 
concludes very succinctly. ``The bottom line: Our tax dollars are going 
to starve children.''
  Suffering is rising; American bombs are still falling. When the Saudi 
coalition attacked a schoolbus, killing 40 little children, scrawled on 
the remains of the bomb were words that meant ``made in America.''
  With today's rule, Trump's enablers here in this House, they tell him 
to keep it up, keep supporting the murderous Saudi regime for whom they 
can see no evil and hear no evil, even if there is a recording of the 
Saudi murder and dismemberment of an American resident available to 
listen to.
  This rule today prohibits a fair debate and a vote on this floor 
because the Republican leaders know that so many members of their own 
party, along with Democrats, can no longer stomach these atrocities.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the 
gentleman from the State of Texas.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, atrocities that are supported with American 
tax dollars. They fear that a bipartisan majority of this House would 
reject what has become a wretched stain on our Nation.
  Last month, this same group of Trump enablers buried consideration of 
our resolution to end this atrocity in a bill about gray wolves, and, 
today, they bury Yemenis again with a bill about American agricultural 
abundance.
  As Americans celebrate this special, joyous season of Christmas, the 
Trump administration, if we do not act today, will continue to write 
the epitaph on the mass graves in Yemen.
  Let's reject this rule today and put a stop to this egregious 
wrongdoing.
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, just let me say: Are the atrocities that are taking 
place in Yemen a serious matter? Absolutely, they are.
  Do they deserve to be debated and discussed to find solutions on what 
we

[[Page H10121]]

can provide? Absolutely. And after tomorrow morning's briefing, if 
there is something that we feel that we need to do, we can respond with 
quickness, with nimbleness, and we can provide those solutions if we 
think there is a necessary solution to be had.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. 
Gianforte).
  Mr. GIANFORTE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Washington for 
yielding.
  This farm bill is a win for Montana's farmers and ranchers who work 
the land, feed our country and the world.
  As they know too well, weather and markets bring uncertainty. This 
farm bill gives our farmers and ranchers a strong safety net that 
protects them against the impact of natural disasters and 
unpredictable, unfair trade practices of other countries.
  Mr. Speaker, this farm bill has Montana's fingerprints on it, and it 
addresses many of our key priorities. It protects Montana's sugar beet 
growers and processors, and it supports the Agricultural Research 
Service, which includes several experiment stations in Montana.
  It helps Montanans throughout the State by providing a grant for 
rural emergency services, training, and equipment, particularly in our 
rural areas. It improves how we manage our forests by empowering county 
governments to improve management of neighboring national forest lands. 
It also improves rural broadband that is so important to our small 
communities.
  Mr. Speaker, this farm bill works for Montana. I urge my colleagues 
to give America's farmers and ranchers the certainty they need and vote 
for the farm bill conference report.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Vermont (Mr. Welch).
  Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, and I rise today in 
support of the farm bill conference report.
  It is absolutely no secret that rural America, our farming 
communities, from Franklin County and Addison County in Vermont to the 
plains of Kansas and Iowa, to the Central Valley in California, are 
facing a crisis. This conference report contains a number of positive 
changes that will help in Vermont.
  First, nutrition: Thankfully, we are acceding to the Senate position. 
We have an economy where profits are up, record incomes for many 
people, and increased poverty and nutrition challenges for children. 
This makes certain that our kids are going to get the nutrition they 
need.
  Second, dairy: This farm bill revamps the existing dairy insurance 
program, known as Margin Protection, for a more effective and 
affordable insurance tool that is going to help our family farmers hang 
on. I still believe we need supply management. It is the only 
sustainable way to go, but this will help, and no one in Vermont needs 
more help and is deserving of more help than our dairy farmers who have 
done so much for our State.
  Third, maple: Maple syrup is really an important component, including 
for our dairy farmers. This bill halts a misguided FDA effort to 
require an ``added sugar'' label to pure maple syrup. This is a pretty 
stupid FDA regulation. It is now dead, gone forever, and it is really 
helpful to our maple industry.
  Fourth, organics: This farm bill doubles funding for Federal research 
into organic protection methods, improves oversight of the global 
organic trade, and funds the organic certification cost-share program. 
More organics, better nutrition, more local agriculture, that is a very 
good thing.
  Fifth, hemp: This legislation legalizes industrial hemp production.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the 
gentleman from the State of Vermont.
  Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, this legislation legalizes industrial hemp 
production, something that Vermonters have been advocating for for 
decades. This is going to be a boost for local agriculture in Vermont 
and other parts of our country.
  And beyond these, there are a number of additional positive changes 
contained in the bill. While no one got everything they wanted and many 
of the urgent reforms that are needed on the commodity side are not 
part of this, this will be a positive contribution to the well-being of 
Vermont agriculture.
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Arrington).
  Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Washington 
State for his leadership and the floor debate.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the 2018 farm bill, and I 
thank Chairman Conaway, Collin Peterson, and all the members of the 
House Agriculture Committee staff for all their hard work. There is no 
single piece of legislation more important in my district or rural 
communities throughout this Nation than the farm bill, and given the 
depressed state of the farm economy, there has never been a more 
pressing time to get one passed.
  The 2018 farm bill significantly strengthens the agriculture safety 
net, which will give our producers the certainty they need to keep 
providing a safe and affordable supply of food to our families. It also 
makes important investments in rural infrastructure to help sustain 
these small towns that are so critical to our vibrant agriculture 
economy.
  Additionally, 18 of the 21 House-passed reforms to the Food Stamp 
program are reflected in the final report, which strengthen the 
program's integrity, provide needed oversight, and reduce waste, fraud, 
and abuse.
  Finally, this farm bill stewards the American taxpayer monies in a 
fiscally responsible way by having a farm bill that is budget neutral.
  Mr. Speaker, agriculture and traditional American values go hand in 
hand. Farmers and ranchers represent more than food and fiber. They 
symbolize a culture of faith, hard work, and independence, which has 
always been at the heart of America's greatness.
  The 2018 farm bill will not only support our producers and families 
living in rural America, it will provide security and peace of mind to 
all Americans by maintaining our ability to feed and clothe our own 
people, or agriculture independence.
  I urge my colleagues, Mr. Speaker, to support our farmers and 
ranchers, to support rural America, to support agriculture independence 
in these United States, and I urge them to vote ``yes'' for the 2018 
farm bill.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, again, I am here to support the farm bill. 
Unfortunately, my Republican friends made the rule controversial.
  But another reason to support the farm bill, in addition to the 
strong nutrition title for those who are vulnerable here in the United 
States, the conference report also provides strong support for 
international food assistance programs, like Food for Peace, Food for 
Progress in McGovern-Dole, which is a program that I helped write 
several years ago, which provides food to some of the most vulnerable 
and poor children in the world in school settings.

                              {time}  1300

  So this farm bill, in addition to helping our farmers, in addition to 
providing food security for people here in the United States, I think, 
also contributes to our national security around the world. And I point 
that out so my colleagues understand that this farm bill covers a 
whole, wide range of areas.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. 
Blumenauer).
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge that Ranking Member Collin 
Peterson on the committee has done a good job balancing many special 
interests that are profoundly affected by the farm bill; solving a 
delicate series of political problems; and holding firm, protecting 
vital nutrition programs and things that I care about, that I have been 
working on for years, like hemp. But unfortunately, the bill is not 
addressing the crisis in American agriculture.
  I published a book earlier this year. The Fight for Food had an 
alternative farm bill. Some of the provisions have found their way into 
it. But this bill does not affect the crisis that we are facing in 
American agriculture; having small and medium-sized producers

[[Page H10122]]

being squeezed out; the battle in terms of the chemical warfare in 
parts of America with Monsanto products that are threatening 
agriculture production; and we are actually seeing violence break out 
in terms of being unable to deal with this.
  We have a profound problem in terms of the environmental context that 
farmers face. Only one in four farmers are going to get access to the 
environmental programs they need.
  Now, there are some improvements in there, things I have been working 
on for years, but the fundamental problem, by flatlining it, we are not 
meeting the needs and, in fact, it is going to represent a reduction in 
absolute terms.
  It does nothing to address the crisis that agriculture is facing 
because of climate change and carbon pollution. We have a crop 
insurance program that doesn't work for most farmers and ranchers, and 
it is grotesquely expensive.
  We have had efforts in Congress, committees, outside experts, that 
point to ways we can rein in these unjustified subsidies, save money, 
and have a program that works for most farmers and ranchers. But sadly, 
that will have to wait for another day.
  We are not investing in the future. We are not investing in farmers 
and ranchers who need the help the most, accelerating research, 
accelerating environmental programs, accelerating and investing more in 
beginning farmers.
  Mr. Speaker, it is not good enough to be able to solve the political 
problem, to solve the bill, and prevent the worst abuses that were 
being proposed. We need a farm and food bill for Americans who eat, who 
pay taxes, and for farmers and ranchers who want to practice on a 
sustainable basis on the smaller scale, not massive agricultural 
industrial production.
  This bill is a missed opportunity. And even though it has got some 
good things in it, I am going to vote against it because it is not 
nearly good enough.
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I would just like to say that my farmers and ranchers in the State of 
Washington, as well as we have heard earlier from the State of Oregon, 
do support the strengthening of the provisions in this bill to make 
sure that the farm economy can continue on in as strong a manner as 
possible, so there is widespread support in agricultural country around 
the Nation for this farm bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from the great State 
of Arkansas (Mr. Westerman).
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I was blessed to be a walk-on football 
player for the University of Arkansas and participate on two 10-win 
conference championship teams.
  Coach Ken Hatfield's triple option offense averaged over 300 yards 
per game, but it came in small chunks that resulted in first downs, 
that resulted in touchdowns, and eventually led to victories.
  Mr. Speaker, farm incomes are down across the board. The West is 
consumed by wildfires. China and other nations are taking advantage of 
unfair trade laws.
  What rural America needs is a first down. Our farmers and ranchers 
need to see Congress move the ball forward and provide their families 
the protection and relief they need during these hard times.
  This conference report is not a Hail Mary. It does not contain 
everything that I would like to see in a farm bill, but it does move 
the ball forward. It is progress that our farmers need right now.
  I am disappointed that Senate Democrats blocked many needed forest 
management provisions as we continue to sift through the ashes of 
catastrophic wildfires.
  However, this conference report strengthens the farm safety net and 
provides certainty to our farmers. It does address some forest 
management issues. It provides millions of dollars in new funding to 
combat a range of issues facing rural America, from funding to 
eradicate feral hogs, to address the opioid crisis, and to expand rural 
broadband.
  This conference report moves farm policy in the right direction. I 
urge the adoption of the rule for this farm bill.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. Tonko).
  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this legislation 
and, as a farm bill conferee, I would like to pass along my sincere 
thanks to the Members and staff who worked diligently to put together a 
good final product for the American people.
  This farm bill strikes the right balance by providing certainty to 
our hardworking farmers, while protecting our most vulnerable by 
rejecting the harsh SNAP cuts that were contained in the original House 
Republican bill, a very meaningful restoral.
  In fact, today, I was reminded, as I volunteered at the Capital Area 
Food Bank, that they serve 500,000 individuals who are food insecure 
annually in the Maryland, D.C., and Virginia area.
  I am particularly pleased with provisions that will benefit New 
York's dairy farmers and producers of specialty crops, which together 
form the backbone of the agricultural economy in my 20th Congressional 
District and across upstate New York.
  This farm bill also recognizes the importance of expanding broadband 
access to the American people and, particularly, to those who don't 
have access to a high-speed connection.
  I am disappointed, however, that we were unable to agree on stronger 
language to ensure Federal money is spent wisely. Investments in 
broadband internet infrastructure have the greatest impact on American 
lives and should be dealt with in a very resourceful way.
  Specifically, I argued for more interagency coordination. The Federal 
Communications Commission, the Department of Agriculture, and the 
National Telecommunications and Information Administration, need to 
coordinate with each other, not merely consult, when funding critical 
broadband internet infrastructure.
  When it comes to broadband internet spending, this bill provides 
limited investments and, because of that, we have a duty to stretch 
every dollar as far as possible.
  It is unfortunate that this concept was not included in the farm 
bill, but I plan to continue advocating for legislation that would 
require greater coordination amongst Federal agencies as we build out 
broadband. I was proud to work on a bipartisan basis to provide 
coordination language in the ACCESS BROADBAND Act which has already 
passed the House and is now being considered in the Senate.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Poe of Texas). The time of the gentleman 
has expired.
  Mr. McGOVERN. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.
  Mr. TONKO. I will continue working with my colleagues to improve 
coordination of Federal broadband programs so we can increase 
efficiency and eliminate duplicative or wasteful efforts.
  Finally, while I am grateful for the overall outcome of the 
legislation, as a conferee representing the views of the Energy and 
Commerce Committee, I was disappointed that on many issues in this 
legislation involving committee jurisdiction, the committee was not 
properly consulted. It is my hope that, in the future, all conferees 
will be allowed greater involvement and their voices will be heard, 
especially on issues that cross committee lines.

  Again, I would urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis).
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman 
Conaway and my fellow conferees on reaching a conference agreement that 
benefits all of agriculture. This bill maintains programs critical for 
central Illinois farmers, strengthens agricultural research, and 
improves protection for organic products.
  First and foremost, this bill ensures crop insurance remains a vital 
risk management tool for farmers. It also ensures farmers have a choice 
between two different commodity protection programs, something I fought 
for in the 2014 farm bill, and I am glad we were successful again in 
this farm bill.
  Consumer demand for organic products continues to increase, and this 
bill makes positive changes to support organic products by placing 
higher scrutiny on organic imports, helping farmers who seek organic 
certification, and increasing funding for organic research.

[[Page H10123]]

  The bill also strengthens agricultural research by including my bill 
to ensure USDA's research focuses on agriculture's most-needed 
priorities and helps universities like the University of Illinois, 
Illinois State University, and Southern Illinois University at 
Edwardsville, in my district, continue important research.
  Additionally, ensuring rural communities have access to broadband is 
an important part of this bill. Not only do we invest in expanding 
broadband, we ensure rural communities have access to broadband that 
will now meet minimum standards and requirements for today's 
technological age.
  We have written a strong bill for our farmers but, Mr. Speaker, 80 
percent of this farm bill is related to SNAP, and that cannot be 
ignored. We missed a golden opportunity to fill in the cracks of our 
existing workforce development programs to get millions of families the 
opportunity to get educational benefits to get them out of poverty with 
the jobs that we know are available in this community.
  I am disappointed we weren't successful, but I look forward to 
supporting this bill.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel), the ranking member of the House 
Foreign Affairs Committee.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the rule 
because, once again, the majority is stifling debate on a critical 
national security issue.
  The gentleman from California (Mr. Khanna) has tried again and again 
to bring a debate forward in this body about where and how the United 
States military is engaged around the world. This is Congress' 
responsibility, and not only has the majority abdicated that 
responsibility, they won't even let us talk about it.
  Resolutions dealing with war powers have special privileges in 
Congress because these are such grave issues. That is how Congress 
wrote the law. The other body is grappling with this problem, but the 
majority in this body wants to pretend these issues just don't exist, 
and they strip those privileges away with this rule.
  That is wrong. It is a betrayal of the men and women who serve this 
country in uniform. We won't ignore these issues in the next Congress.
  We should defeat this rule and have a real debate.
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Our military is not involved in hostilities surrounding the Yemeni 
civil war. As I said, tomorrow we are having a briefing that if we 
learn things, we can respond with urgency and nimbleness.
  To speak on this issue further, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Sessions), the chairman of the Rules Committee.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the distinguished gentleman, 
Mr. Newhouse, for giving me the time.
  Mr. Speaker, it is true that, from time to time, the Rules Committee 
does need to take the authority and the responsibility that they have, 
and the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts will soon learn this 
next year as I assume he will assume that role as the new chairman of 
the Rules Committee.
  In fact, the arguments that are being made today relate to the 
substance of the bill. The bill that is at hand is very important, and 
that is the farm bill, the farm bill that we know has a 10-year window, 
that is net neutral, that protects the balances that we have talked 
about.
  But it updates not only the opportunities for people who were in 
rural areas to update that policy, but it reinvigorates our 
establishment by this House, and the United States Senate, that has 
already handled this bill, and the President, to reassert that which 
they believe is important; and that is, the men and women who live in 
the rural areas, the men and women who get up at 4 o'clock in the 
morning; men and women who are there protecting the grass roots, the 
soil, the topsoil of this country. We need them to serve not only this 
Nation but the world.
  It is true that hemp was added. Mr. Comer, who is a Member of 
Congress from Kentucky, last year began engaging me on this issue. We 
agreed that we would put it in. It is an important agricultural product 
and will aid and help very much so, not only a marketplace, but farmers 
in Kentucky and other places.

                              {time}  1315

  As it relates to the Authorization for Use of Military Force, AUMF, I 
would like to tell my colleagues that, in fact, I did make that 
decision that we would include by not allowing, not debate, but a vote 
that would take place on this floor.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 10 seconds to the 
gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, so what we are going to do is, we are 
going to have a classified briefing tomorrow that will further allow 
debate based upon the facts of the case. Mr. Speaker, I assure you that 
we will be here all next week, and if the facts of the case warrant, we 
will address the issue then.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining 
on my side.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Massachusetts has 3\1/2\ 
minutes remaining.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. I think 
I am the final speaker here, so I will let the Republicans go ahead.
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the good gentleman from 
Massachusetts.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. 
King).
  Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I am happy to speak out on behalf of the Fourth 
Congressional District of Iowa, which I claim is the number one 
agriculture-producing congressional district in all of America, and to 
support this underlying bill, which does a number of good things.
  I have heard that it provides certainty. When you deal with 
agriculture, I have some apprehension about that, Mr. Speaker, because 
certainty in agriculture seems to be an oxymoron to me. But it does 
provide predictability, and we owe that to our producers, in 
particular.
  So it does a number of good things.
  It sets up the ARC payments so that they will be identified to the 
physical location of the farm. That corrects an inequity.
  It has $255 million a year in there for MAP, market access, for 
foreign market development, for technical assistance, and the Emerging 
Markets Program.
  It addresses FMD beyond foreign market developments in another way, 
and that establishes a vaccine bank for foot and mouth disease, which 
we anticipate could well be something that could befell the United 
States. We need to be ready.
  I encourage also that we develop a GMO vaccine for FMD, so we can 
produce it in this country in sufficient quantities. This bill allows 
for that to be developed.
  Then it also increases the loan guarantees along the line, especially 
for our young producers, up to $1.75 million, and the direct loans to 
$400,000, and the direct farm ownership loans to $600,000. Those are 
all good things.
  I am really happy about the piece that goes in for Iowa State genome 
and phenome.
  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to address this.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, if I can inquire of the gentleman from 
Washington whether he has any additional speakers.
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, I have a couple more speakers, yes.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, we have a lot of interest in this issue, 
as you can tell.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. 
Crawford).
  Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for the opportunity 
to speak here. I will just speak off-the-cuff. My staff wrote me a 
speech, but I have only 30 seconds to get this done.
  Mr. Speaker, let me tell you what farmers across my district say. 
They say that if you can get the Federal Government to relieve the 
regulatory burden and open up markets, we can farm in this country. We 
can succeed.
  Mother Nature is a treacherous business partner, and so the Federal 
Government needs to do all that it can to

[[Page H10124]]

make sure that we are mitigating those uncertainties inflicted by 
Mother Nature that we have seen across the country this year, certainly 
in my district and other parts of the country.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to lend my support to this effort.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Conaway for his exemplary leadership. 
To all those who supported this effort on the House and Senate side, I 
thank them so much.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the underlying bill.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I know that the gentleman has additional 
speakers over there. Would it be appropriate to ask unanimous consent 
to give the gentleman an additional 2 minutes? I have 3\1/2\, but I am 
going to use that, but could we give them an additional 2 minutes?
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, there is no objection from this side of 
the aisle.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Massachusetts may yield 2 
minutes to the majority.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I don't want to yield 2 minutes. I ask 
unanimous consent for the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Newhouse) to 
have an additional 2 minutes. If there is no objection, is that----
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair cannot entertain that unanimous 
consent request.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Newhouse) to control.
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, I can't tell you how much gratitude I feel 
to the gentleman from Massachusetts for leading in a bipartisan manner. 
I appreciate that very much.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington 
(Mrs. McMorris Rodgers), my good colleague
  Mrs. McMORRIS RODGERS. Mr. Speaker, the American farmer is the 
greatest antipoverty program that the world has ever seen. Certainly in 
my district, agriculture is a way of life. It is our number one 
industry, and getting this farm bill done this year is a top priority 
for eastern Washington.
  I am proud that this legislation includes important priorities around 
crop insurance, expanding the Market Access Program, and ensuring 
agriculture research for cutting-edge products that is done at 
Washington State University and many others.
  As I talk with farmers all around eastern Washington, they often 
stress the importance of these priorities.
  I was grateful to have the Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, 
visit and talk with the farmers of eastern Washington, as well as the 
chairman of the committee, Michael Conaway, come to eastern Washington.
  This legislation also includes important provisions for forestry: 
better forest management on forests like the Colville National Forest, 
which is in my district; expanding the Good Neighbor Authority; fixing 
fire borrowing. This is all so important to healthy forests.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support the farm bill 
conference report.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, does the gentleman have any more speakers?
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for being 
gracious with his time, but, no, I have no more speakers.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, do I have 2\1/2\ minutes remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Massachusetts has 2\1/2\ 
minutes remaining.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an 
amendment to the rule to bring up H.R. 7264, a continuing resolution to 
fund the remainder of the government and extend the National Flood 
Insurance Program, the Violence Against Women Act, and the Temporary 
Assistance for Needy Families Act until September 30.
  I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment in the 
Record, along with extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Massachusetts?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I hope people will vote ``no'' on the 
previous question so we can debate this and vote on keeping our 
government open. But I would just close by again saying to my 
colleagues that this farm bill is not a great bill, but it is a good 
bill. It is the result of bipartisan negotiations at a conference 
committee that produced something that I think both Democrats and 
Republicans can come together and support.
  I am supporting this bill because it is good on the nutrition title. 
As you know, I have spent a lot of time in this Chamber talking about 
the issues of hunger and food insecurity in this country.
  There are 40 million Americans who don't have enough to eat, who are 
hungry, and this is in the richest and most powerful country in the 
world. I am ashamed of that fact. Every Member of this House should be 
ashamed of that fact.
  Hunger is a political condition. We can fix it, if we had the 
political will.
  This farm bill is not as robust as I would like it to be under the 
nutrition title, but it does no harm. It doesn't increase hunger. It 
doesn't throw people off of SNAP. It doesn't make hunger worse in this 
country. It is deserving of bipartisan support, so I hope all of my 
Democratic colleagues will vote in favor of this farm bill.
  Mr. Speaker, again, I want to thank all those who came together to 
construct this compromise. It is a much, much better product than what 
came out of this House, and this is a vote that we can be proud of. I 
hope that everybody will support it.
  Finally, I regretfully have to say I urge my colleagues to vote 
against the rule, because the Republicans couldn't help themselves and 
had to insert this Yemen issue into this rule.
  This issue has been going on for years. This is not a new phenomenon, 
what is happening in Yemen. It is a tragedy that has gone on for years. 
We know it is happening. We know it is long time past since we should 
act.
  Mr. Speaker, we should defeat the rule, have another rule that is 
just on the farm bill, and we ought to be debating this issue of Yemen.
  Mr. Speaker, vote ``no'' on the previous question, vote ``no'' on the 
rule, and vote ``yes'' on the farm bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. 
Again, I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for his yielding extra 
time to us to allow many of our Members to speak on this important 
issue. I look forward to reciprocating at some point in the future.
  Mr. Speaker, as you heard, there are a lot of wins in this bill for 
rural America, especially in these extremely difficult economic times 
in farm country around the United States. The 2018 farm bill will help 
provide certainty for the American farmer and for the rural communities 
that they support.
  Families who work every day to put food on our tables deserve our 
support.
  Before I yield back, Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter 
that was led by the American Farm Bureau that has no fewer than 489 
organizations around the country, every State in the union, supporting 
H.R. 2.

                                                December 12, 2018.
     The Honorable,
     U.S. House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative: The undersigned organizations would 
     like to express our support for H.R. 2, the Agriculture 
     Improvement Act of 2018, and urge its adoption.
       This farm bill supports farmers and ranchers, protects crop 
     insurance and conservation programs, invests in efforts to 
     expand foreign markets, protects animal health and 
     prioritizes agricultural research and rural development. This 
     bill is critical to providing all stakeholders, including 
     farmers, ranchers and consumers, with consistent policy for 
     the next five years as well as the sectors and industries 
     that rely on them.
       American rural economies are struggling in the face of 
     successive years of declining prices, high and rising foreign 
     tariffs and subsidies, and the unpredictability of Mother 
     Nature. This farm bill helps address these and countless 
     other issues to ensure farmers, ranchers, and rural America 
     can survive these difficult times.
       Your support is key to enacting this important piece of 
     legislation. We respectfully urge you to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 
     2.
       Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics; Ag New Mexico, Farm 
     Credit Services, ACA; AgCarolina Farm Credit, ACA; AgChoice 
     Farm Credit, ACA; AgCountry Farm Credit Services, ACA; 
     AgCredit, ACA; AgFirst Farm Credit Bank; AgGeorgia Farm 
     Credit, ACA; AgHeritage Farm Credit Services, ACA;

[[Page H10125]]

     AgPreference, ACA; AgriBank, FCB; Agricultural Council of 
     Arkansas; AgSouth Farm Credit, ACA; AgTexas Farm Credit 
     Services; AgVantis, Inc.; Alabama Ag Credit, ACA.
       Alabama Cotton Commission; Alabama Farm Credit, ACA; 
     Alabama Farmers Federation; Alabama Independent Insurance 
     Agents Association; Alabama Peanut Producers Association; 
     Alaska Farm Bureau, Inc.; Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC; 
     Amcot; American AgCredit, ACA; American Agri-Women; American 
     Association of Crop Insurers; American Bankers Association; 
     American Beekeeping Federation; American Beverage 
     Association; American Cotton Shippers Association.
       American Crystal Sugar Company; American Farm Bureau 
     Federation; American Farmland Trust; American Malting Barley 
     Association; American Pulse Association; American Seed Trade 
     Association; American Sheep Industry; American Society of 
     Agronomy; American Society of Animal Science; American 
     Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers; American 
     Soybean Association; American Sugar Alliance; American Sugar 
     Cane League; American Sugarbeet Growers Association; American 
     Veterinary Medical Association.
       American Water Works Association; American Wood Council; 
     Anderson's Maple Syrup, Inc.; Animal Health Institute; 
     ArborOne Farm Credit; ArborOne, ACA; Arizona Cotton Growers 
     Association; Arizona Farm Bureau Federation; Arkansas 
     Cattlemen's Association; Arkansas Community Bankers; Arkansas 
     Cotton Warehouse Association; Arkansas Farm Bureau; Arkansas 
     Forestry Association; Arkansas Rice Federation; Association 
     of American Universities.
       Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges; 
     Association of Equipment Manufacturers; Bascom Maple Farms, 
     Inc.; Big I New Jersey; Big I New York; Biotechnology 
     Innovation Organization; Blackland Cotton and Grain 
     Producers, Inc.; Calcot, LTD; California Association of Wheat 
     Growers; California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association; 
     California Farm Bureau Federation; Cape Fear Farm Credit, 
     ACA; Capital Farm Credit, ACA; Carolina Farm Credit, ACA; 
     Catfish Farmers of Arkansas; Central Kentucky, ACA.
       Central Texas Farm Credit, ACA; Cherry Marketing Institute; 
     Clemson University Extension; CoBank, ACB; College of 
     Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the 
     University of Illinois; Colonial Farm Credit, ACA; Colorado 
     Association of Wheat Growers; Colorado Corn Growers 
     Association; Colorado Farm Bureau; Colorado Sorghum 
     Association; Community Bankers Association of Georgia; 
     Community Bankers Association of Illinois; Community Bankers 
     Association of Kansas; Community Bankers Association of Ohio; 
     Community Bankers of Michigan; Compeer Financial, ACA.
       Connecticut Farm Bureau Association; Corn Growers of North 
     Carolina; Corn Refiners Association; Cotton and Grain 
     Producers of Lower Rio Grande Valley; Cotton Growers 
     Cooperative; Cotton Growers Warehouse Association; Cotton 
     Producers of Missouri; Cotton Warehouse Association of 
     America; Cottonseed and Feed Association; Crop Insurance and 
     Reinsurance Bureau; Crop Insurance Professionals Association; 
     Crop Science Society of America; Dairy Farmers of America-
     Michigan; Delaware Farm Bureau; Delta Agricultural Credit 
     Association; Delta Council.
       Ducks Unlimited; Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative; 
     Entomological Society of America; Farm Credit Bank of Texas; 
     Farm Credit Council; Farm Credit East, ACA; Farm Credit 
     Illinois, ACA; Farm Credit Mid-America, ACA; Farm Credit 
     Midsouth, ACA; Farm Credit of Central Florida, ACA; Farm 
     Credit of Enid, ACA; Farm Credit of Florida, ACA; Farm Credit 
     of New Mexico, ACA; Farm Credit of Northwest Florida, ACA; 
     Farm Credit of Southern Colorado, ACA.
       Farm Credit of the Virginias, ACA; Farm Credit of Western 
     Kansas, ACA; Farm Credit of Western Oklahoma, ACA; Farm 
     Credit Services of America, ACA; Farm Credit Services of 
     Colusa-Glenn, ACA; Farm Credit Services of Hawaii, ACA; Farm 
     Credit Services of Mandan, ACA; Farm Credit Services of North 
     Dakota, ACA; Farm Credit Services of Western Arkansas, ACA; 
     Farm Credit Southeast Missouri, ACA; Farm Journal Foundation; 
     FCS Financial, ACA; First South Farm Credit, ACA; Florida 
     Association of Insurance Agents; Florida Cattlemen's 
     Association.
       Florida Citrus Mutual; Florida Farm Bureau Federation; 
     Florida Peanut Producers Association; Florida Sugar Cane 
     League; Food Producers of Idaho; Fresno-Madera Farm Credit, 
     ACA; Frontier Farm Credit, ACA; Georgia Agribusiness Council; 
     Georgia Bankers Association; Georgia Cattlemen's Association; 
     Georgia Cotton Commission; Georgia Farm Bureau; Georgia 
     Forestry Association; Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers 
     Association; Georgia Peanut Commission.
       Georgia Poultry Federation; Georgia/Florida Soybean 
     Associations; Glades Crop Care, Inc.; Global Cold Chain 
     Alliance; Golden State Farm Credit, ACA; Great Plains Canola 
     Association; GreenStone Farm Credit Services, ACA; Harvest 
     Land Co-op; Heritage Land Bank, ACA; High Plains Farm Credit, 
     ACA; Hill Country Conservancy; Idaho AgCredit, ACA; Idaho 
     Alfalfa/Clover Seed Commission; Idaho Alfalfa/Clover Seed 
     Growers Association; Idaho Association of Soil Conservation 
     Districts.
       Idaho Cooperative Council, Inc.; Idaho Dairymen's 
     Association; Idaho Farm Bureau Federation; Idaho Grain 
     Producers Association; Idaho Hay & Forage Association; Idaho 
     Honey Industry Association; Idaho Oilseed Commission; Idaho 
     Onion Growers' Association; Idaho Weed Control Association; 
     Illinois Farm Bureau; Illinois Soybean Growers; Independent 
     Bankers Association of New York State; Independent Bankers 
     Association of Texas; Independent Bankers of Colorado; 
     Independent Banks of South Carolina.
       Independent Community Bankers Association of New Mexico; 
     Independent Community Bankers of America; Independent 
     Community Bankers of Minnesota; Independent Community Bankers 
     of South Dakota; Independent Community Banks of North Dakota; 
     Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America; 
     Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of Louisiana; 
     Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of South Carolina; 
     Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of Arizona; 
     Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of California; 
     Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of Idaho; 
     Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of Oregon; 
     Independent Insurance Agents Association of Montana; 
     Independent Insurance Agents of Arkansas; Independent 
     Insurance Agents of Connecticut.
       Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois; Independent 
     Insurance Agents of Indiana; Independent Insurance Iowa; 
     Independent Insurance Agents of Maryland; Independent 
     Insurance Agents of Mississippi; Independent Insurance Agents 
     of Nebraska; Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico; 
     Independent Insurance Agents of North Dakota; Independent 
     Insurance Agents of Rhode Island; Independent Insurance 
     Agents of South Dakota; Independent Insurance Agents of 
     Virginia; Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin; Indiana 
     Bankers Association; Indiana Corn Growers Association; 
     Indiana Farm Bureau.
       Indiana Soybean Alliance; Insurance Agents & Brokers of 
     Delaware; Insurance Agents & Brokers of Pennsylvania; 
     International Dairy Foods Association; International Maple 
     Syrup Institute; Iowa Farm Bureau Federation; Iowa Soybean 
     Association; IR-4 Project; Kansas Association of Wheat 
     Growers; Kansas Cotton Association; Kansas Farm Bureau; 
     Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Association; Kansas Soybean 
     Association; Kansas State University; Kentucky Cattlemen's 
     Associations.
       Kentucky Corn Growers Association; Kentucky Dairy 
     Development Council; Kentucky Farm Bureau; Kentucky Forage 
     and Grassland Council; Kentucky Pork Producers Association; 
     Kentucky Poultry Federation; Kentucky Sheep and Goat 
     Association; Kentucky Small Grain Growers Association; 
     Kentucky Soybean Association; Kentucky Woodland Owners 
     Association; Land O'Lakes, Inc.; Legacy Ag Credit, ACA; 
     Livestock Marketing Association; Lone Star, ACA; Louisiana 
     Cotton and Grain Associations.
       Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation; Louisiana Independent 
     Rice Producers Association; Louisiana Independent Warehouse 
     Association; Louisiana Land Bank, ACA; MACMA Processing Apple 
     Growers; MACMA Processing Asparagus Growers; Maine Farm 
     Bureau; Maine Insurance Agents Association; Maine Maple 
     Products, Inc.; Maple Syrup Producers Association of 
     Connecticut; Maryland Farm Bureau; Massachusetts Association 
     of Insurance Agents; MBG Marketing, The Blueberry People; 
     Metro Detroit Flower Growers Association; Michigan Ag 
     Commodities.
       Michigan Allied Poultry Industries; Michigan Apple 
     Association; Michigan Aquaculture Association; Michigan 
     Asparagus Research Committee; Michigan Association of 
     Insurance Agents; Michigan Bean Commission; Michigan 
     Cattlemen's Association; Michigan Christmas Tree Association; 
     Michigan Corn Growers Association; Michigan Equine 
     Partnership; Michigan Farm Bureau; Michigan Food Processors 
     Association; Michigan Great Lakes International; Michigan 
     Greenhouse Growers Council; Michigan Milk Producers 
     Association.
       Michigan Nursery Lawn and Landscape Association; Michigan 
     Pork Producers Association; Michigan Sheep Producers 
     Association; Michigan Soybean Association; Michigan State 
     University, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources; 
     Michigan Sugar Company; Michigan Vegetable Council; 
     MidAtlantic Farm Credit, ACA; Mid-Atlantic Soybean 
     Association; Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative; Minnesota 
     Association of Wheat Growers; Minnesota Barley Growers 
     Association; Minnesota Corn Growers Association; Minnesota 
     Farm Bureau; Minnesota Soybean Growers Association.
       Mississippi Beekeepers Association; Mississippi Cattlemen's 
     Association; Mississippi Corn Growers Association; 
     Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation; Mississippi Land Bank, 
     ACA; Mississippi Peanut Growers Association; Mississippi 
     Poultry Association; Mississippi Rice Council; Mississippi 
     Soybean Association; Missouri Association of Insurance 
     Agents; Missouri Farm Bureau; Missouri Independent Bankers 
     Association; Missouri Soybean Association; Montana 
     Association of Wheat Growers; Montana Farm Bureau Federation.
       National All-Jersey Inc; National Association for the 
     Advancement of Animal Science; National Association of 
     Conservation Districts; National Association of Mutual 
     Insurance Companies; National Association of Plant Breeders; 
     National Association of Professional Insurance Agents; 
     National Association of State Departments of Agriculture; 
     National Association of Wheat Growers; National Barley 
     Growers Association; National

[[Page H10126]]

     Barley Improvement Committee; National Bobwhite Conservation 
     Initiative; National Coalition for Food and Agricultural 
     Research; National Corn Growers Association; National Cotton 
     Council.
       National Cotton Ginners Association; National Cottonseed 
     Products Association; National Council of Farmer 
     Cooperatives; National Council of Textile Organizations; 
     National Crop Insurance Services; National Farmers Union; 
     National Grain and Feed Association; National Milk Producers 
     Federation; National Oilseed Processors Association; National 
     Onion Association; National Peach Council; National Pork 
     Producers Council; National Rural Electric Cooperative 
     Association; National Rural Lenders; National Sorghum 
     Producers.
       National Sunflower Association; Nebraska Farm Bureau 
     Federation; Nebraska Independent Community Bankers; Nebraska 
     Soybean Association; Nebraska Wheat Growers Association; New 
     Hampshire Farm Bureau; New Hampshire Maple Producers 
     Association; New Jersey Farm Bureau; New Mexico Sorghum 
     Association; New York Corn and Soybean Growers Association; 
     New York Farm Bureau; Nezperce Prairie Grass Growers 
     Association; Non-Land-Grant Agriculture and Renewable 
     Resources Universities; North Carolina Agribusiness Council, 
     Inc.; North Carolina Cattlemen's Association.
       North Carolina Cotton Producers Association; North Carolina 
     Farm Bureau; North Carolina Peanut Growers Association; North 
     Carolina Pork Council; North Carolina Small Grain Growers 
     Association; North Carolina Soybean Producers Association; 
     North Carolina State University, College of Agriculture and 
     Life Sciences; North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission; North 
     Dakota Farm Bureau; North Dakota Grain Growers Association; 
     North Dakota Soybean Growers Association; Northeast Dairy 
     Farmers Cooperatives; Northern Canola Growers Association; 
     Northern Pulse Growers Association; Northwest Farm Credit 
     Services, ACA.
       Ohio Corn and Wheat Association; Ohio Farm Bureau 
     Federation; Ohio Insurance Agents Association; Ohio Soybean 
     Association; Oklahoma AgCredit, ACA; Oklahoma Cotton Council; 
     Oklahoma Farm Bureau; Oklahoma Sorghum Association; Oklahoma 
     Wheat Growers Association; Oregon Bankers Association; Oregon 
     Farm Bureau Federation; Oregon Wheat Growers League; Pacific 
     Northwest Canola Association; Palmetto AgriBusiness Council; 
     Panhandle Peanut Growers Association; Penn State University.
       Pennsylvania Farm Bureau; Pheasants Forever; Plains Cotton 
     Cooperative Association; Plains Cotton Growers, Inc.; Plains 
     Land Bank, FLCA; Pollinator Partnership; Potato Growers of 
     Michigan; Prairie Water User Group; Premier Farm Credit, ACA; 
     Produce Marketing Association; Puerto Rico Farm Credit, ACA; 
     Purdue University; Quail Forever; Rain and Hail Insurance 
     Society; Reinsurance Association of America.
       Rhode Island Farm Bureau Federation; Rice Producers of 
     California; Rio Grande Valley Sugar Growers; River Valley 
     AgCredit, ACA; Rochester Institute of Technology; Rolling 
     Plains Cotton Growers, Inc.; Rural Community Insurance 
     Services; San Joaquin Valley Quality Cotton Growers 
     Association; Select Milk Producers, Inc.; Sidney Sugars 
     Incorporated; Society of American Florists; Soil Science 
     Society of America; South Carolina Cotton Board; South 
     Carolina Farm Bureau; South Carolina Peach Council.
       South Dakota Farm Bureau; South Dakota Wheat Incorporated; 
     South East Dairy Farmers Association; South Texas Cotton and 
     Grain Association; Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers 
     Association; Southern AgCredit, ACA; Southern Association of 
     Agricultural Experiment Station Directors; Southern Cotton 
     Growers, Inc.; Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative; 
     Southern Peanut Farmers Federation; Southern Rolling Plains 
     Cotton Growers Association; Southwest Council of 
     Agribusiness; Southwest Georgia Farm Credit, ACA; Spreckels 
     Sugar Company; St. Lawrence Cotton Growers Association.
       Staplcotn Coop Association; Supporters of Agricultural 
     Research (SoAR) Foundation; Sustainable Food Policy Alliance; 
     Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation; Texas Agricultural 
     Cooperative Council; Texas Agricultural Irrigation 
     Association; Texas Cattle Feeders Association; Texas Citrus 
     Mutual; Texas Corn Producers Association; Texas Farm Bureau; 
     Texas Farm Credit Services; Texas Grain and Feed Association; 
     Texas Grain Sorghum Association; Texas Pecan Growers 
     Association; Texas Rice Council.
       Texas Rice Producers Legislative Group; Texas Seed Trade 
     Association; Texas Soybean Association; Texas Wheat Producers 
     Association; The Fertilizer Institute; The Property Casualty 
     Insurers Association of America; U.S. Apple Association; U.S. 
     Pea and Lentil Trade Association; United Dairymen of Arizona; 
     United Fresh Produce Association; United Onions USA, Inc.; 
     University of Tennessee at Martin College of Agriculture and 
     Applied Sciences; US Beet Sugar Association; US Canola 
     Association; US Dry Bean Council.
       US Rice Producers Association; US Sweet Potato Council; USA 
     Dry Pea & Lentil Council; USA Rice; Vermont Farm Bureau; 
     Vermont Insurance Agents Association; Virginia Agribusiness 
     Council; Virginia Cotton Growers Association; Virginia Farm 
     Bureau; Virginia Soybean Association; Washington Association 
     of Wheat Growers; Washington Farm Bureau; Washington State 
     Potato Commission; Washington State Sheep Producers; 
     Washington State University; Washington State University, 
     CAHNRS; Washington State University, College of Veterinary 
     Medicine.
       Weed Science Society of America; Western AgCredit, ACA; 
     Western Equipment Dealers Association; Western Growers; 
     Western Peanut Growers Association; Western Pulse Growers 
     Association; Western Sugar Cooperative; Western United 
     Dairymen; Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation; Wisconsin Maple 
     Syrup Producers Association; Wisconsin Soybean Association; 
     Women Involved in Farm Economics; Wyoming Sugar Company, LLC; 
     Wyoming Wheat Growers Association; Yankee Farm Credit, ACA; 
     Yosemite Farm Credit, ACA; Yuma Fresh Vegetable Association; 
     Zurich North America.

  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support the 
rule and the conference report to accompany H.R. 2, the Agriculture and 
Nutrition Act
  The material previously referred to by Mr. McGovern is as follows:

          An Amendment to H. Res. 1176 Offered by Mr. McGovern

       At the end of the resolution, add the following new 
     sections:
       Sec. 3. Immediately upon adoption of this resolution the 
     Speaker shall, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule VIII, declare 
     the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole House on 
     the state of the Union for consideration of the bill (H.R. 
     7264) making further additional continuing appropriations for 
     fiscal year 2019, and for other purposes. The first reading 
     of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points of order 
     against consideration of the bill are waived. General debate 
     shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour 
     equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking 
     minority member of the Committee on Appropriations. After 
     general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment 
     under the five-minute rule. All points of order against 
     provisions in the bill are waived. At the conclusion of 
     consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall 
     rise and report the bill to the House with such amendments as 
     may have been adopted. The previous question shall be 
     considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to 
     final passage without intervening motion except one motion to 
     recommit with or without instructions. If the Committee of 
     the Whole rises and reports that it has come to no resolution 
     on the bill, then on the next legislative day the House 
     shall, immediately after the third daily order of business 
     under clause 1 of rule XIV, resolve into the Committee of the 
     Whole for further consideration of the bill.
       Sec. 4. Cause 1(c) of rule XIX shall not apply to the 
     consideration of H.R. 7264.
                                  ____


        The Vote on the Previous Question: What It Really Means

       This vote, the vote on whether to order the previous 
     question on a special rule, is not merely a procedural vote. 
     A vote against ordering the previous question is a vote 
     against the Republican majority agenda and a vote to allow 
     the Democratic minority to offer an alternative plan. It is a 
     vote about what the House should be debating.
       Mr. Clarence Cannon's Precedents of the House of 
     Representatives (VI, 308-311), describes the vote on the 
     previous question on the rule as ``a motion to direct or 
     control the consideration of the subject before the House 
     being made by the Member in charge.'' To defeat the previous 
     question is to give the opposition a chance to decide the 
     subject before the House. Cannon cites the Speaker's ruling 
     of January 13, 1920, to the effect that ``the refusal of the 
     House to sustain the demand for the previous question passes 
     the control of the resolution to the opposition'' in order to 
     offer an amendment. On March 15, 1909, a member of the 
     majority party offered a rule resolution. The House defeated 
     the previous question and a member of the opposition rose to 
     a parliamentary inquiry, asking who was entitled to 
     recognition. Speaker Joseph G. Cannon (R-Illinois) said: 
     ``The previous question having been refused, the gentleman 
     from New York, Mr. Fitzgerald, who had asked the gentleman to 
     yield to him for an amendment, is entitled to the first 
     recognition.''
       The Republican majority may say ``the vote on the previous 
     question is simply a vote on whether to proceed to an 
     immediate vote on adopting the resolution [and] has no 
     substantive legislative or policy implications whatsoever.'' 
     But that is not what they have always said. Listen to the 
     Republican Leadership Manual on the Legislative Process in 
     the United States House of Representatives, (6th edition, 
     page 135). Here's how the Republicans describe the previous 
     question vote in their own manual: ``Although it is generally 
     not possible to amend the rule because the majority Member 
     controlling the time will not yield for the purpose of 
     offering an amendment, the same result may be achieved by 
     voting down the previous question on the rule . . . When the 
     motion for the previous question is defeated, control of the 
     time passes to the Member who led the opposition to ordering 
     the previous question. That Member, because he then controls 
     the time, may offer an amendment to the rule, or yield for 
     the purpose of amendment.''
       In Deschler's Procedure in the U.S. House of 
     Representatives, the subchapter titled ``Amending Special 
     Rules'' states: ``a refusal to order the previous question on 
     such a rule

[[Page H10127]]

     [a special rule reported from the Committee on Rules] opens 
     the resolution to amendment and further debate.'' (Chapter 
     21, section 21.2) Section 21.3 continues: ``Upon rejection of 
     the motion for the previous question on a resolution reported 
     from the Committee on Rules, control shifts to the Member 
     leading the opposition to the previous question, who may 
     offer a proper amendment or motion and who controls the time 
     for debate thereon.''
       Clearly, the vote on the previous question on a rule does 
     have substantive policy implications. It is one of the only 
     available tools for those who oppose the Republican 
     majority's agenda and allows those with alternative views the 
     opportunity to offer an alternative plan.

  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I 
move the previous question on the resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on ordering the previous 
question.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 and clause 9 of rule 
XX, this 15-minute vote on ordering the previous question will be 
followed by 5-minute votes on:
  Adoption of the resolution, if ordered; and
  Agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal, if ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 220, 
nays 191, not voting 21, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 431]

                               YEAS--220

     Abraham
     Allen
     Amash
     Amodei
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Balderson
     Banks (IN)
     Barr
     Barton
     Bergman
     Biggs
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (MI)
     Bishop (UT)
     Blum
     Bost
     Brady (TX)
     Brat
     Brooks (AL)
     Brooks (IN)
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Budd
     Burgess
     Byrne
     Calvert
     Carter (GA)
     Carter (TX)
     Chabot
     Cheney
     Cloud
     Coffman
     Cole
     Collins (GA)
     Collins (NY)
     Comer
     Conaway
     Cook
     Costello (PA)
     Cramer
     Crawford
     Culberson
     Curbelo (FL)
     Curtis
     Davidson
     Davis, Rodney
     Denham
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Donovan
     Duffy
     Duncan (SC)
     Duncan (TN)
     Dunn
     Emmer
     Estes (KS)
     Faso
     Ferguson
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Flores
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Frelinghuysen
     Gaetz
     Gallagher
     Garrett
     Gianforte
     Gibbs
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Gosar
     Gowdy
     Granger
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guthrie
     Handel
     Harper
     Harris
     Hensarling
     Hern
     Herrera Beutler
     Hice, Jody B.
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill
     Holding
     Hollingsworth
     Hudson
     Huizenga
     Hultgren
     Hurd
     Issa
     Jenkins (KS)
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Katko
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kinzinger
     Kustoff (TN)
     Labrador
     LaHood
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Latta
     Lesko
     Lewis (MN)
     LoBiondo
     Long
     Loudermilk
     Love
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     MacArthur
     Marchant
     Marino
     Marshall
     Massie
     Mast
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McHenry
     McKinley
     McMorris Rodgers
     McSally
     Meadows
     Messer
     Mitchell
     Moolenaar
     Mooney (WV)
     Mullin
     Newhouse
     Norman
     Nunes
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Palmer
     Paulsen
     Pearce
     Perry
     Pittenger
     Poe (TX)
     Poliquin
     Posey
     Ratcliffe
     Reed
     Reichert
     Renacci
     Rice (SC)
     Roby
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rohrabacher
     Rokita
     Rooney, Francis
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Ross
     Rothfus
     Rouzer
     Royce (CA)
     Russell
     Rutherford
     Sanford
     Scalise
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shimkus
     Simpson
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smucker
     Stefanik
     Stivers
     Taylor
     Tenney
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tipton
     Trott
     Turner
     Upton
     Valadao
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walker
     Walorski
     Walters, Mimi
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Williams
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Woodall
     Yoder
     Yoho
     Young (AK)
     Young (IA)
     Zeldin

                               NAYS--191

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Barragan
     Bass
     Beatty
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Blunt Rochester
     Bonamici
     Boyle, Brendan F.
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (MD)
     Brownley (CA)
     Bustos
     Butterfield
     Capuano
     Carbajal
     Cardenas
     Carson (IN)
     Cartwright
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chu, Judy
     Cicilline
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Cooper
     Correa
     Costa
     Courtney
     Crist
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Davis (CA)
     Davis, Danny
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delaney
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Demings
     DeSaulnier
     Deutch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle, Michael F.
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Esty (CT)
     Evans
     Foster
     Frankel (FL)
     Fudge
     Gabbard
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Gomez
     Gonzalez (TX)
     Gottheimer
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hanabusa
     Heck
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Hoyer
     Huffman
     Jackson Lee
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Jones (MI)
     Kaptur
     Kelly (IL)
     Kennedy
     Khanna
     Kihuen
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kind
     Krishnamoorthi
     Kuster (NH)
     Lamb
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lawrence
     Lawson (FL)
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lieu, Ted
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lofgren
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan, Ben Ray
     Lynch
     Maloney, Carolyn B.
     Maloney, Sean
     Matsui
     McCollum
     McEachin
     McGovern
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Meng
     Moore
     Morelle
     Moulton
     Murphy (FL)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Nolan
     Norcross
     O'Halleran
     O'Rourke
     Pallone
     Panetta
     Pascrell
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Peterson
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Raskin
     Rice (NY)
     Richmond
     Rosen
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sanchez
     Sarbanes
     Scanlon
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Schrader
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Serrano
     Sewell (AL)
     Shea-Porter
     Sherman
     Sinema
     Sires
     Smith (WA)
     Soto
     Speier
     Suozzi
     Swalwell (CA)
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tonko
     Torres
     Tsongas
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Vela
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters, Maxine
     Watson Coleman
     Welch
     Wild
     Wilson (FL)
     Yarmuth

                             NOT VOTING--21

     Aderholt
     Barletta
     Black
     Blackburn
     Buchanan
     Comstock
     Ellison
     Hartzler
     Hastings
     Hunter
     Jones (NC)
     Keating
     Knight
     Lujan Grisham, M.
     Noem
     Polis
     Rooney, Thomas J.
     Roskam
     Shuster
     Stewart
     Walz

                              {time}  1400

  Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. PETERS, 
Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Messrs. SCHNEIDER, and PASCRELL changed their vote 
from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
  Messrs. AMASH and BROOKS of Alabama changed their vote from ``nay'' 
to ``yea.''
  So the previous question was ordered.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the resolution.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.


                             Recorded Vote

  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
  A recorded vote was ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. This is a 5-minute vote.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 206, 
noes 203, not voting 24, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 432]

                               AYES--206

      Abraham
      Allen
      Amodei
      Arrington
      Babin
      Bacon
      Balderson
      Banks (IN)
      Barr
      Barton
      Bergman
      Bilirakis
      Bishop (MI)
      Bishop (UT)
      Bost
      Brady (TX)
      Brooks (AL)
      Brooks (IN)
      Buck
      Bucshon
      Budd
      Burgess
      Byrne
      Calvert
      Carter (GA)
      Carter (TX)
      Chabot
      Cheney
      Coffman
      Cole
      Collins (GA)
      Collins (NY)
      Comer
      Conaway
      Cook
      Costa
      Costello (PA)
      Cramer
      Crawford
      Culberson
      Curbelo (FL)
      Curtis
      Davis, Rodney
      Denham
      DesJarlais
      Diaz-Balart
      Donovan
      Duffy
      Duncan (SC)
      Duncan (TN)
      Dunn
      Emmer
      Estes (KS)
      Faso
      Ferguson
      Fitzpatrick
      Fleischmann
      Flores
      Fortenberry
      Foxx
      Frelinghuysen
      Gallagher
      Gianforte
      Gibbs
      Goodlatte
      Gowdy
      Granger
      Graves (GA)
      Graves (MO)
      Griffith
      Grothman
      Guthrie
      Handel
      Harper
      Harris
      Hensarling
      Hern
      Herrera Beutler
      Hice, Jody B.
      Higgins (LA)
      Hill
      Holding
      Hollingsworth
      Hudson
      Huizenga
      Hultgren
      Hurd
      Issa
      Jenkins (KS)
      Johnson (LA)
      Johnson (OH)
      Johnson, Sam
      Joyce (OH)
      Katko
      Kelly (MS)
      Kelly (PA)
      King (IA)
      King (NY)
      Kinzinger
      Kustoff (TN)
      LaHood
      LaMalfa
      Lamborn
      Lance
      Latta
      Lawson (FL)
      Lesko
      Lewis (MN)
      LoBiondo
      Long
      Loudermilk
      Love
      Lucas
      Luetkemeyer
      MacArthur
      Marchant
      Marino
      Marshall
      Mast
      McCarthy
      McCaul
      McClintock
      McHenry
      McKinley
      McMorris Rodgers
      McSally
      Messer
      Mitchell
      Moolenaar
      Mooney (WV)
      Mullin
      Newhouse
      Norman
      Nunes
      Olson
      Palazzo
      Palmer
      Paulsen
      Pearce
      Peterson
      Pittenger
      Poe (TX)
      Poliquin
      Ratcliffe
      Reed
      Reichert
      Renacci
      Rice (SC)
      Roby
      Roe (TN)
      Rogers (AL)
      Rogers (KY)
      Rohrabacher
      Rokita
      Rooney, Francis

[[Page H10128]]


      Ros-Lehtinen
      Ross
      Rothfus
      Rouzer
      Royce (CA)
      Ruppersberger
      Russell
      Rutherford
      Ryan (WI)
      Scalise
      Scott, Austin
      Scott, David
      Sensenbrenner
      Sessions
      Shimkus
      Simpson
      Smith (MO)
      Smith (NE)
      Smith (TX)
      Smucker
      Stefanik
      Stivers
      Taylor
      Tenney
      Thompson (PA)
      Thornberry
      Tipton
      Trott
      Turner
      Upton
      Valadao
      Wagner
      Walberg
      Walden
      Walker
      Walorski
      Walters, Mimi
      Weber (TX)
      Webster (FL)
      Wenstrup
      Westerman
      Williams
      Wilson (SC)
      Wittman
      Womack
      Woodall
      Yoder
      Yoho
      Young (AK)
      Young (IA)
      Zeldin

                               NOES--203

     Adams
      Aguilar
      Amash
      Barragan
      Bass
      Beatty
      Bera
      Beyer
      Biggs
      Bishop (GA)
      Blum
      Blumenauer
      Blunt Rochester
      Bonamici
      Boyle, Brendan F.
      Brady (PA)
      Brat
      Brown (MD)
      Brownley (CA)
      Bustos
      Butterfield
      Capuano
      Carbajal
      Cardenas
      Carson (IN)
      Cartwright
      Castor (FL)
      Castro (TX)
      Chu, Judy
      Cicilline
      Clark (MA)
      Clarke (NY)
      Clay
      Cleaver
      Cloud
      Clyburn
      Cohen
      Connolly
      Cooper
      Correa
      Courtney
      Crist
      Crowley
      Cuellar
      Cummings
      Davis (CA)
      Davis, Danny
      DeFazio
      DeGette
      Delaney
      DeLauro
      DelBene
      Demings
      DeSaulnier
      Deutch
      Dingell
      Doggett
      Doyle, Michael F.
      Engel
      Eshoo
      Espaillat
      Esty (CT)
      Evans
      Foster
      Frankel (FL)
      Fudge
      Gabbard
      Gaetz
      Gallego
      Garamendi
      Garrett
      Gohmert
      Gomez
      Gonzalez (TX)
      Gosar
      Gottheimer
      Graves (LA)
      Green, Al
      Green, Gene
      Gutierrez
      Hanabusa
      Heck
      Higgins (NY)
      Himes
      Hoyer
      Huffman
      Jackson Lee
      Jayapal
      Jeffries
      Johnson (GA)
      Johnson, E. B.
      Jones (MI)
      Jordan
      Kaptur
      Kelly (IL)
      Kennedy
      Khanna
      Kihuen
      Kildee
      Kilmer
      Kind
      Krishnamoorthi
      Kuster (NH)
      Labrador
      Lamb
      Langevin
      Larsen (WA)
      Larson (CT)
      Lawrence
      Lee
      Levin
      Lewis (GA)
      Lieu, Ted
      Lipinski
      Loebsack
      Lofgren
      Lowenthal
      Lowey
      Lujan, Ben Ray
      Lynch
      Maloney, Carolyn B.
      Maloney, Sean
      Massie
      Matsui
      McCollum
      McEachin
      McGovern
      McNerney
      Meadows
      Meeks
      Meng
      Moore
      Morelle
      Moulton
      Murphy (FL)
      Nadler
      Napolitano
      Neal
      Nolan
      Norcross
      O'Halleran
      O'Rourke
      Pallone
      Panetta
      Pascrell
      Payne
      Pelosi
      Perlmutter
      Perry
      Peters
      Pingree
      Pocan
      Posey
      Price (NC)
      Quigley
      Raskin
      Rice (NY)
      Richmond
      Rosen
      Roybal-Allard
      Ruiz
      Rush
      Ryan (OH)
      Sanchez
      Sanford
      Sarbanes
      Scanlon
      Schakowsky
      Schiff
      Schneider
      Schrader
      Schweikert
      Scott (VA)
      Serrano
      Sewell (AL)
      Shea-Porter
      Sherman
      Sinema
      Sires
      Smith (WA)
      Soto
      Speier
      Suozzi
      Swalwell (CA)
      Takano
      Thompson (CA)
      Thompson (MS)
      Titus
      Tonko
      Torres
      Tsongas
      Vargas
      Veasey
      Vela
      Velazquez
      Visclosky
      Wasserman Schultz
      Waters, Maxine
      Watson Coleman
      Welch
      Wild
      Wilson (FL)
      Yarmuth

                             NOT VOTING--24

     Aderholt
      Barletta
      Black
      Blackburn
      Buchanan
      Comstock
      Davidson
      Ellison
      Grijalva
      Hartzler
      Hastings
      Hunter
      Jones (NC)
      Keating
      Knight
      Lujan Grisham, M.
      Noem
      Polis
      Rooney, Thomas J.
      Roskam
      Shuster
      Smith (NJ)
      Stewart
      Walz


                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). There are 2 minutes 
remaining.

                              {time}  1408

  So the resolution was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table

                          ____________________