[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 161 (Thursday, September 17, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S5689]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Agriculture

  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I rise to talk about what we need to be 
doing certainly to support the farmers across our country. I know 
Republican colleagues spoke just a while ago about the need to refill 
what we call the CCC to make sure that we are providing the funding for 
the October payments for the farm bill.
  As one of the authors of the farm bill, I certainly know we have to 
make those payments, and the good news is that there is enough money 
there now to do that, although we certainly also want to be providing 
emergency support, disaster support, for growers who have been hit and 
have had losses as a result of the Trump chaotic trade policies, as a 
result of what has happened under COVID-19. Our farmers have been hit 
every which way, including what is happening on climate change and the 
weather, prices, everything else, and we certainly want to make sure 
that they have what they need.
  I want to raise two points today. One is that in order to do that, 
the USDA should be focusing on a GAO report that was released on Monday 
that indicated and actually reaffirmed a report that I released with 
our Senate Democratic colleagues on the Agricultural Committee that, in 
fact, the payments going out to farmers have not been fair. They have 
been picking winners and losers; they have been picking regions in the 
South, big farms in the South, not over the Midwest or our smaller 
farmers and over many of those who, frankly, have had the biggest 
losses.
  So when I hear my colleagues talk about the fact that we need to be 
supporting farmers and we need to make sure that the farm bill payments 
go out, I absolutely agree that money is in there right now to do that. 
If we are going to add other money, I think we ought to be paying 
attention to what the GAO has now affirmed, which is we should be 
making sure we are funding those with losses--those who need the help 
the most in these chaotic times for farmers.
  But something has now come up today that is even more alarming to me, 
and that is related to what the Trump administration appears to be 
considering right now, which is to take at least $300 million in funds, 
cash aid, and give it to U.S. oil refineries out of the funds we are 
talking about--that my colleagues just talked about--that were supposed 
to be going to farmers.
  We have had 3\1/2\ years of this administration siding with big oil 
companies over our ethanol producers. And, by the way, ethanol biofuels 
are about jobs, about clean energy, and about supporting small towns in 
rural communities. Then, just this week, at the very last minute--it is 
election year--they announce that they are going to make a decision 
that will help ethanol and be able to deal with some of the waivers 
that they have been doing for the oil companies. They announced that 
earlier this week, and then, guess what. Through the back door, they 
are going to take--if this is accurate in Reuters--$300 million away 
from our farmers to give back to Big Oil.
  Every time we turn around, they are deciding to support Big Oil over 
farmers in our rural communities. I want to know from colleagues--I had 
hoped to get to the floor to ask the question directly, and I am 
certainly going to ask it of my colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle who I know support ethanol and biofuels--when they are advocating 
for more money in the CCC, are they advocating for $300 million going 
to the oil companies? Because, oh, heavenly days, we couldn't really 
side with ethanol.
  You know, if we really sided with ethanol, they wouldn't be worried 
about the oil companies who have been fighting this every step of the 
way, fighting the efforts to support ethanol and biofuels, and fighting 
the efforts that are critical for jobs in rural communities in my State 
and all across the country. If they really meant it, they wouldn't be 
trying, through the back door, to find some way to go back and get 
hundreds of millions of dollars for the oil companies so they wouldn't 
be upset.
  So I find this pretty outrageous today. We are certainly going to dig 
deep, and, certainly, we are in the process right now of putting 
together a letter to the USDA. But the reality is that over and over 
again there is a lot of lip service for farmers and a lot of money 
going to Big Oil, and there is a lot of lip service to small and 
medium-sized farmers across Michigan and across the country, while 95 
percent of these payments that are being done are going to big 
operations with political friends in the South.
  It is not fair. It is not fair. It is creating a situation where too 
many family farms are barely making it or, in fact, not making it and 
having to put the farm up for sale, and that is wrong. It is not good 
for America. It is not good for diversity in agriculture. We don't need 
just a few huge farms in America. We need to make sure that we are 
supporting our small farmers and medium farmers. This is the foundation 
of so much of the economy in small towns like where I grew up in 
Northern Michigan.
  What we have seen is an administration that has chosen to basically 
throw the farm bill out the window. My colleagues talked about the 
great bipartisan farm bill. I agree. As the partner with Senator 
Roberts in putting that together, I agree. It was a great bipartisan 
effort that the USDA has basically torn up and thrown out the window, 
and instead of creating markets for our farmers and supporting them 
with risk management, now it is back to big government payments. By the 
way, let's make sure they are focused on our friends. That is basically 
what the report from the GAO has shown us.
  I am very concerned that one more time there is a lot of lip service 
for farmers, and we are going to see--and we are certainly going to 
stop this, by the way--$300 million going to oil companies out of our 
agriculture support fund. It is stunning to me.
  By the way, I would just conclude by saying that the Secretary of 
Agriculture has said he didn't have the authority to help the ethanol 
producers, couldn't help our corn growers, couldn't help our biofuel 
and soybeans growers--he didn't have the authority. He didn't have the 
authority to help our farmers, but somehow he has the authority to dip 
into agriculture support funds to be able to fund $300 million to Big 
Oil. This is wrong.
  I hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who were here 
speaking earlier about the importance of supporting agriculture will 
join us in saying to the USDA: You do not have the authority to use 
dollars for producers that have been hit so hard by the chaos of their 
trade policies and every other effort that has gone on in the real 
world that has lowered their prices and created havoc for our farmers. 
You don't have the right to take their funds and give them to Big Oil.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.