[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 61 (Wednesday, April 6, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H4197-H4198]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             FARMERS FACE ENORMOUS AND IMMEDIATE CHALLENGES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, I rise today to discuss 
the full Agriculture Committee hearing that we held on March 16, the 
focus of which was the 2018 farm bill and the role of climate change.
  Recently, The New York Times wrote a series of stories and produced 
several videos denigrating rural Americans for providing the country 
with the safest, most abundant, and most affordable food supply in the 
history of the world.
  Let's set the record straight. U.S. agriculture accounts for less 
than 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, and that is according to 
the Environmental Protection Agency. Over the last 70

[[Page H4198]]

years, U.S. agriculture has tripled food and fiber production while 
usage of land, energy, fertilizer and other inputs has remained steady.
  Early in the first session of this Congress, several of my Republican 
colleagues and I introduced a slate of climate-friendly and farmer-
focused bills. These bills are driven by commonsense solutions to 
benefit our environment and our farm industry.
  Our farmers, ranchers, foresters, and producers are the original 
climate champions. While there is more to be done, we must prevent 
efforts to fundamentally upend our commodity, conservation, and crop 
insurance programs to appease Washington think tanks. We must also 
reject complicating our programs and making climate the focus of every 
title of the upcoming farm bill reauthorization.
  Madam Speaker, under the umbrella of natural land solutions, which 
includes farmers that grow crops, livestock, and our foresters, the 
research has shown that at this moment, based on the technology they 
use, they are responsible for sequestering 6.1 gigatons of carbon 
annually, greenhouse gas emissions.
  To put that into perspective, that takes care of all the greenhouse 
gas emissions that are emitted on those lands, plus sequestering an 
additional 10.1 percent. So truly, the American farmer, rancher, and 
forester are the climate change champions anywhere in the world because 
of our science, technology, and innovation.
  We must ensure agriculture production remains viable in rural America 
to keep production from increasing in areas of the world with lower 
environmental standards, worse labor conditions, and fewer food safety 
considerations. And that is why a robust safety net is critical to 
keeping farms and production here in the United States while lowering 
overall global greenhouse gas emissions.
  Madam Speaker, our country and our farmers face enormous and 
immediate challenges including higher food prices, record inflation, 
and input costs, attacks on our energy independence, crop-protection 
tools, and dependable labor.
  Now, these are the issues I hear about as I travel my district and 
the country. These are the issues we should be addressing.
  I hope at the end of the day we recognize that our voluntary, locally 
led, incentive-based conservation system is working as intended, and 
that we must not undermine its continued success in supporting the 
environment and producers.
  American agriculture is science. American agriculture is technology. 
And American agriculture is innovation. The demands of a 21st century 
farm economy, and economically viable climate solutions, depend on 
tools and policies that continue to unleash and increase the United 
States agriculture productivity.

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