[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 80 (Wednesday, May 11, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H4804]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                FARM BILL IMPACT SERIES: NEXT GENERATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Kansas (Mr. Mann) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MANN. Madam Speaker, in preparation for reauthorizing the farm 
bill in 2023, I rise today to deliver the ninth installment of my farm 
bill impact series, where I am highlighting the various aspects of the 
farm bill that deserve this Congress' awareness and support. For this 
legislation to be effective, it must support both the efforts of 
today's farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers, as well as those 
of the next generation.
  When the farm bill is up for reauthorization, Congress takes the 
opportunity to engage young people and new and beginning farmers and 
ranchers on the legislation, which I am eager to do as soon as 
possible. We have great organizations in this country that prepare the 
next generation of American men and women to feed, fuel, and clothe the 
world.
  I am thinking of groups like the National FFA Organization, 4-H, 
programming from Agriculture Future of America, MANRRS, and the Farm 
Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers with members between the age of 18 
and 35. Farm bills of the past have supported USDA's Beginning Farmers 
and Ranchers Program, and the 2018 farm bill even created an 
Agricultural Youth Organization Coordinator position at USDA to bring 
youth to the table for important discussions on issues like access to 
land, credit, and more.
  Our country's future food security--and therefore national security--
rests on the shoulders of these young people, and they have valuable 
insights to share with lawmakers. I look forward to hearing from the 
next generation on American agriculture and incorporating their 
thoughts into the 2023 farm bill.
  Farming is a multigenerational calling. In the agriculture business, 
one generation often passes assets down to the next, which lets young 
people continue farming and working the same way that their parents and 
grandparents worked before them.
  I grew up on a farm like this--in a house that my great-great-
grandfather ordered from a Montgomery Ward catalogue--my parents still 
live in that house and operate the farm. My brother will carry our 
family farm into the next generation, so my family is experiencing this 
exact transition right now. I don't want to see young farmers, 
ranchers, and agricultural producers forced to sell their family farms 
to pay a death tax. I want to see them empowered to carry on the 
tradition of their ancestors.

  When a young person works on their family farm, often they slowly 
take on responsibility and risk. They work for their parents and the 
operation until the time comes when they may take over the land, 
equipment, and livestock. When that happens, the Federal Government 
should not jump in and tax you on the value of your inherited land and 
assets.
  This principle is called the stepped-up basis. It has long been 
precedent in the tax code, and it ensures that owners of small farms 
don't get taxed out of existence. Today's generation of farmers are 
aging--the average age of a farmer in Kansas is 67, and they are 
prepared to transfer nearly $9 trillion in assets to the next 
generation that will follow in their footsteps. Congress needs to make 
sure this asset transfer process is fair, instead of using it as an 
opportunity to gouge farmers with more taxes.
  That is why back in September, I introduced an amendment in the House 
Agriculture Committee that would preserve the tax code's stepped-up 
basis provisions, exempting agricultural producers from paying capital 
gains taxes when land or equipment passes from one generation to the 
next.
  Back in March, I introduced a bipartisan resolution, along with 51 of 
my colleagues, that supports the preservation of the stepped-up basis, 
opposes any efforts to impose new taxes on family farms or small 
businesses, and recognizes the importance of generational transfers of 
farm and small business operations.
  Also in March, I stood right here and talked about President Biden's 
budget proposal, which eliminated the stepped-up basis and added what I 
called the farm killer tax, which is not a game changer but a game 
ender for the American family farm.
  President Biden's proposal would impose capital gains taxes on farms 
that have been held in families for 90 years. Think about that. In 
1940, the average cost of Kansas farmland was $50 an acre. Now, 
irrigated land in Kansas is over $4,000 per acre. Imagine the capital 
gains tax implications on that history of ownership. The people who 
feed, fuel, and clothe all of us do not deserve this kind of treatment.
  The farm killer tax and eliminating the stepped-up basis would make 
it impossible for the next generation of young agricultural leaders to 
follow in their parents' and grandparents' footsteps. The day-to-day 
trials of operating a successful farm are challenging enough without 
having to worry about paying devastating capital gains taxes.
  Investing in the next generation of farmers, ranchers, and 
agricultural producers is investing in the future of this country. This 
investment must remain strong in the 2023 farm bill if America is going 
to remain food secure and self-determining as a Nation.
  That is why we need to think carefully and critically about the 
degree to which we support the next-generation programs within the 2023 
farm bill and why we must protect the stepped-up basis and oppose any 
and all new burdensome capital gains taxes on farmers.
  I will be back to the floor soon to deliver the next installment of 
my farm bill impact series and highlight more programs and titles 
within the bill that Congress must understand and support to ensure 
that agriculture thrives in America.

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