[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 206 (Thursday, December 14, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H6966]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          TWO IMPORTANT ISSUES

  (Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I have two issues to address in a minute.
  One, is to bring attention to an excellent editorial which appeared 
yesterday in The Wall Street Journal titled: ``Biden and Ukraine Need a 
Senate Deal.''
  The author, William A. Galston, states: ``Though Speaker   Mike 
Johnson has reiterated his support for Ukraine aid, anti-Ukraine 
Republicans will likely pressure him to adjourn for the year without 
taking up the Senate bill.''
  In fact, that has happened in real-time today.
  The editorial goes on to say: `` . . . Mr. Biden should make clear 
that he is prepared to use his constitutional authority to call the 
House back into session.''
  We take an oath to protect America against all enemies, foreign and 
domestic. Putin's Russia is a real enemy to liberty. We do not want to 
be drawn into a greater war in Europe. We need to do our duty and pass 
assistance for Ukraine and strengthen our NATO allies.
  The second reason I rise today is to talk about the introduction of 
the bipartisan Healthy Farms Healthy Watershed Act of 2023, which 
encourages volunteer USDA programs to apply to watersheds that are 
trying to bear the load of toxic algal blooms largely caused by 
dissolved reactive phosphorus and other pollutants.
  Mr. Speaker, water is life. Please sponsor the bipartisan Healthy 
Farms Healthy Watersheds Act of 2023.
  Mr. Speaker, fresh water is life. Today, I introduce the bipartisan 
``Healthy Farms Healthy Watersheds Act of 2023.'' This Bill encourages 
voluntary USDA programs to strategically apply resources to maximize 
watershed health with existing dollars.
  Increasingly harmful algal bloom (HAB) compromise water quality in 
all 50 states. These toxic blooms adversely impact human health, sink 
property values, damp tourism, waterfront business, and regional 
economies. Impacted areas are estimated to have spent over $1 Billion 
since 2010 to address and prevent HABs, this creeping green invasion.
  A major cause of the harmful bloom is the loading of excessive levels 
of dissolved reactive phosphorus into lakes, rivers, and bays 
maliciously from megafarms and animal feeding operations and other 
pollution.
  Despite federal agencies spending Billions to help farmers adopt 
management practices to improve water quality, the problem persists 
across America. Significant bodies of water like the Great Lakes and 
Chesapeake Bay are weighted down with this creeping green invasion.
  A new strategy is needed to make current federal investments more 
efficient, and more effective. The Healthy Farms Healthy Watersheds Act 
focuses on troubled watersheds by directing Natural Resources 
Conservation Service resources toward the exact substances and sources 
that are contributing most to HABs.
  I encourage my colleagues to support this important, budget-neutral, 
bipartisan, commonsense legislation.

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