[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 99 (Wednesday, June 12, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4030-S4031]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Farm Bill

  Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, just a few minutes ago, the ranking member 
of our Ag Committee, the senior Senator from Arkansas, Senator Boozman, 
put forth a statement of principles that he has developed with his 
outstanding staff that really identify and describe a framework that we 
absolutely need in the farm bill.
  As you know, we have a 1-year extension in place on the farm bill. 
You know, it is something that is just incredibly important, and it has 
to get done on a bipartisan basis, and so we need to get it done. If we 
can't get it done before the end of this year, we are going to have to 
put another 1-year extension on the farm program in place.
  You know, when we talk about our farmers and ranchers and we talk 
about the farm bill and we talk about farm policy, you know, we think 
we are kind of just focused on agriculture, and that is really not the 
case. I mean, good farm policy in this country gives us the highest 
quality, lowest cost food supply in the world. Well, who does that 
impact on a daily basis? Everybody. Every single person in this country 
every single day, multiple times a day. Highest quality, lowest cost 
food supply in the world. More choice. Higher quality. Better food than 
anywhere else in the world. And--and--Americans spend less of their 
budget on their food than any other developed country. I would say that 
is something we should not take for granted.
  It is amazing--you know, I mean, I think nowadays so many people 
don't come from the farm anymore. You know, obviously we are a huge ag 
State, and we still have a lot of nexus with farming, but a lot of 
places don't. They think, wow, food comes from the grocery stores. 
Well, it doesn't. It is produced by our farmers and ranchers every 
single day.
  So, you know, that is one of those things that are just incredibly 
important. Until we don't have it, until we don't have this network of 
family farms and ranches across this country that gives us something 
that is better than anywhere else in the world, you know, we take it 
for granted. We can't do that.
  So we need to get a farm bill done, and we need to get it right. That 
is why I am here, is because if we follow the framework that Senator 
Boozman just laid out, we will get it right, and so we need to do it. 
That is the simple point I want to make, that that is the framework we 
need to embrace on a bipartisan basis, on a bicameral basis, get it 
passed, get it to the President, and get it in place, and I would say 
for our farmers and ranchers but really what I am saying: for every 
single American every single day.
  I want to start out by thanking Senator Boozman; but most of all, I 
want to thank our hard-working farmers and ranchers who face incredible 
challenges whether it is weather, whether it is trade policy. You know, 
I mean, it is all the things that they don't control; but year in and 
year out, they go out and they plant a crop and they raise livestock 
and they feed the world. And those challenges are what they face, like 
I say, every single year.
  Now, this year, they are looking at lower farm net income. They are 
looking at record-high input costs. Obviously, inflation and high 
interest rates have put a real squeeze on their operations. You know, 
it is often said that farm bills are written for bad times, not good 
times; and that is what we have got to keep in mind. The whole concept 
of this farm bill is that it is countercyclical. It makes sure that it 
provides help to farmers and ranchers when they need it, and, you know, 
obviously, when they don't need it, then it is not there. Of course, 
that is the way it should be. That is not only what affects farmers and 
ranchers, that is what is most beneficial in terms of the hard-working 
taxpayers of this country.
  Of course, Senator Boozman's framework does just exactly that. It 
makes the investments we need in the farm safety net, and that is, 
ultimately, the bedrock and the foundation of what the farm bill is all 
about. He emphasizes that in a lot of different ways, whether it is 
strengthening crop insurance, which we, obviously, have to have as it 
is very important; improving the access to credit for our farmers and 
ranchers; and also making sure that our livestock producers--our 
ranchers as well as our farmers--are able to operate year in and year 
out and that, for the next generation, we are doing every single thing 
we can to bring that next generation into farming and ranching.
  Remember, there are about 16 million people across the country who 
are either directly or indirectly involved in agriculture. The average 
age now for these family farms and ranches--the

[[Page S4031]]

average age of the principal--is about 60 years old. We also have to 
make sure that we are bringing this next generation into farming and 
that we are keeping that family farm, that family ranch, that network 
of millions of small businesses across this country that feed and fuel 
the world--we need to make sure that we do everything we can to sustain 
it, and Senator Boozman's framework does that.
  Let's come together in a bipartisan way--in a bipartisan way on our 
Ag Committee and in a bicameral way--and get this thing done for our 
farmers, for our ranchers, and for all Americans.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.