    [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2025)]
    [House]
    [Page H839]
    From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

           PROTECTING AGRICULTURE, THE BACKBONE OF DELAWARE'S ECONOMY

      The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from
    Delaware (Ms. McBride) for 5 minutes.
      Ms. McBRIDE. Mr. Speaker, last week, when the House was out of
    session and I was in the greatest State in the Union, Delaware, I met
    with a family farmer in Sussex County who continues to farm the same
    land that her family has farmed for more than a century. We discussed
    the fear and unpredictability that is plaguing farmers in Delaware and
    across the country right now, farmers who, since the New Deal, have
    been able to rely on the Federal Government as partners in their effort
    to produce the food that feeds our families, our neighbors, our Nation,
    and the world.
      Agriculture is the backbone of Delaware's economy. From poultry farms
    to vegetable growers to grain producers, Delaware farmers feed families
    here at home and around the globe and contribute to an industry that
    supports thousands of jobs in Delaware.
      Unfortunately, since taking office, the Trump administration has
    broken their promises to our families and breached the trust with our
    farmers.
      In week one, this administration illegally froze funding from the
    bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation
    Reduction Act, including vital resources that run through the U.S.
    Department of Agriculture. They have frozen programs that purchase
    products from Delaware farmers.
      As I stand here today, the Federal Government is withholding nearly
    $10 million owed to Delaware farmers to improve their infrastructure
    and lower their energy bills.
      At the heart of Delaware's agriculture industry are chickens. We have
    roughly 200 chickens per person in Delaware, and while Delaware doesn't
    have a ton of people, that is a lot of chickens.
      The rising crisis of bird flu poses a massive risk to Delaware
    farmers. It is a real and present danger to our food supply and to the
    livelihoods of poultry farmers across my State and across the country.
      Dangerously, this administration halted bird flu monitoring in nearly
    50 countries and imposed a gag order on Federal health agencies,
    limiting vital communication and collaboration with farmers. If that
    weren't bad enough, the very people we rely on to protect our ag
    industry and combat the spread of bird flu have been fired from the
    USDA.
      This chaos is only worsening the risk of disease spread and
    threatening a hallmark industry in Delaware.
      All of this has resulted in higher costs for farmers and higher
    prices at grocery stores for Americans. Instead of lowering the cost of
    eggs, they are actively making them more expensive.
      Anyone who knows a thing or two about agriculture and farming knows
    this: Farmers operate on thin margins. They depend on Federal partners
    to provide stability in a volatile market.
      Right now, with a Federal funding freeze, that support is vanishing
    when they need it the most. How are farmers supposed to plan for the
    next season when the Federal Government is pulling the rug out from
    under them?
      I don't care who you voted for in the last election. In fact, I made
    a commitment to serve all Delawareans--Democrats, Independents, and
    Republicans. My job, and the job of this great Chamber, is to serve and
    respect every American. That includes the farmers who feed our Nation.
      I will stand here in opposition to any executive or legislative
    action that puts our farmers at risk because when we fail farmers, we
    fail all Americans.

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