[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 42 (Thursday, March 5, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H2423-H2424]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         PASSING FARM BILL 2.0

  (Mr. Mann of Kansas was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Mr. MANN. Madam Speaker, farmers, ranchers, and agricultural 
producers are the backbone of this country. They wake up before the 
sun, work until long after it sets, and take on risk every single day 
to feed, fuel, and clothe the world. Too often in Washington we ask 
them to do that work without the certainty and stability that they 
deserve.
  The last fully enacted farm bill was passed in 2018. That might not 
seem

[[Page H2424]]

like long ago in Washington, but in agriculture 6 years is a lifetime. 
Input costs and inflation surged under the mismanagement of the last 
administration. Markets are more volatile, and global competition has 
only intensified.
  Our farmers do not need more uncertainty. They need predictability. 
They need policies that allow them to invest, plan, and efficiently 
keep their farms and ranches in their families.
  That is why it was so critical that we passed what I call farm bill 
1.0 last year. Through the Working Families Tax Cut Act, Republican 
majorities in Congress delivered the most significant investment in 
American agriculture in decades. We strengthened the farm safety net. 
We modernized crop insurance. We expanded access to commodity programs. 
We made historic investments in conservation, research, trade, and 
rural development. We delivered real tax relief to family farms and 
ranchers that operate on razor-thin margins.

  Those policies lowered the cost of doing business, strengthened risk 
management tools, and gave producers more confidence to keep working in 
the face of uncertainty. From cattle ranchers to ag lenders, Americans 
in agriculture truly needed those policies. In short, it helped farmers 
weather economic pressure after 4 years of sky-high inflation that 
increased input costs by more than 36 percent under President Biden, 
but the job is not finished.
  Farm bill 2.0 is about continuing what we started last summer. It is 
about taking that running start and delivering a fiscally responsible, 
5-year farm bill that works for agricultural producers in the real 
world.
  The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 does exactly that. 
This week, my colleagues on the House Agriculture Committee and I 
marked up the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, passing 
this legislation out of committee in a bipartisan fashion just a few 
hours ago.
  This bill, which I consider farm bill 2.0, reflects the agriculture 
of today, not that of 2018. It strengthens commodity programs and 
disaster assistance so our Nation's producers are not left waiting on 
Congress every time drought, flood, wildfire, or disease strikes.
  Farm bill 2.0 ensures dairy, livestock, and specialty crop producers 
have policies that match their risk. It protects crop insurance as the 
cornerstone of the farm safety net. It supports conservation programs 
that are locally led, voluntary, and practical.
  The Farm, Food, and National Security Act expands access to credit 
and modernizes loan limits so producers can keep up with the capital-
intensive nature of agriculture today. It strengthens rural 
development, broadband, water infrastructure, and rural hospitals, 
because agriculture does not exist in isolation. Strong farms require 
strong rural communities.
  Importantly, the bill is built on a bedrock of fiscally conservative 
policy. A farm bill should provide certainty without growing government 
for the sake of growing government. It should prioritize the men and 
women who have dedicated their lives to American agriculture instead of 
prioritizing paperwork. It should set our farmers up for success 
without getting in their way, and it should respect the taxpayer while 
recognizing that a secure food supply is key to national security. I am 
proud to say that our farm bill 2.0 lives up to those conservative 
standards.
  This is not about politics. It is about doing our job. Farmers and 
ranchers plan in seasons and decades, not in continuing resolutions and 
short-term extensions. Every delay makes it harder for them to make 
decisions about planting, equipment purchases, and land leases.
  Passing a 5-year bill gives producers what they need most: certainty. 
It gives them certainty to invest, certainty to innovate, and certainty 
to keep feeding a hungry world. Farm bill 1.0 laid that foundation. 
Farm bill 2.0 will continue that work.
  As part of my farm bill impact series, I have spoken on this floor 34 
times advocating for Congress to pass a farm bill, and this legislation 
is exactly what I have spent so long advocating for: the farm bill that 
builds on the agricultural wins we passed last year, and most 
importantly, the farm bill that our farmers and ranchers are depending 
on.
  Madam Speaker, I call on the rest of my colleagues to recognize our 
bipartisan hard work and pass this legislation for the good of our 
farmers, our food supply, and our national security because when 
farmers succeed, America succeeds.

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