[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6945]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  TEMPORARY EXTENSION OF FARM PROGRAMS

  Mr. HOLDEN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the 
Speaker's table the Senate bill (S. 2903) to amend Public Law 110-196 
to provide for a temporary extension of programs authorized by the Farm 
Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 beyond April 25, 2008, and 
ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  Mr. LUCAS. Madam Speaker, reserving the right to object, I rise in 
support of the temporary farm bill extension. It will extend the 
provisions of the 2002 farm bill an additional week to give our 
committee more time to finish the farm bill.
  We continue to work towards an agreement on this very complex piece 
of legislation. While there is a significant amount of work that has 
been accomplished, there is more that remains to be done. And the House 
and Senate conferees have been meeting this week and continue to meet. 
The staff has worked diligently to bring this bill together.
  The farm bill is a critical piece of legislation for this country. 
It's the commodity title, it's the social attrition problems, 
conservation, rural development and a variety of other things. It is 
something that must be accomplished and we on the Agriculture 
Committee, Congressman Holden and myself, take very seriously as we 
work in that direction.
  Mr. HOLDEN. Madam Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. LUCAS. I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.
  Mr. HOLDEN. Madam Speaker, I agree with my friend from Oklahoma. This 
legislation is desperately needed in rural America and in agriculture 
country. The conferees are making progress, but Chairman Peterson and 
Ranking Member Goodlatte are not on the floor right now because they 
are in meetings with the Ways and Means Committee and the Senate 
Finance Committee as progress is being made. But we need this one 
additional week to iron out the differences with the other body, and I 
urge the adoption of the bill.
  Mr. LUCAS. Madam Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  The text of the Senate bill is as follows:

                                S. 2903

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. ADDITIONAL TEMPORARY EXTENSION OF AGRICULTURAL 
                   PROGRAMS AND SUSPENSION OF PERMANENT PRICE 
                   SUPPORT AUTHORITIES.

       Effective April 25, 2008, section 1 of Public Law 110-196 
     (122 Stat. 653) (as amended by Public Law 110-200 (122 Stat. 
     695)) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``April 25, 2008'' and 
     inserting ``May 2, 2008''; and
       (2) in subsection (d), by striking ``April 25, 2008'' and 
     inserting ``May 2, 2008''.

  The Senate bill was ordered to be read a third time, was read the 
third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

                          ____________________