[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8273]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




MOTION TO INSTRUCT CONFEREES ON H.R. 2419, FOOD AND ENERGY SECURITY ACT 
                                OF 2007

  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Mr. Upton moves that the managers on the part of the House 
     at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses 
     on the Senate amendment to the bill H.R. 2419 (an Act to 
     provide for the continuation of agricultural programs through 
     fiscal year 2012) be instructed to recede to the provisions 
     proposed to be added to Section 9001 of the Farm Security and 
     Rural Investment Act of 2002 in the form of a definition of 
     ``Renewable Biomass.''

  Mr. UPTON (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that the motion be considered as read.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Upton) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Holden) 
will be recognized for 30 minutes each.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.
  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I will say I know that the hour is late. Many 
of us are trying to get home for the weekend, and there is business 
after me. So I don't at all intend to take too much of my 30 minutes 
that I have. But let me yield myself as much time as I may consume now.
  Mr. Speaker, we are woefully unprepared to meet our energy needs for 
the next 30 years. Some estimates say that our needs in this country 
are going to increase as much as 50 percent by the year 2030. So we are 
going to have to do a much better job on not only looking at 
alternative forms of energy, we are also going to need to do much more 
on conservation, nuclear and a whole host of things. And as the 
majority leader indicated a short time ago, we are looking for some 
long-term strategies.
  What this instruction to the conferees does is it takes, in essence, 
a piece of legislation, a bipartisan piece of legislation that the 
Energy Subcommittee held hearings on earlier this week, a bill offered 
by the gentlelady, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, which is bipartisan, and 
it expands the definition of renewable fuel and biomass to include wood 
removed as byproducts from National Forest System land or any organic 
matter that is available on a renewable basis from non-Federal land, 
including renewable plant material which includes feed grain, other 
agricultural commodities, other plants and trees, waste material, 
including crop residue, et cetera, food and yard waste. And it would 
instruct the conferees to include this on the farm bill.
  Of course, the farm bill is a bill that is moving along. The farm 
legislation is a bill that is going to be on the President's desk we 
hope in the not too distant future. So this is a bill that is going to 
move.
  Why not take a piece of bipartisan legislation that deals with 
alternative fuels like ethanol, expand that, and actually get it to the 
President's desk so we can do it right away rather than wait for more 
hearings, markups and dealing with the Senate? Who knows what happens 
over there. We can actually get this thing done and then address part 
of the needs that we have in this country to expand our alternative 
fuel base.
  So I would like to think that we could adopt this. I know that there 
is quite a bit of support on it based on the hearing that we held 
earlier this week.
  Madam Speaker, I would reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HOLDEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, it appears that my friend from Michigan's motion is to 
instruct the House to recede to the Senate's definition of renewable 
biomass. The House conferees have receded to the Senate on their 
definition of renewable biomass. That definition of renewable biomass 
that is included in the farm bill applies only to farm bill programs. 
This definition does not apply to H.R. 6.
  The farm bill conferees report does not amend H.R. 6, that despite 
the fact that several members of the Agriculture Committee, including 
myself, are supporting efforts to amend the shortcomings we see in that 
bill. And I say to my friend from Michigan that I am going to have to 
oppose this motion to instruct at this time. And I agree with your 
position on this. But yet you know there are multijurisdictional 
concerns that have to be addressed with the Energy and Commerce 
Committee. And we are trying to work through all of these.
  The farm bill conference is all but done. Over the last few weeks, I 
have been saying we need to dot our I's and cross our T's. The I's are 
dotted and we are crossing our T's. So even though I agree that the 
argument that my friend is making on the problems of H.R. 6 are correct 
and on target, we cannot do it on this farm bill. The hour is too late. 
So I would oppose my good friend's amendment at this time.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. UPTON. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers. I am prepared 
to close if the gentleman yields back his time.
  Mr. HOLDEN. Again, the argument that my friend makes is credible. But 
at this time, we just cannot accept it. The conference is all but over. 
And I would oppose my friend's motion.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. UPTON. Madam Speaker, I just might say in closing as a member of 
the Energy and Commerce Committee, we had what I thought was a very 
favorable hearing earlier this week. I would like to think this is a 
vehicle we can move this legislation on very quickly rather than resort 
to the normal process, particularly as we look long term. We can do 
this in the short term. It makes a lot of sense.
  I would urge a ``yes'' vote on the motion to instruct the conferees 
to include this in the farm bill.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Clarke). Without objection, the previous 
question is ordered on the motion to instruct.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to instruct.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the noes appeared to have it.
  Mr. UPTON. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.

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