[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9182]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 NEW DIRECTION FOR AMERICAN AGRICULTURE

  (Mr. CARNAHAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CARNAHAN. Madam Speaker, yesterday this House passed a 
bipartisan, veto-proof farm bill strengthening American agriculture.
  We successfully voted to ease the strain of rising food prices and to 
make a substantial commitment to land conservation and to our farmers. 
I want to give special recognition to Chairman Collin Peterson for his 
leadership and for his visit to Missouri to hold an agricultural forum 
where we have over 100,000 farms, the second most of any State in the 
country.
  Since first being elected, I have been working with local schools and 
parents to implement a Healthy Kids Initiative. I'm proud that this 
farm bill helps schools provide healthy snacks to students, with over 
$1 billion for more nutritious, locally grown fresh fruits and 
vegetables.
  And for the first time, fruit and vegetable producers, including the 
wine producers of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, will benefit from more than 
$1.3 billion for new programs that support research, pest management, 
and trade promotion.
  To make the transition from home-grown biofuels from the Midwest and 
away from dependence on fossil fuels from the Middle East, the bill 
creates new tax credits to promote the production of cellulosic 
biofuels.
  Thank you, Chairman Peterson, and all those who supported this new 
direction for American agriculture.

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