[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 16141-16142]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  ``GROWING OPPORTUNITIES: FAMILY FARM VALUES FOR REFORMING THE FARM 
                                 BILL''

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. This is a special moment for American agriculture as 
well as an opportunity to address the major challenges America faces: 
our long-term government spending, our budget deficit, environmental 
protection, and the health problems of our families. It is also key to 
improving the economy, which should be our number one priority. Helping 
more people at less cost by reducing subsidies to large agribusiness 
also speaks directly to the frustrations of protesters from coast to 
coast, whether they are occupying Wall Street or they are Tea Party 
protesters.
  Now, there is no doubt that America's massive investment in farm 
support--hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer money--the special 
rules and regulations, and tariff protections have all contributed to 
the success of American agriculture. It has boosted productivity and 
made a difference in providing plentiful low-cost food. Left 
unaddressed is whether this expensive patchwork of complicated and 
excessive programs is the best we can do.
  The answer from independent analysts is overwhelming. We can do far 
better for less money and help more farmers and ranchers and especially 
those Americans in need of food. Today, I am releasing a report 
entitled ``Growing Opportunities: Family Farm Values for Reforming the 
Farm Bill,'' which brings together that big picture and illustrates a 
better way.
  The core principles are to reduce the flow of money to the largest 
agribusiness interests, which shortchanges the majority of farmers and 
ranchers who receive virtually no assistance from direct commodity 
payments, an expensive web of programs to shield farmers from market 
forces and, of course, the unusual program of crop insurance, which 
pays more to insurance agents than to farmers.
  It would, instead, concentrate assistance for people who need help 
the most, make healthy food more affordable and give assistance to new 
farmers, which is so necessary to deal with the turnover in American 
agriculture, where the average farmer today is 55 years of age.
  It would stop the inappropriate and expensive subsidization, which 
compromises our international trade responsibilities, which not only 
gives these large agribusinesses a leg up but helps them get bigger at 
the expense of small- and medium-sized farmers and ranchers.
  It would stop the insanity of giving a billion and a half dollars to 
Brazilian cotton farmers over the next 10 years because we don't have 
the courage and the political will to stop giving support to American 
cotton farmers, which has been deemed illegal.
  We must make the production of food, not commodities, more affordable 
and more nutritious for all Americans but particularly for our 
students, our young families, and the elderly.
  Redirecting money away from incentives to pollute and paying more to 
farmers and ranchers to protect water quality and wildlife habitat will 
give real benefit to American communities, which are the neighbors of 
our farmers. It fits our economic and recreational opportunities and 
reduces the cost of the cleanup of our waterways from animal waste, 
pesticides, and fertilizers. Help with research, marketing, and 
environmental protection will allow our farmers to be more productive 
and better stewards of the land while putting money in their pockets--
in turn, increasing benefits and reducing costs for everybody else.
  Now, I don't pretend this report contains any silver bullet. It's a 
collection of what I've learned in dealing with these issues in my 15 
years in Congress but, more importantly, by spending a lot of time with 
Oregon farmers and ranchers, people in the nursery industry, the 
vintners, who are all shortchanged by the current system and deserve 
better.
  Joining me in the release of this report are Representatives who 
advocate on behalf of the taxpayers, who deal with deficit spending, 
who are environmental advocates, and people who care deeply about 
America's farmers and ranchers. There is across this country a grand 
coalition that is forming and coalescing behind a unified vision for 
American agriculture at exactly the time when the taxpayers need it, 
when most farmers and ranchers deserve it and when advocates on behalf 
of better health and nutrition for all Americans demand it.

                           Executive Summary

       Americans deserve a better Farm Bill. Current agricultural 
     policy spends too much money supporting large corporations, 
     doesn't adequately help the majority of small and midsize 
     farmers, and subsidizes manufactured food at the expense of 
     fruits and vegetables. This report outlines a series of 
     reforms to make the Farm Bill more accountable, more 
     affordable, and fairer to taxpayers, farmers, ranchers and 
     consumers alike.
       Commodity Programs: The report advocates for eliminating 
     direct payments and storage payments, and placing limits on 
     counter cyclical, market assistance and ACRE payments to save 
     taxpayer dollars and create a more level playing field for 
     America's farmers.
       Conservation Programs: While recognizing the important role 
     that conservation plays for farmers, ranchers and the public, 
     the report supports a shift to performance-oriented 
     conservation programs, giving farmers and ranchers 
     flexibility while ensuring that taxpayers get cleaner air and 
     water, and healthier soil.
       Research and Development: The report acknowledges the 
     important role that research and development dollars have 
     played in boosting America's farm and ranch productivity, and 
     supports increasing or at a minimum keeping level research 
     funding.
       Beginning Farmer and Rancher Programs: Recognizing the 
     importance of engaging younger Americans in farming and 
     ranching, the report advocates for small changes to current 
     programs to support beginning farmers and ranchers.
       Crop Insurance: While the last negotiation of the Standard 
     Reinsurance Agreement made some improvements to the crop 
     insurance program, most economists agree that it

[[Page 16142]]

     is still in need of reform. This report advocates for several 
     principles that should be used to guide the creation of any 
     new crop insurance agreement.
       Nutrition: The report recognizes the opportunity to improve 
     the outcomes of nutrition programs and local farm economies 
     by coordinating the two. It also advocates for increased 
     local flexibility so that communities can take steps on their 
     own to increase access to fresh, local food.

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