[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 15981]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       AMERICA NEEDS A FARM BILL

  (Mr. WELCH asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, it's been 141 days. That's how long it's been 
since the House Agriculture Committee, on a bipartisan basis, passed 
the farm bill by a vote of 35-11. That's the high watermark of 
bipartisanship in this Congress. It represents something that is too 
lacking in Washington today: a serious attempt at progress through 
bipartisan work.
  We need a farm bill. America needs a farm bill. Our farmers, our 
folks dependent on nutrition programs, our folks who are farming and 
want to conserve the land, they're entitled to have Congress act.
  You know, it's one thing to vote ``yes'' and it's one thing to vote 
``no,'' but it is unacceptable not to vote at all.
  The decision on whether we will vote on a farm bill is up to the 
leadership. They owe it to each one of us so we can be accountable to 
the people we represent and give America a farm bill. There is 
absolutely no excuse for Congress to not even try to do its job, which 
will occur when a farm bill is brought to the floor.

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