[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12019-12024]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 PRESERVING AMERICA'S FAMILY FARMS ACT

  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4157) to prohibit the Secretary of Labor from finalizing a 
proposed rule under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 relating to 
child labor, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4157

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND FINDINGS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Preserving 
     America's Family Farms Act''.
       (b) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) family farms have a long history and tradition of 
     providing youth with valuable work experience;
       (2) Department of Labor regulations should not adversely 
     impact the longstanding tradition of youth working on farms 
     where they can gain valuable skills and lessons on hard work, 
     character, and leadership;
       (3) the Department of Labor's proposed regulations would 
     have curtailed opportunities for youth to gain experiential 
     learning and hands-on skills for enrollment in vocational 
     agricultural training;
       (4) the proposed regulations would have obstructed the 
     opportunity for youth to find rewarding employment and earn 
     money for a college education or other meaningful purposes;
       (5) the proposed regulations would have limited 
     opportunities for young farmers wishing to pursue a career in 
     agriculture at a time when the average age of farmers 
     continues to rise; and
       (6) working on a farm has become a way of life for 
     thousands of youth across the rural United States.

     SEC. 2. RULE RELATING TO CHILD LABOR.

       The Secretary of Labor shall not reissue in substantially 
     the same form, or issue a new rule that is substantially the 
     same as, the proposed rule entitled ``Child Labor 
     Regulations, Orders and Statements of Interpretation; Child 
     Labor Violations--Civil Money Penalties'' (published at 76 
     Fed. Reg. 54836 (September 2, 2011)).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Dold). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg) and the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Woolsey) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.


                             General Leave

  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
on H.R. 4157.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I want to first thank my colleague from Iowa, Congressman Tom Latham, 
for introducing this very important legislation. Representative Latham 
is a long-time advocate for farmers and agribusiness, and his 
leadership in Congress is greatly appreciated.
  According to a report on MLive.com, which is a new site from my home 
State of Michigan, parts of the country are experiencing the worst 
drought in more than 20 years. Jim Spink, a sixth-generation farmer 
from Michigan's Liberty Township, said:

       It's going to be one of the years that separates those that 
     are positioned well financially and those that are not.

  Unpredictability in the weather and harvest is not a new challenge 
for American farmers. Quite the contrary, it's a way of life. Farmers 
work each day under difficult circumstances,

[[Page 12020]]

growing the food and resources necessary to power this Nation and this 
world. Often the presence of a son or a daughter working with his or 
her parents is important to a farm's long-term success.
  Federal labor policies recognize the support youth provide to family 
farms by exempting farmworkers between 14 and 16 years of age from 
restrictions on agriculture activities. For decades, this exemption has 
applied to youth working on a farm owned or operated by the parent or 
an individual standing in place of his or her parent. With farmers 
facing a tough year with high temperatures and low rainfall, we should 
continue to support the ability for youth to experience safe employment 
in American farming. That's why many were shocked when the Obama 
administration announced new rules that would make it difficult for 
young people to work on family farms.
  Last September, the Department of Labor proposed regulatory changes 
that would negatively affect youth employment in agriculture, such as 
narrowing the parental exemption, restricting the rules of farm 
ownership, and prohibiting the use of certain equipment central to a 
farm's operation, even for young people who have received safety 
training through the Federal Services Extension program. The Labor 
Department even tried to prevent youth from working with non-toxic 
pesticides available at the local hardware store.
  These proposed regulatory shifts fail to reflect the changes in 
farming that have occurred in recent years. We all want to keep young 
people safe from harm, especially when they work in an inherently 
dangerous environment. However, the administration's proposal would 
deny youth an opportunity to gain hands-on experience that is crucial 
to a farm's survival.
  Throughout our history, farms have been handed down from one 
generation to the next through the knowledge a future farmer gained 
from working alongside his or her parents. Public policy should promote 
this great American tradition, not dismantle it.
  Mr. Speaker, across the country, many farmers are struggling. While I 
recognize the Department has withdrawn its proposal for now, we owe it 
to these hardworking men and women to remove as much uncertainty as we 
can, especially the uncertainty caused by flawed government policies. I 
am proud to support the Preserving America's Family Farms Act, and I 
urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Last September, the Department of Labor published a proposed rule on 
children employed in agriculture. I saw it as an important regulation 
that would protect young people working in one of the top three most 
hazardous industries in the Nation--agriculture. But in May, the 
Department withdrew the rule. I want to say this again: in May of this 
year, the Department withdrew the rule.
  That wasn't enough, apparently, for the Republican majority. Today, 
they've decided to waste precious legislative time on a bill that tells 
the Department of Labor not to issue this regulation--again, a 
regulation the Department already withdrew. Today's debate gives new 
meaning to the idea of government waste. Not only did the Department of 
Labor withdraw this rule; the administration has said it will not 
reissue the rule.
  I was disappointed that the Department chose not to pursue the rule 
in the first place because the rule sought to implement specific 
recommendations made by the National Institute for Occupational Safety 
and Health, OSHA, and increase parity between the agriculture and non-
agriculture child labor provisions.
  Agriculture is dangerous, Mr. Speaker. Children working on farms, 
like their adult counterparts, work with or around toxic pesticides. 
They carry very heavy materials, and they use dangerous equipment. The 
fatality rate for child farmworkers is four times higher than for 
children in other industries. There are an estimated 400,000 children 
working on farms that are not owned by family members, and those 
children deserve health and safety protections. That is all this rule 
would have required. Children under 16 should not be permitted or 
required to work with hazardous pesticides or dangerous equipment--
period.
  But let's be clear. Nothing in the proposed rule would have applied 
to children working on their parents' farms in the first place. I've 
been a steadfast supporter of family farms throughout my 20 years in 
Congress. We have many family farms in California's Sixth Congressional 
District.

                              {time}  1610

  They are the important economic engine and a part of the fabric of 
our beautiful and diverse community.
  Mr. Speaker, my intent here is simply to protect children who are in 
danger of being exploited and injured. The withdrawal of this rule was 
disappointing. Today's debate, however, is a disgrace. There are nearly 
24 million Americans unemployed or underemployed. Instead of addressing 
the real issues that affect them, we are debating legislation that does 
nothing that hasn't already been done. It prevents a rule that has been 
already prevented by powerful special interests--and talk about a waste 
of taxpayer money.
  With the Republican majority taking floor time with meaningless 
legislation like this, it's no wonder Congress has an approval rating 
in the low teens.
  With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Iowa, the sponsor of the bill, Mr. Latham.
  Mr. LATHAM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  I'm pleased to stand today in support of H.R. 4157, Preserving 
America's Family Farm Act. This is a very bipartisan bill that I think 
really gets to what we're concerned about in agriculture today. Anymore 
these days, it seems like armies of Federal bureaucrats are drawing up 
new regulations, often with little or no consideration or understanding 
of the very industries that they're trying to regulate.
  While some regulations do serve a legitimate purpose, others do 
little more than create uncertainty and additional costs for 
hardworking taxpayers, farmers, and small business owners. I believe if 
we want to put America back in business, back to work, one of the first 
things we must do is crack down on overregulation.
  I've introduced a proposal called the Regulatory Accountability and 
Economic Freedom Act that would take a number of steps to reverse our 
government's direction and overregulation. Unfortunately, we're 
standing here today to fight one of those misguided regulation 
attempts. Last September, the Department of Labor proposed rules that 
would have dramatically limited the ability of America's youth to 
contribute to work on their family's farm or agricultural operations, 
and it would have restricted, if not completely eliminated, educational 
training opportunities for youth in rural America. As a result, I 
introduced H.R. 4157 as the solution to block the DOL's overly 
burdensome regulations.
  We can't allow Federal bureaucrats, many of whom have never set foot 
on a farm, to tell Iowa farm families how they can run their 
operations. As a person who grew up on a family farm and later became a 
farmer myself, I can attest to the valuable skills that are developed 
through days of bailing hay and detassling cornfields and showing 
cattle at the county fair. I, like so many thousands of youth across 
this country today, utilized my own farm experience to learn the often 
difficult lessons of hard work, character development, problem solving 
skills, and leadership.
  Life on the farm is never easy, but the valuable lessons learned 
while producing America's food, feed, and fiber make for a rewarding 
way of life. I think it goes without saying that the safety and well-
being of all farmworkers, especially our youth, is of the utmost 
importance to our Nation's farmers and ranchers. However, the 
regulations proposed by the DOL went beyond all common sense and would 
have destroyed opportunities for youth across the agricultural economy. 
This

[[Page 12021]]

bill will ensure the Department cannot reissue a proposed rule 
substantial in nature to its version released last year.
  Our youth deserve an opportunity to learn and grow through on-farm 
experience, and my bill ensures that that opportunity will remain 
available. And I urge support for Preserving America's Family Farms 
Act.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Duffy).
  Mr. DUFFY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the American 
family farm.
  Wisconsin farms are the bedrock of our society. They are the 
cornerstone of the Wisconsin economy. Look at our family farms. If we 
don't have the whole family and the youth working on the family farm, 
oftentimes they can't be successful in this very challenging economy. 
If you look at the life skills and the work ethic that our youth get 
from the family farm, it is amazing. They learn how to milk cows, how 
to plant, how to harvest, how to balance the books, how to manage risk. 
They learn how markets work on the family farm.
  Here again is a great example of Big Government getting bigger and 
more intrusive, telling American families whether or not their kids can 
engage in the family farm and the family business. When you talk to 
employers in Wisconsin, they tell me some of their best workers are 
workers who grew up on a family farm. If you look back, thank goodness 
that we didn't have my friends across the aisle who are now going to 
complain about the family farms. The Greatest Generation was raised on 
the family farm.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Iowa (Mr. Boswell).
  Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me 
time. I appreciate this opportunity.
  I rise in support of H.R. 4157, Preserving America's Family Farms, or 
I should say farm family traditions. Passing this legislation today 
will codify our successful effort to prevent the Department of Labor 
from undercutting the structure of our Nation's family farms.
  For generations, the contributions of young people have led to family 
success and bright futures on household farms. However, late last year, 
our family farmers faced a sweeping regulation that would have 
prevented children and grandchildren from participating in the very 
important lessons and traditions that have stabilized not only our 
families but also our economy.
  The short-sighted ruling proposed by the Department of Labor would 
have affected a wide variety of subsectors within agriculture, work 
with livestock and grain production, commodity transportation, youth 
agriculture education, and a number of other sectors that train and 
educate our youth in family-farm settings with hands-on experience.
  Not only did this ruling admit in its own text that there was little 
or no data available to back the proposal being made, it would, as 
stated by Future Farmers of America--our youth--limit, if not 
eliminate, opportunities to effectively teach students to be safe when 
working in agriculture.
  I'm proud that many of us join in a bipartisan effort to tell the 
Secretary of Labor through multiple letters that this ruling is wrong. 
Fortunately, the Department did rescind this ruling, as it was stated a 
little while ago, so that the youth in our districts could continue to 
learn important lessons taking place in the most successful sector of 
our economy.
  I support H.R. 4157 because it will codify this effort. This bill 
will clarify the intention of Congress with respect to youth education 
on farms, and it will prevent the Department of Labor from implementing 
or enforcing this very specific proposal. In codifying our intention 
and passing this bill, we ensure that all farmers have access to 
education and retain their family's traditions, two things that are 
critical in our changing society.
  I often think back when I returned home from the Army to the farm and 
realized the changes that had taken place in farm technology while I 
was away. The farmers we are nurturing now will acquire even more 
skills and adjust to faster changes than ever before. Young people 
today, and even some of us who aren't too young, are maintaining high-
tech GPS programs, aerial mapping, and biotechnology that create 
greater efficiencies in farming, increase output, and reduce the cost 
of food at our local grocery store. These young farmers are taking 
their experience on the farm to study and create the software that 
improves farming and acquire the financial skills it takes to run a 
farm, and they are gaining the entrepreneurial spirit that is needed to 
be part of one of America's greatest economic sectors. These youth, 
backed by their experience on the farm, are not just farmers. They're 
agronomists, engineers, economists, and international liaisons.

                              {time}  1620

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from 
Iowa.
  Mr. BOSWELL. We must ensure these young farmers have access to the 
education they deserve, to the traditions and lessons that so many of 
us hold dear and have treasured our entire lives.
  However, I not only call on my colleagues to join me in supporting 
this legislation today, to ensure our young farmers have access to the 
education they need, but I also call on us to demand that the farm 
bill, passed with 35 ayes out of the House Agriculture Committee, be 
brought to the House floor for debate.
  Farming in America requires a great deal of capital for major 
investments, access to land and credit, the ability to hire and 
purchase. American farmers create jobs and make investments in 
communities that keep jobs. The primary and perhaps only difference 
between a farmer and a businessman is that the farmer's revenue and 
profits are more subject to the whims of the climate, such as the 
drought that is devastating our Nation this summer.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has again expired.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.
  Mr. BOSWELL. I thank the gentlewoman from California.
  So if we care about the future of our farmers and our young farmers, 
we must pass a 5-year farm bill, and we must do it before the August 
work period. So let's pass this bill today, and let's move on to the 
farm bill next.
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I am glad to yield 1 minute to my colleague 
and farmer friend from Kansas (Mr. Huelskamp).
  Mr. HUELSKAMP. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the family farms of 
Kansas and all of America.
  The proposed Department of Labor rule, restricting children from 
working on family farms, presented a direct threat not only to the 
continuity of our Nation's ag tradition, but to a way of life in rural 
America. Though the bureaucrats have put it off for now, such a 
reprieve may only be temporary.
  The family farm is one of the best places for a child to learn and 
develop a strong work ethic. I know this as a former farm kid myself, 
now a fifth-generation farmer who hopes that my children will be the 
sixth.
  With our aging crisis facing agriculture, the last thing we need is 
for Washington bureaucrats who know next to nothing about the family 
farm--or rural America, for that matter--to regulate it into oblivion. 
Parents, not bureaucrats, know what's best for their children. Moms and 
dads should be trusted to raise their kids as they see fit.
  I encourage my colleagues to support this bill.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes, at this time, to a 
former rancher kid, rancher, and colleague of mine, the gentlelady from 
South Dakota, Kristi Noem.
  Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Speaker, it's often through debate here on different 
bills

[[Page 12022]]

and legislation that comes that we learn things about each other. We 
may learn facts about a bill that we're discussing or about experiences 
that we've all had. What a lot of people probably don't know about me 
is that I care deeply about this subject because I lost my dad in an 
accident on a farm. It was devastating to our family. But I thank God 
every single day for every moment that I had working beside him, 
growing up on the family farm. It was there that I learned how to pick 
out good land and look for good soil. It's where I learned how to 
identify a cow that would be a good mother or a good milker. And it was 
there that I learned to look at a problem and not just talk about it, 
but to actually solve it and to fix it.
  So my children are having that same experience with me. We get the 
chance, when I go home from here, to work together, to work with our 
livestock and our animals, and we love it.
  I would be devastated if a Washington bureaucrat came and told me 
that no longer could I teach my children the way of life that was 
passed on to me by my father because of a decision that they decided 
they would be safer, that that was no longer allowed. So that is why I 
stand here today in support of H.R. 4157, Preserving America's Family 
Farms Act.
  The Department of Labor talked about putting this regulation in 
place. They withdrew it because of pressure from the American people 
who recognized that it was not the way to go about regulating family 
farms. And this act is just going to ensure that they can no longer 
take this action and put it into place.
  So with that, I proudly stand here, protecting our family farms and 
our way of life by endorsing this act.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
Oklahoma (Mr. Boren).
  Mr. BOREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4157, 
the Preserving America's Family Farms Act.
  I commend my friend from Iowa (Mr. Latham) and his entire staff for 
all of their hard work on ensuring that the Department of Labor's 
proposed rule to restrict family farm tradition be reversed.
  In December, the U.S. Department of Labor proposed updated 
regulations on labor practices for minors in agricultural operations, 
including a rule that would have prevented children under the age of 16 
from performing certain duties on farms. Historically, family farms 
have been exempted from such rules, but the new proposal could have 
been interpreted broadly to exclude operations that are partly owned by 
extended family members.
  In response to the proposed rule, Congressman Latham and I introduced 
H.R. 4157. The bill protects the family farm tradition by directing the 
Secretary of Labor to recognize and understand the unique circumstances 
of family farm youth and multigenerational family partnerships when 
drafting regulations now and in the future.
  In April, the administration announced that, as a result of loud 
opposition, they would not finalize the proposed rule. Although I am 
very pleased that they have decided to abandon the flawed rule and 
listen to thousands of voices among our rural communities, passage of 
H.R. 4157 will ensure that, in the future, the Department of Labor does 
not reissue this proposal or any other rule that would have a similar 
effect on our family farms.
  This legislation encourages the administration to work 
collaboratively with rural stakeholders, such as farmers and ranchers, 
to understand issues that affect our communities and our way of life.
  Family farms have a long history of providing invaluable work ethic 
and leadership experience to future farmers. Many of these young folks 
dedicate their entire lives to providing us with an abundant and safe 
marketplace, so we owe it to them to protect the foundation on which 
this American spirit of hard work is built.
  Please join me, my friend Congressman Latham, and the over 93 
bipartisan cosponsors to pass this legislation.
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, in a point of personal privilege, I would 
applaud my colleague and friend from Oklahoma for his comments.
  The concept of ``trust, but verify'' is carried out here. We trust 
what has been said by the Department and the administration, but we 
verify with the action that we are taking today.
  It gives me a privilege now to yield 2 minutes of time to a friend 
from Tennessee (Mr. DesJarlais), a colleague who cares about people and 
their safety, and especially young people, as a medical doctor.
  Mr. DesJARLAIS. I thank the gentleman.
  Earlier this year, the Department of Labor issued a misguided rule 
that would effectively ban children from working on family-owned farms. 
While I'm sure there were some kids in rural areas across our Nation 
who were overjoyed by this news, I think it would be horribly unfair to 
deprive our youth of the same valuable work experience many of us were 
afforded.
  Growing up in a rural community, I spent a lot of time doing work on 
farms, and I will be the first to admit that it wasn't always fun. But 
the values and appreciation for hard work that it instilled in me 
played an important role in shaping me as a person.
  That is why I was proud to support Preserving America's Family Farms 
Act. This legislation will prevent the Department of Labor from issuing 
this rule or any similar rule, preventing children from working on 
their parents' farm.
  If this proposal from the Department of Labor were actually 
implemented, not only would it rob our young farmers of important 
educational opportunities, but it would erode part of our Nation's 
rural culture. These actions by the Department of Labor serve as yet 
another reminder of the troubling pattern of government overreach and 
intrusion we have seen from this administration.
  I thank the Tennessee Farm Bureau for their efforts in speaking out 
against this misguided notion and working with me to ensure that 
farming decisions are left to farmers, not bureaucrats in Washington.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I just want to repeat what I said in my 
opening remarks. Nothing in the proposed rule would have applied to 
children working on their parents' family farm. The proposed rule 
maintains the parental exemption.
  But again, to remind everybody, the Department of Labor withdrew 
their proposal. We are wasting time today.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes of time to my friend from 
New York, Richard Hanna.
  Mr. HANNA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4157, 
the Preserving America's Family Farms Act. I am pleased to cosponsor 
this legislation.
  This rule, had it been enacted, would be one more sad example of how 
far our government is willing to go to protect us from ourselves.

                              {time}  1630

  The Preserving America's Family Farms Act would prohibit the 
Department of Labor from issuing a rule prohibiting young people from 
working on their own family farms.
  Mr. Speaker, like so many children growing up in rural America, I 
spent many of my summers working on my grandparents' modest dairy farm 
in Herkimer County, New York. By my grandfather's side, I learned 
personal responsibility, accountability, gained character and a sense 
of accomplishment, as well as the pride and dignity that results from a 
day's work.
  My family farm would not have been economically viable if my younger 
cousins and I had not worked and assisted during harvest and milking. I 
am concerned, along with many Americans, that the belief in personal 
accountability and responsibility, as well as hard work--which is best 
instilled at a young age--is being diminished. The lessons learned on a 
family farm should be reinforced and encouraged more, not less.
  Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge farms are a dangerous place to work. But 
as a man who has employed hundreds of

[[Page 12023]]

people, those who worked early and hard in their lives, regardless of 
where they worked, were my most eager and responsible employees. I 
could not have succeeded without those men and women, and neither will 
this country. We should not restrict young people from working. 
Character built early grows deeper and lasts a lifetime. Let's pass 
this bill and protect our family farms and the great Americans they 
produce.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. I continue to reserve.
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I'm privileged to yield 1 minute to my 
friend and colleague, the gentlelady from Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler).
  Mrs. HARTZLER. Mr. Speaker, as a lifelong farmer, I rise today in 
support of H.R. 4157, Preserving America's Family Farms Act. This bill 
prohibits the Secretary of Labor from finalizing or enforcing a 
proposed rule that will fundamentally alter the way family farms have 
operated for decades, and is another example of Washington bureaucrats 
trying to tell farmers and ranchers how to operate their operations. If 
these rules are finalized in their current form, children in rural 
America will not have the opportunity to learn the important life 
skills and values that working on the farm provides.
  As I talk with farm families in Missouri's Fourth District, they are 
frustrated by this rule. Their message is clear, plain and simple: Big 
Government should not tell hardworking Americans how to raise their 
children and care for their land.
  I believe the government should ensure our basic liberties, not 
trample on them. Parents care more for their children than government 
bureaucrats and should make the ultimate decisions on the activities of 
their children, not Washington, D.C.
  I encourage all of my colleagues to support this commonsense 
legislation.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Again, Mr. Speaker, nothing in the proposed rule would 
have applied to children working on their parents' family farm, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, point of personal privilege: a family farm 
and a family farm sometimes isn't the same. If it's incorporated, it 
would come under this proposed rule initially, and for that reason we 
continue to offer this great piece of legislation. And that gives me 
the privilege to introduce another great farmer.
  I yield 1 minute to my colleague, the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King).
  Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to 
me.
  When I saw this rule, it was appalling to me to think about the 
attempt of the administration, this assault on the sanctity of the 
family and on the family farm all at the same time. And as we had a 
witness come before the Small Business Committee, the Assistant 
Secretary of Labor, under oath I asked her what was driving this rule. 
Her answer was: It's driven by data; the highest level of injuries in 
youth labor are on the farm, and so we have to do something to 
interrupt this injury that's taking on place on the farm.
  So I asked her: What was the second-highest level of injury in youth 
labor? Her answer was: I don't know.
  Not data driven; it's driven by some misguided ideology. It's also 
been supported by the Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, whose team 
has been working with the Department of Labor. And this has not been 
withdrawn by the administration, Mr. Speaker, for the sake of them 
understanding that this is a misguided policy decision; it's been 
withdrawn because it is a misguided political initiative. So I'm glad 
it's temporarily withdrawn, and I appreciate the gentleman from Iowa 
(Mr. Latham) for bringing this legislation to prohibit this rule from 
being reintroduced again. Let's protect the tradition that made America 
great.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. I understand, Mr. Speaker, that we're ready to close, so 
I yield myself the balance of my time.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, once again, at a time when there are so many 
Americans looking for work and so many middle class families struggling 
to make ends meet, Congress has better things to do than take up a 
redundant bill. It's wasteful, it's unnecessary, and it prevents us 
from doing the real work that our constituents have sent us here to do. 
Let's answer the important challenges facing the country. Let's start 
creating jobs for the American people. Let's start now, and let's stop 
wasting time on something that has already been satisfied.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate so much that we've had this 
time of debate. Again, trust but verify. This is a verifying 
opportunity. As has been said, the proposed regulation was pulled 
because of political challenges. The American people generally 
understand common sense, and this wasn't common sense.
  When we see the cost of regulations in this country right now being 
$10,000 per employee, we add this to the impact on the farm family, 
those that have incorporated in order to carry on their business and 
ultimately carry on farming for generations, we see additional 
problems. So we want to make sure that this debate carries through and 
ultimately we don't have to do it again, but that we preserve the right 
to farm, we preserve the right to carry on the farming tradition, and 
the opportunity to train our young people to do something that is 
valuable long term and full of impact.
  Having said that, Mr. Speaker, I yield the remainder of my time to 
the sponsor of this bill, the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Latham).
  Mr. LATHAM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan for 
yielding once again. I will be submitting a letter here from 16 
national farm groups in support of this legislation. I would also like 
to respond--the gentlewoman talked about farm families, that parents 
can still let their children be involved in the farming operation. That 
statement to me just shows a total misunderstanding and 
miscomprehension of what agriculture is today. Yes, you have family, 
Mom and Dad, but the highest percentage of all farms today are in 
partnership with their brothers, with their sisters. If their 
grandparents are still involved, if their parents are involved in that 
farming operation, this rule would have prohibited any child from 
working on the farm and being part of a family operation. Or, if you're 
a subchapter S corporation, any of the things that are so common 
today--partnerships, small business corporations--that these family 
farm operations are, it would have totally prohibited our youth from 
getting the kind of education, getting the knowledge, getting the 
experience that they can derive working with their parents on a family 
farm operation.
  Mr. Speaker, last Saturday I had the opportunity to travel to three 
county fairs, one in Bedford, one in Red Oak, and one in Avoca, Iowa. 
It brought back so many memories from my own youth to go to those fairs 
and see young people showing livestock, either 4-H or FFA, and to see 
the experience, the love they have for those animals, the love of the 
farm and agriculture that they are developing in their youth. This is 
extraordinarily important.
  While some people may dismiss the importance of this bill, it will 
prohibit, even in the proposal that was made, but also anything like it 
from happening.

                              {time}  1640

  That's what's very, very important, to give those families out there 
the certainty, to give the 4-H and the FFA, the educational programs in 
agriculture today, a chance to continue this great legacy of 
agriculture and of family farm operations. That's really what this is 
all about.
  Mr. Speaker, I, again, ask for support of all the Members for this 
bill. It is extremely important for family farms.

                                                    July 24, 2012.
     The Honorable,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative: This afternoon the House of 
     Representatives will debate and vote on H.R. 4157, the 
     Preserving America's Family Farms Act. The undersigned 
     organizations support preserving the ability of youth to gain 
     training and education by working on the farm. Accordingly, 
     we urge all members of the House to vote in favor of H.R. 
     4157.
       The safety of all workers is of utmost importance; however, 
     in September 2011, the

[[Page 12024]]

     Department of Labor introduced regulations that took caution 
     beyond recognition. The proposed regulations were overly 
     burdensome to agriculture producers and would have limited, 
     if not eliminated, training opportunities for youth in rural 
     America. Fortunately, the administration listened to the 
     concerns of farmers and ranchers by withdrawing the 
     regulation in April. However, the threat to family farms 
     still exists. H.R. 4157 protects an agricultural way of life 
     from future child labor regulations that could limit the 
     ability of youth to learn valuable skills by working on the 
     farm.
       While we all respect the obligations and responsibilities 
     of the Department of Labor to ensure the safety of youth 
     working on farms as delineated in the Fair Labor Standards 
     Act, we believe that the approaches taken need to be well 
     reasoned and not detrimental to the family farm or the youth 
     participating in farm work. Thus, we urge all members of the 
     House to vote in favor of this bill when it reaches the 
     floor.
           Sincerely,
       American Farm Bureau Federation, American Feed Industry 
     Association, American Horse Council, American Seed Trade 
     Association, American Soybean Association, Florida Fruit & 
     Vegetable Association, International Association of Fairs and 
     Expositions, National Association of State Departments of 
     Agriculture.
       National Cattlemen's Beef Association, National Council of 
     Agricultural Employers, National Cotton Council, National FFA 
     Organization, National Milk Producers Federation, National 
     Pork Producers Council, United Fresh Produce Association, 
     U.S. Apple Association.

  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4157, the 
Preserving America's Family Farms Act, and I thank Representative 
Latham for his work on this issue.
  Like many Hoosiers who worked on a farm during their youth, I believe 
we must encourage young men and women to participate in family farming 
and ranching.
  Last September the Labor Department proposed regulations that would 
significantly limit the ability of young men and women to work on farms 
and ranches. They have since backed-off, but the law does not currently 
prevent them from bringing it up again. This legislation will 
explicitly prohibit the Department of Labor from pursuing these types 
of regulations and ensure that family farming and youth employment will 
be continued traditions in Indiana and throughout our Nation.
  Despite the severe drought we are currently experiencing, young 
Hoosiers continue to look forward to summer jobs on the farm, where 
life lessons and a few dollars can be learned and earned along the way.
  Mr. Speaker, I can think of few places better than an Indiana farm 
where a young person can truly learn the values of personal 
responsibility and hard work. And if America's farms are to continue to 
feed this nation and world, we must encourage young men and women to 
participate in farming and ranching. I urge my colleagues to support 
this commonsense, bipartisan legislation.
  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, America's Family Farmers have 
built the most productive agriculture sector in the world and this 
abundance helps feed not only our nation, but also the world.
  Family farms are truly based on the family where each generation 
trains the succeeding generation.
  Last year the Department of Labor tried to inject itself into the 
family farm by proposing onerous new regulations that would have 
basically denied family farmers the ability to train the next 
generation of farmers.
  Some would have you believe that the Labor Department was just 
looking out for children, but does anyone truly believe that a 
bureaucrat in Washington cares more about a family's children than 
their parents, or aunts and uncles, or their grandparents?
  Faced with overwhelming opposition earlier to this overreach the 
Department of Labor withdrew the proposed regulations and went back to 
the drawing board. The legislation we are considering today would stop 
these regulations in their tracks and keep the bureaucrats from getting 
between family farmers and their children.
  I urge my colleagues to support the heritage of the family farm and 
join me in passing this legislation.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4157, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title was amended so as to read: ``A bill to prohibit the 
Secretary of Labor from reissuing or issuing a rule substantially 
similar to a certain proposed rule under the Fair Labor Standards Act 
of 1938 relating to child labor.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________