[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15621]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            PASS A FARM BILL

  (Mrs. NOEM asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Speaker, for 2\1/2\ years, I have come to this House 
floor and talked about the importance of a farm bill and the need to 
have a farm bill for our national security interests. Our producers in 
this country make sure the people that live in this country have the 
opportunity to partake in an affordable and safe food supply, not 
relying on another country to feed us, or they truly would control us.
  We don't have a farm bill today, but the Speaker has assured me we 
will go to conference soon and get one done. But let me tell you about 
a tragedy that happened in South Dakota last week.
  This picture beside me would be very sad if it just reflected one 
situation in South Dakota, but western South Dakota is littered with 
tens of thousands of dead cows, horses, and sheep that were killed by a 
tragic blizzard that hit South Dakota just last week.
  The stories we have heard of losses to families are tragic. One 
mother visited with us and told us about driving her kids to school 
every day, and it looks like she is driving down a road covered with 
dead cattle filling the ditches.
  We have a farm bill because we need to make sure that there are 
disaster programs to cover situations like this. The livestock programs 
that I authored that are included in the farm bill that needs to be 
signed into law would help protect some of these families and keep them 
in business in the future.

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