[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 10129]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             THE FARM BILL

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have often said that Speaker Boehner has a 
hard job. That was obvious last week when the House Republican caucus 
revolted to defeat the Speaker's farm bill. Even though the Speaker 
took the unusual step of announcing his support for the measure ahead 
of the vote, this bill went down in flames. It was the first time the 
House of Representatives has defeated a farm bill since the program was 
created in the 1930s.
  I admit I was sorry to hear the House Republican leadership blame the 
bill's defeat on Democrats, but I was not surprised. They had to blame 
someone. They could not blame themselves, even though they should. It 
was no surprise that House Democrats opposed this mean-spirited bill. 
The legislation would cut $20 billion from the safety net that keeps 
millions of Americans, including millions of children, from going 
hungry every year. That is what it was about. The farm bill eliminated 
8 billion meals for hungry American families and children. That is what 
the House bill did. So it is no surprise that Democrats did not vote 
for a bill that whacked America's most vulnerable citizens.
  We have seen this film before. The Speaker should have known he could 
not pass legislation that amounts to a partisan love note to the tea 
party. He will be forced to take up a more bipartisan measure. He 
should do it now. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. The Senate 
has already done the work that was necessary to be done. We passed a 
good bipartisan bill. The Speaker should dispense with the drama and 
the delay and take up the Senate farm bill now. The bill passed on an 
overwhelming bipartisan vote in this Chamber. In fact, it did twice. We 
passed it last year. The Speaker refused to bring up the bill in the 
House. Passing the Senate farm bill will create jobs, will reduce the 
deficit by some $23 billion, and it will make important reforms to both 
farm and food stamp programs without balancing the budget on the backs 
of hungry Americans.
  I spoke over the weekend to Tom Vilsack, the Secretary of 
Agriculture. We agreed that maintaining the status quo is not an 
option. Doing nothing means no reform, no deficit reduction, and no 
certainty for America's 16 million farm industry workers.
  I want everyone within the sound of my voice as well as my colleagues 
on the other side of the Capitol to know that the Senate will not pass 
another temporary farm bill extension. It is time for real reform that 
protects both rural farm communities and urban families who need help 
feeding their children.
  If the Speaker took up the Senate's bipartisan measure, it would 
easily pass the House with both Republican and Democratic votes. There 
is no shame in passing a bill that moderates in both parties support. 
We have seen time and time again that the tea party's ``my way or the 
highway'' approach to legislating does not work. The only way to pass a 
bill in either the House or the Senate is to do so with votes from both 
Democrats and Republicans. The Senate farm bill passed with 66 votes in 
this Chamber. It was a perfect example of a bipartisan bill. The 
Speaker should allow a vote on this measure in the House now--today.
  The immigration bill before the Senate is another example of 
bipartisan legislation. The immigration bill will pass this Chamber 
with Democratic and Republican votes. When the immigration bill passes, 
the Speaker should quickly bring it up for a vote in the House of 
Representatives.
  So I say, Mr. Speaker, rather than twisting the arms of tea party 
extremists, work with moderates in both parties to pass bipartisan 
legislation. Mr. Speaker, rather than trying to force legislation 
designed to please only the right wing, you should take away the 
obstacles we have and take the easy way out, actually. Do the right 
thing. Seek votes from Democrats and Republicans. America deserves the 
commonsense approach. That is what we used to do. We should do it once 
again.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Hirono). The clerk will call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, what is the pending business?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. We are currently in leader remarks. No bill is 
currently pending.
  Mr. REID. I would ask the Chair to close morning business and move to 
whatever the business of the day is.

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