[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 2672]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        AGRICULTURAL ACT OF 2014

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Farm bill policies touch the lives of all Americans, 
not just those who work in the agricultural sector. In addition to 
reauthorizing farm programs, this legislation deals with domestic and 
international food aid, conservation and the environment, trade, rural 
development, renewable energy, forestry, and financial markets, among 
other issues. This year's reauthorization presented an opportunity to 
enact significant reforms in these areas. While some progress was made, 
I believe the bill falls short of its potential, and ultimately I could 
not support it.
  The farm bill takes an important step toward reform by ending the 
longstanding practice of giving direct payments to farmers of certain 
commodity crops regardless of whether they experienced losses or even 
planted a crop. It also tightens limits on the amount of farm payments 
an individual can receive, expands crop insurance opportunities for 
specialty and organic crops, establishes conservation compliance as a 
requirement for receiving premium insurance subsidies, and invests in 
rural broadband.
  In spite of these successes, however, the farm bill does not do 
enough for Rhode Island families.
  Of greatest concern to me, it cuts $8.6 billion over 10 years from 
the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, also known as food 
stamps. These cuts could reduce food stamp benefits for as many as 
850,000 households across the country, including tens of thousands in 
Rhode Island. SNAP is our Nation's most important antihunger program. 
In this challenging economic climate, it is wrong to cut critical food-
assistance funding.
  In addition, this farm bill, like its predecessors, fails to provide 
adequate support for our fishermen in Rhode Island and nationwide. Farm 
bill programs provide billions of dollars in subsidies and technical 
assistance to farmers every year. In comparison, fishermen have little 
access to similar kinds of Federal assistance. Despite attempts to 
correct this inequity, fishermen remain second-class citizens when it 
comes to Federal support.
  Finally, American agriculture springs from the richness of our land 
and natural resources, and the farm bill has long supported programs to 
conserve and protect those resources. As the harmful effects of climate 
change become more prevalent, our agricultural policy should reflect 
the threat posed to farming and food production by these changes. In 
this farm bill, ``climate change'' and ``extreme weather'' are hardly 
mentioned. Congress can start by opening the Regional Conservation 
Partnership Program to climate change adaptation and mitigation 
projects.
  The farm bill is important and wide-ranging legislation. 
Unfortunately, the conference report leaves out essential protections 
for low-income Americans, hard-hit fisheries, and precious natural 
resources.

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