Bringing Future Farmers of America Into the 21st Century

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I introduced a bill with my colleagues, Congressman Jim Langevin and Congressman David Young of Iowa, to modernize the charter of the National FFA Organization.

FFA, formerly called the Future Farmers of America, was founded in 1928.

Congress recognized the importance of FFA as an integral part of agriculture and, in 1950, granted it a Federal charter.

The charter provides Federal authority to create an interagency working agreement that is focused on strengthening FFA and school-based agriculture education.

It is important to note that only about 100 organizations have charters with Federal agencies, only six organizations require the respective government agency to select one member for the board of directors, and FFA is the only organization that requires a majority of its board of directors be chosen by its partner government agency.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5595, the National FFA Organization's Charter Amendments Act, makes updates to allow the National FFA to be a self- governing organization while maintaining its long-held relationship with the U.S. Department of Education.

This amendment brings FFA, a great cornerstone of rural America, into the 21st century, and I encourage my colleagues to cosponsor this legislation.

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