Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, the amendment I have introduced would streamline a burdensome regulatory requirement currently in place for two USDA programs. The first is the Agriculture Risk Coverage, or ARC, and the Price Loss Coverage, or PLC. My amendment changes the signup process from an annual signup process to a one-and-done process for the duration of the 5-year farm bill.

Our farmers work tirelessly to provide food for our families, our country, and to grow products that are shipped all over the world. From raising livestock to growing crops such as soybeans and corn, they contribute to the lifeblood of my State of Illinois and also our national economy.

To fully support the agriculture community, we must maintain an efficient and effective program and programs that allow our farmers to be globally competitive. Given the tremendous impact of the agriculture industry on the U.S. economy, we must work to ensure that our farmers are able to operate without burdensome and time-consuming regulatory requirements.

My district in central and west-central Illinois is the eighth largest district in terms of corn and soybean production in the country, and I hear from my farmers across my district and from my own agriculture advisory committee that the amount of time spent filling out paperwork for these programs, even when there is no change to their farming operation, takes up too much of their valuable time which could be used on their farms.

Under the current rules, to file an annual contract, farmers need to collect signatures from landlords or other individuals with an interest in the land. Many landlords reside out of the State or out of the country, making this paperwork burdensome and very difficult in many cases.

Under our amendment, farmers will be able to and be eligible for a one-time signup for ARC and PLC for the duration of the 5-year farm bill so long as there are no changes to the current farming operation. If a farmer does make changes to their farming operation, they must reflect those changes in a new signup, as is the current process. This simple fix will help our farmers spend more time farming and less time filling out paperwork.

I want to thank Chairman Conaway and his staff for working with me on this amendment, and I appreciate all of his support for this commonsense reform that is so important to our farmers.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to vote in support of the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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