Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2019

Floor Speech

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Ms. SCHRIER. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Chair, I rise today to draw attention to an important issue that I hope we can begin to address.

Research is at the core of our ever-changing agriculture industry, including in my district. Our farms rely on research from land grant universities like Washington State University to build resilience in the face of a changing climate, to manage pests and diseases, and to respond to drought stresses. As the number one USDA research and expenditures university in the country, Washington State University's work helps farmers in my district expand new varieties of economic powerhouse crops like pears, cherries, wine grapes, apples, potatoes, and hops.

Prior to the recent farm bill signed into law last December, the USDA could exempt nonprofit and land grant universities like Washington State University from a requirement that Specialty Crop Research Initiative grant recipients match the Federal Government dollar for dollar. It is really important to note that this waiver authority for matching requirements is available to every other ag research program in the farm bill except specialty crop research.

During consideration of the recently passed farm bill, a Senate- originated provision that dropped the exemption was included. This will have devastating impacts on agriculture in my district and around the country.

Washington is the second most agriculturally diverse State in the Nation, growing everything from potatoes to peppermint, apples to azaleas, and wine grapes to barley and wheat. Washington State University partners with the USDA to make the State of Washington one of the largest and most successful agriculture enterprises in the world.

From the beginning, Washington farmers, WSU, Washington State Department of Agriculture, and the USDA have joined forces to improve the productivity, efficiency, and safety of products coming from our State's fields and pastures.

For example, in 2018, WSU received more than $5 million in funding to research pests threatening grapes, onions, garlic, and other specialty crops. This important research, which supports our State's diverse agricultural economy, would be jeopardized under the matching requirement authorized last year.

This bipartisan amendment would underscore congressional support for vital public research like the work at Washington State University. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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