Agriculture

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, let me at the outset join in with my Republican colleagues. Coming from a farm State, I am glad that we have a bipartisan continuing resolution until December 11.

I am saddened that we don't have the Appropriations Committee working through its normal process, nor the Budget Committee. This is the world we live in now--continuing resolutions. And this continuing resolution does include money for the Commodity Credit Corporation, which is the usual source of payments for agriculture programs agreed to in the farm bill.

There was some question as to whether or not there was enough money in the CCC account to take care for the months to come. Now there is no question that it will be adequately funded. That is a positive thing.

I also am happy to report that the early press reports that we saw suggesting CCC funds were actually going to be diverted to oil companies--oil companies--was expressly prohibited as part of this negotiation.

Understand what is behind this. These oil companies have benefited from a decision by the Trump administration to give small refineries waivers when it came to the blending of ethanol with their product. The net result of that decision by the Trump administration was that a large number of these small refineries were given waivers for blending, and, as a result, the actual production of ethanol declined dramatically. It is one of the major reasons that corn is grown and sold. It is for that use, and it was diminished dramatically.

It was one of major reasons why, as the ethanol industry cratered, that farm income in many States was cut in half from what it normally has been.

In just the last few days, there has been an attempt to rectify the situation, which should have been changed years ago, and rectifying it to say that, once again, there will be blending of ethanol with gasoline in the United States, which I support. And then someone suggested, well, let's give an additional subsidy to the oil companies from the Commodity Credit Corporation--a terrible idea from the start. I am glad it is not included in this final product.

Let me mention one other part of this that is included that I think bears notice, and that is the fact that there is an extension of the school feeding program for the next school year.

We have an extraordinary situation with the COVID-19 pandemic where many schools are not bringing kids into the classroom. Many of these kids are being taught online across America. I know it because I know my grandkids are going through this. For those who are in lower income- qualifying categories, we have now extended in this continuing resolution the accessibility of these school feeding programs for the next school year. That is important. Kids, if they are going to learn, have to have nutrition. We don't want them suffering from hunger in the process in any way, shape, or form in this great Nation.

I want to salute not just the CCC, which has been lauded over and over again in this last half hour, but this decision that my side of the aisle was pushing for to extend school lunch and school feeding programs into the next school year. I think it will give some peace of mind to administrators who are trying to cope with the current situation.

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