North American Wetlands Conservation Extension Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this updated Heroes Act. This bill is about people and not about politics.

As chairman of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, I will highlight the important provisions of this bill from my section, which touches the lives of every American in some way.

It provides a total of $15.4 billion to help Americans put food on the table, to keep their homes, protect agricultural products from pests and diseases, deliver stress assistance to our farmers and producers, and evaluate coronavirus vaccine applications.

We provide $10 billion to SNAP, an additional $400 million for WIC, for working families who have lost their jobs and are laid off due to the COVID-19 emergency. We included $450 million for TEFAP food banks, and $1.2 billion for nutrition assistance for the territories. All of these programs will increase food security during this crisis.

To keep our food supply safe and thriving during the COVID-19 pandemic, we provided $350 million for the Agricultural Quarantine Inspection Program. We included $2.5 million for the USDA Office of Inspector General to increase their monitoring and oversight activities.

For our farmers and producers who are under increased pressure in an already difficult environment, we provided $20 million to activities and services to provide stress assistance resources.

For our rural Americans, we included $10 million to address the increased workload for the Rural Development program employees; $2.6 billion for grants to our rural electric co-ops so the lights can stay on; and $309 million to the Rural Housing Service to assist rural tenants who have lost their jobs in this pandemic.

Finally, so we can begin to see light at the end of this COVID-19 tunnel, we provided $1.5 million to the Food and Drug Administration to support their safety evaluations of the coronavirus vaccine applications going forward.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. This is a good bill. It is long overdue. The American people need it and deserve it, and I urge my colleagues to pass it.

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