United States Grain Standards Reauthorization Act of 2020

Floor Speech

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Ms. CRAIG. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding; and I thank the chairman for his 30 years of service to the State of Minnesota and to our family farmers across this Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 4054, the U.S. Grain Standards Reauthorization Act of 2020.

As our family farmers face the growing impacts of COVID-19 and continued trade instability, we must maintain the integrity of our domestic grain market and inspection system.

This bipartisan legislation passed the Senate unanimously, to reauthorize the Federal Grain Inspection Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. I applaud Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow on their bipartisan efforts to get this across the finish line. This reauthorization provides necessary certainty for buyers and sellers throughout the grain supply chain.

Food and agriculture products have long remained the largest category of exports for Minnesota. The Federal Grain Inspection Service provides a reliable, competitive, and cost-effective official grain inspection and weighing system to facilitate the marketing of U.S. grains and oilseeds in export and domestic markets.

Just last year, Minnesota produced over $7.5 billion worth of corn, wheat, and soybeans. The employees of companies in my district, like CHS, Cargill, and ADM, keep our grain markets moving along the Mississippi River and off to destinations across the globe.

While this year has certainly presented its challenges, reauthorizing grain standards provides a glimmer of stability for our producers as they continue to secure additional support in export markets. This legislation shores up the infrastructure that will make sure those exports continue into 2021.

I look forward to the passage of this bill for the family farmers of my district and Minnesota's agriculture economy.

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