Farm Bill Impact Series: Next Generation

Floor Speech

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Mr. MANN. Madam Speaker, in preparation for reauthorizing the farm bill in 2023, I rise today to deliver the ninth installment of my farm bill impact series, where I am highlighting the various aspects of the farm bill that deserve this Congress' awareness and support. For this legislation to be effective, it must support both the efforts of today's farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers, as well as those of the next generation.

When the farm bill is up for reauthorization, Congress takes the opportunity to engage young people and new and beginning farmers and ranchers on the legislation, which I am eager to do as soon as possible. We have great organizations in this country that prepare the next generation of American men and women to feed, fuel, and clothe the world.

I am thinking of groups like the National FFA Organization, 4-H, programming from Agriculture Future of America, MANRRS, and the Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers with members between the age of 18 and 35. Farm bills of the past have supported USDA's Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Program, and the 2018 farm bill even created an Agricultural Youth Organization Coordinator position at USDA to bring youth to the table for important discussions on issues like access to land, credit, and more.

Our country's future food security--and therefore national security-- rests on the shoulders of these young people, and they have valuable insights to share with lawmakers. I look forward to hearing from the next generation on American agriculture and incorporating their thoughts into the 2023 farm bill.

Farming is a multigenerational calling. In the agriculture business, one generation often passes assets down to the next, which lets young people continue farming and working the same way that their parents and grandparents worked before them.

I grew up on a farm like this--in a house that my great-great- grandfather ordered from a Montgomery Ward catalogue--my parents still live in that house and operate the farm. My brother will carry our family farm into the next generation, so my family is experiencing this exact transition right now. I don't want to see young farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers forced to sell their family farms to pay a death tax. I want to see them empowered to carry on the tradition of their ancestors.

When a young person works on their family farm, often they slowly take on responsibility and risk. They work for their parents and the operation until the time comes when they may take over the land, equipment, and livestock. When that happens, the Federal Government should not jump in and tax you on the value of your inherited land and assets.

This principle is called the stepped-up basis. It has long been precedent in the tax code, and it ensures that owners of small farms don't get taxed out of existence. Today's generation of farmers are aging--the average age of a farmer in Kansas is 67, and they are prepared to transfer nearly $9 trillion in assets to the next generation that will follow in their footsteps. Congress needs to make sure this asset transfer process is fair, instead of using it as an opportunity to gouge farmers with more taxes.

That is why back in September, I introduced an amendment in the House Agriculture Committee that would preserve the tax code's stepped-up basis provisions, exempting agricultural producers from paying capital gains taxes when land or equipment passes from one generation to the next.

Back in March, I introduced a bipartisan resolution, along with 51 of my colleagues, that supports the preservation of the stepped-up basis, opposes any efforts to impose new taxes on family farms or small businesses, and recognizes the importance of generational transfers of farm and small business operations.

Also in March, I stood right here and talked about President Biden's budget proposal, which eliminated the stepped-up basis and added what I called the farm killer tax, which is not a game changer but a game ender for the American family farm.

President Biden's proposal would impose capital gains taxes on farms that have been held in families for 90 years. Think about that. In 1940, the average cost of Kansas farmland was $50 an acre. Now, irrigated land in Kansas is over $4,000 per acre. Imagine the capital gains tax implications on that history of ownership. The people who feed, fuel, and clothe all of us do not deserve this kind of treatment.

The farm killer tax and eliminating the stepped-up basis would make it impossible for the next generation of young agricultural leaders to follow in their parents' and grandparents' footsteps. The day-to-day trials of operating a successful farm are challenging enough without having to worry about paying devastating capital gains taxes.

Investing in the next generation of farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers is investing in the future of this country. This investment must remain strong in the 2023 farm bill if America is going to remain food secure and self-determining as a Nation.

That is why we need to think carefully and critically about the degree to which we support the next-generation programs within the 2023 farm bill and why we must protect the stepped-up basis and oppose any and all new burdensome capital gains taxes on farmers.

I will be back to the floor soon to deliver the next installment of my farm bill impact series and highlight more programs and titles within the bill that Congress must understand and support to ensure that agriculture thrives in America.

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