Supporting Agritourism

Floor Speech

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Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the more than 28,000 farms that engage in agritourism across the country, 1,500 of which are in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Agritourism, for those who don't know, is exactly what it sounds like. We are bringing tourists to farms or agricultural venues and offering experiences related to farming, rural life, and food.

From wineries like Stone Tower in Leesburg, farm breweries like Wheatland Spring in Waterford, you-picks like Great Country Farms in Bluemont, and llama and alpaca farms like Double 8 Alpaca & Llama Ranch in Purcellville, agritourism offers growing opportunities for farms to diversify their revenues, connect with our communities, and become more resilient.

Agritourism isn't just a trend or fad. It is an economic imperative for many farmers.

In Virginia alone, agriculture is our number one industry, but the majority of farmers are not full-time farmers. They need ways to pay for taxes and maintenance of their land, and agritourism has helped families across Virginia do just that.

This isn't just happening in Virginia. Agritourism is now a billion- dollar industry across the country, and it keeps growing. It is revitalizing local, rural, and small-town workforces. The tourist dollars are also expanding hotels, restaurants, and businesses nearby.

These farms also offer unique educational and recreational opportunities for children and families and help connect the public to our food systems. That is what I love about agritourism. It is a win- win for everyone. Farmers get to share their work and support their farm, and visitors learn about where their food comes from, who grows the flowers they send on Mother's Day, and so much more.

This year, my family picked tulips from Burnside Farms in Nokesville. We ate strawberries at the Strawberry Festival this past weekend at Wegmeyer Farms in Lincoln. We visited Cox Farms for their delicious cider donuts.

For many farmers, there is a lot of uncertainty about Federal resources available to them and where they should go to ask questions about agritourism. Since agritourism is a form of nontraditional farming, the Federal Government simply hasn't done much to help the industry, which is why I am proud to work with Congressman Newhouse to introduce the bipartisan AGRITOURISM Act, which will ignite the industry and provide a one-stop shop of resources like grants, loans, and technical assistance for farmers who want to participate in agritourism.

These resources will attract private investment not only in agritourism but also support tourism and hospitality industries in rural areas, which will keep our farms and rural communities strong, resilient, and thriving.

I also plan to relaunch the bipartisan Agritourism Caucus with Congressman David Rouzer to highlight the progress of this industry and how we can continue to promote it. This was first championed by my predecessor, Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to sign on to this bill and join the caucus when we relaunch it so that we can champion agritourism for farmers and rural communities across America. Effects of Moody's Downgrade

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Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. Mr. Speaker, Moody's, a credit rating firm, downgraded America's credit rating this past weekend. What does this mean? It is like when your credit score goes down. It will make it more expensive for a country to borrow money, and the interest rate on our $36 trillion debt will go up.

How much do we spend on interest right now? In 2024, we paid $892 billion in interest payments. That is 13 percent of our budget. That is more money than we spent on law enforcement, education, science, and transportation combined.

Now, it is going to get worse because this one big, beautiful bill coming up is going to explode the deficit so we can give tax cuts to billionaires and the largest corporations while also slashing Medicaid, food assistance, and other programs American families depend on.

There is no fiscal responsibility in this bill, and this bill will add $5 trillion to the Federal debt.

This credit downgrade should be a warning to reverse course. Instead, we seem to be heading straight for fiscal disaster, and we need to stand up to this.

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