Providing for Consideration of Conference Report on H.R. 2419, Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008

Floor Speech

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 2419, FOOD CONSERVATION AND ENERGY ACT OF 2008 -- (Extensions of Remarks - May 15, 2008)

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Conference Report of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. I'd like to thank the conferees who worked diligently, day and night for weeks, to craft this bipartisan agreement.

This bill provides an adequate safety net for our farmers and guarantees an affordable and nutritious food supply for the youngest and most vulnerable among us, all in a fiscally responsible way. This bill also helps producers of all commodities stay on the land they hold and love so they may continue with their livelihood, and encourages conservation of natural resources and land for use by future generations.

The bill before us today addresses many of the needs of those in southwest Georgia and Georgia's Second Congressional District, which I represent. The peanut rotation program in the conference agreement, which we paved the way for in the House bill last summer, will bring peanut growers into the next generation of agriculture by encouraging a cleaner, greener method of planting while ensuring an affordable and accessible supply to the markets that rely on U.S.-grown peanuts.

I'm also pleased that Congress has seen fit to include $100 million for Pigford Claims. This funding will begin to make up for USDA's historical inability to govern our Nation's agriculture programs in a fair, equitable, and nondiscriminatory manner.

Many in this legislative body believe this bill is not perfect; truth be told, I am among them. I have concerns about this legislation's ability to completely serve our family farmers in the face of skyrocketing fertilizer and diesel costs, an unstable commodities market that could see prices plummet just as easily as it saw prices skyrocket, and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns that decimate entire crops in mere seconds.

Despite those worries, I am even more concerned by those who view this bill as not having reformed our commodity programs enough.

No, not every single reform requested by President Bush has been met. No, we haven't reduced the AGI to $200,000, or completely rearranged the accounting in this bill to deal with the changing baselines and budgetary gimmicking touted by the White House.

But, there has been meaningful compromise on behalf of the lawmakers to whom this legislation is most important. This legislation meets the White House demands by more than half way; this legislation represents billions of dollars to not just rural America, but to people living in every corner of this country.

And, if we can spend billions of dollars fighting a war and rebuilding another country, including supporting that country's land use and agriculture programs, I think we ought to be able to find it within our means here in Congress to support American agriculture.

Mr. Speaker, we must pass this conference report today, and we must do it by a sizable margin to send a message to the President that we will not be bullied by his negotiating tactics.

Today, I say to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle ``Let us not let the `perfect' be the enemy of the `good'.'' Let us pass this conference report today for our farmers and the others across this great Nation who rely on a safe and domestically grown food source.

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