Conference Report On H.R. 2997, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food And Drug Administration, And Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010

Floor Speech

Conference Report On H.R. 2997, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food And Drug Administration, And Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010

I thank Chairwoman DeLauro for her excellent work on this bill and the open and bipartisan process that yielded it, and the ranking member, Mr. Kingston of Georgia, for his great work always.

I rise in support of this measure because it truly undergirds the four pillars of U.S. agriculture: food, forestry, fiber, and, the most recent, fuel to help America become energy independent.

The American people know that in the area of nutrition truly the funding in this bill, especially for those who are out of work and their families, is extraordinarily important. The Commodity Supplemental Food Program will be expanded to seven States, and we really have no choice in this and the other programs in the bill to try to help the American people weather this really terrible economy. The Special Nutritional Assistance Program and the Women, Infants and Children food program are essentials. They're not frills. They're not unnecessary.

I am particularly pleased that through the Department of Agriculture, and through this measure and the leadership of the chairwoman, that community gardening and hunger-free communities are highlighted so that people become involved in the production of their own food to try to alleviate some of the growing want across the country. These are really very important and they really work.

In the area of rural development, we know that energy independence has to be our future, and agriculture has a rare opportunity to become a part of the green revolution. Really this initiative started with Congress. It really didn't start with USDA. Some of the folks over there have seen the light, and we know that the farmers of our country have to help our Nation transition in this new millennium to an energy-independent future.

In terms of sustainable agriculture, I again want to compliment the chairwoman for the growing efforts in the Urban and Sustainable Agriculture arena to help a whole new generation of American farmers reinvent American agriculture. If you look at our imports, they've increased from $43 billion in food in 1997 to over $85 billion today. They've doubled. In our Nation we can produce our own food. What are we doing? The Agricultural Research Service has ways and means to help us invest and invent new growing platforms in this country to recapture these markets 12 months out of the year. So sustainable farming is given a real boost in this bill.

And I want to praise Chairwoman DELAURO again for her steadfast leadership on this and so many other areas, including food safety, to produce a fair and honest bill that maintains a leadership role for American agriculture and protects the health and safety of our citizens while investing in very important conservation and development tools for rural America and for a sustainable ecosystem. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me time.

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