Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.

The CHAIR. The gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes.

Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Madam Chair, as chairman of the House Agriculture Committee's Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy, and Forestry, I rise in strong support of this amendment offered by my friend from Pennsylvania and ranking member on the subcommittee, Mr. Holden.

This amendment will restore limited mandatory funding for the conservation programs as defined under the current farm bill. I believe it's important to note that this amendment does not have any additional cost. We're still within the frame of the Appropriations Committee's allocation for the bill.

This amendment simply preserves critical conservation programs which remain important for many farms, ranches, and agricultural lands across the Nation in order to protect environmentally sensitive areas. The programs offer voluntary incentives for farmers and ranchers to enroll land into conservation areas. In my district, these programs are vital for water quality improvement on our local farms and throughout the region. And it's the same for many other States. In my area of Pennsylvania, this is vital to be able to deal with the mandates levied upon us by agencies such as the EPA. The programs are cost-effective and provide excellent returns on investment while utilizing local, State, and private funding so that everyone involved has skin in the game.

The amendment, again, does not increase the bill's cost by even one penny because it's fully offset by reducing the bill's discretionary funding by 5.88 percent. I commend the Appropriations subcommittee chair for his efforts to produce an overall bill that is fiscally responsible and reduces funding in total by 13 percent in comparison to previous fiscal years.

And as the chairman of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over these programs, I can say very frankly to my good friend from Georgia, I look forward to the next farm bill where the authorizing committee can further explore making these programs even more efficient and even more cost-effective, more so than they already are.

However, changes to programs, as defined under the current farm bill, especially when it comes to the mandatory spending in this amendment, I believe should be handled by the Agriculture Committee, not the appropriations process. I fully support this amendment and request my colleagues to do the same.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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