Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, over the last 10 months, I have been working with a diverse group of people in my State on ways to get healthier food and more local agricultural products to consumers throughout the country. Our group included folks from every part of the State, from gleaners to cattle ranchers to pear growers. Today, I am introducing legislation based on my discussions with that agricultural advisory group. What we came up with is a series of proposals that I believe will create agricultural jobs, increase access to healthy locally grown fruits and vegetables and reduce paperwork for small farmers while improving access to Federal loans.

This legislation, the Fresh Regional Eating for Schools and Health Act, or FRESH, will provide healthier choices for recipients of Federal programs, push the U.S. Department of Agriculture's, USDA's, technology agenda forward, increase flexibility for State and local stakeholders, and provide better tools for small and beginning farmers.

For too long, the Federal Government has pushed one size fits all solutions when it comes to nutrition and school lunches. That is why this bill allows States to put forward innovative approaches to increase nutrition outcomes for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, beneficiaries. Let me make it clear: under this waiver, no benefits will be reduced, and eligibility requirements will not be changed. But States will be allowed to provide incentives for eating healthy for SNAP recipients, and help those folks meet the nutritional guidelines the Federal Government has put out.

Another area where flexibility is needed is in the school lunch program. Right now, over $1 billion goes to Oregon schools to purchase food for school lunches from a USDA commodity warehouse. Meanwhile, I have heard time and time again from school lunch administrators in Oregon that they would prefer to use that money locally to purchase the healthy fruits and vegetables that are so plentiful in our State. This bill would give them the flexibility to use half of what they now get from USDA to buy local agriculture products. This approach not only enables schools to buy healthier food for their students but also helps keep that money in their local economy and support the family farmers down the road.

This bill also moves USDA nutrition programs into the 21st century when it comes to technology. It would push USDA to allow using smartphones and tablet technology to accept SNAP benefits, just as they can accept debit and credit cards today. This will open up access for SNAP beneficiaries to roadside food stands and farmers markets, and encourage innovation within the agency. SNAP recipients would also be allowed to use online grocery stores to purchase foods--a hugely helpful option for busy moms or elderly folks for whom a grocery store is just too hard to get to. For the WIC program, state agencies will be allowed to use technologies like videoconferencing to keep costs low when it comes to training and certification, particularly for stores in rural areas.

Folks will also get a better sense of how the over $70 billion a year taxpayers fund SNAP with is being spent if this bill passes. It requires companies that take in over $1 million a year from the SNAP program to provide the Federal Government with a receipt of just what they have provided.

For small farmers, this bill suspends the 15-year limit for farmers to use FSA-guaranteed operating loans and the 7-year limit for them to use FSA direct operating loans. By suspending these time limits indefinitely, farmers will have more access to these critical capital tools. It includes creation of a streamlined micro-loan program that will allow small farmers who just need a quick loan to repair their truck or buy some feed to borrow up to $5,000 on an expedited basis and with reduced paperwork.

For beginning farmers, this legislation provides an alternative to the requirement that they need three years of farm management experience to get direct loans to buy farm lands. Instead, it allows the completion of college degrees related to business and agriculture to be considered a substitute for hands-on experience. For example, Horticulture or Agricultural Business Management degrees would be acceptable as an alternative. This will give young folks more opportunities to get the capital needed to start a farm.

I am really proud of the efforts the Oregonians on my agricultural advisory committee made in helping provide common sense solutions for nutrition and farming programs. I want to thank them for helping to create these proposals, and I am going to work hard with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle as we move to the next farm bill to include these ideas.

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