Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act Of 2012

Floor Speech

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Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I rise today to speak in strong support of the farm bill we have on the floor, and to recognize chairwoman Stabenow and ranking member Roberts for constructing a bill that passed the Committee with strong, bipartisan support.

I would like to express my strong support for the bill's work on conservation including a reformed and stronger conservation title, and a provision known as ``sodsaver'' that was authored by Senator Thune of South Dakota. I was a proud cosponsor of the provision when we marked up the bill in committee, and I am glad to see it in the package on the floor.

I would also thank the Chair for including the Bennet-Crapo amendment regarding conservation easements in the consent agreement, and I look forward to the amendment's expected passage later today.

Finally, I hope to continue to work with the chair and ranking member on two topics.

The first is easement policy. In my State of Colorado, easements are an important tool for protecting environmentally vital and valuable grasslands. We did a lot of great work in committee to simplify this program and make it easier for the administration, partner entities, and landowners to use. One great thing S. 3240 does is provide a waiver for grasslands of significance, making it easier for the Secretary to enter into agreements to conserve these areas. The west is experiencing grassland loss, which impacts soil and water quality. Anything we can do to make it easier to protect this land is needed.

The second issue centers on treating insect infestations in our national forests. My State and others are experiencing epidemic levels of insect infestations causing unbelievable levels of tree mortality. I have been working with Senator Bingaman, Senator Baucus, Senator Wyden, Senator Mark Udall and others to make sure we have the right policies in place to react to the situation.

It is my understanding that the chairwoman would be willing to work with me on these important issues; is that correct?

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