Michael Bennet: “They wrote: The message from our constituents and rural America is clear; we need a farm bill now. We ask that you bring…”

“They wrote: The message from our constituents and rural America is clear; we need a farm bill now. We ask that you bring a farm bill up before the August District Work Period. They went on to say: We ask that you make this legislation a priority of the House as it is critically important to rural and urban Americans alike. Representative Rick Berg, a Republican from North Dakota, took to the floor last week and said: Now is the time for the House to act, the time for the farm bill now. Jo Ann Emerson, a Republican Congresswoman from Missouri, told reporters that ``there are problems with my farmers who need to make planning decisions.'' We are seeing that exact same uncertainty plaguing our farmers and ranchers in Colorado. Yet here we are again. We have seen this before in Washington. We are pretty good at starting conversations, but we are not very good at finishing them. We are kicking the can down the road once again, but this is the farm bill, which is a bipartisan effort that rarely, if ever, has been used as a political football around this place. Three days ago David Rogers wrote an article, which I think accurately describes our dilemma. It was in Politico. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that this article also be printed in the Record.…”