Austin Scott

I think kind of the frustration for everybody is how slow it has been to actually get the resources to the people to implement the technology that is needed in rural America.

Thank you to Representatives Cheri Bustos and Austin Scott for including corn growers in the previous Subcommittee roundtable discussion on farm safety net programs.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people who are doing a tremendous job of fighting the Russians.

97 percent of upland cotton is now insured, and it has not been that high in the past.

when we talk about pre-funding a disaster program, it is not intended to replace crop insurance.

the concept of pre-funding disaster relief was actually one the things that was part of that discussion.

And as our farmers' markets have closed, just like as our smaller meatpacking facilities have closed throughout Georgia, it has made it that much more difficult for our beginning, young, and small farmers.

The price of fertilizer, the price of diesel, the input prices for agriculture had gone up well in excess of 50 percent before Putin ever invaded Ukraine.

It has given more control of our food supply over to the largest of the corporations.

This is not about every individual farm inside the United States. It is about domestic agriculture production.

the existing Tree Assistance Program, which would provide about $15 per tree, was adequate, and it simply isn't.

I think we need to work on that.

affordability, affordability, affordability is critical to making a large-scale impact.

the world probably for the first time since the 1940s may watch as a ruthless individual in Vladimir Putin uses food or lack thereof as a weapon of war

Today, crop insurance stands as the cornerstone of the safety net for many of our producers.

I hope that America is watching what is happening with the food supply around the world.

Has the Biden Administration prosecuted a single case of that fraud? Have they prosecuted a single case of SNAP fraud?

I am disappointed in the criticism of that program from President Biden and Secretary Vilsack.

I do have a problem with a Happy Meal or a drive-through being part of it.

I think probably the most--my first impression is the high risk in growing a cotton crop.

We are about to see people literally starving to death throughout Africa, Asia, and other lower-income parts of the world.

I think there is a very serious disconnect between what the Biden-Harris Administration believes is good policy and what is happening at the grocery store.

I can tell you we would have had a lot of hungry people inside this country.

I hope we can have a conversation here today, going forward, about what improvements we can make to the safety net to provide farmers more certainty.

President Zelenskyy met with Congress this morning. He showed tremendous leadership.