While the leadership demonstrated by USDA in creating and delivering a pollinator habitat incentive is to be applauded, many of the pollinator benefits and national goals are well short of achievement.

As of November 2016, there have been little over 340,000 acres enrolled in pollinator habitat since the program was established in 2012.

Thank you for having conducted this hearing to receive input on how the conservation title of the Agricultural Act of 2014 has operated.

A republic, madam, if you can keep it.

We have to step into the breach.

it is vital that the necessary funds are appropriated for the programs because there has been a shortage of funds for the past 3 years.

submitted statement on behalf of National Grain and Feed Association

If we don't, then we'll lose the ability to self-govern and we'll lose this republic.

the most important change that should be made to the next farm bill is an increase to the current loan limit of $1.399 million on FSA Guaranteed Loans.

The next question would be then, the language that we produce in the next farm bill should say some kind of stipulation based on when you first applied, and then it should cycle through based on that, correct?

the 2014 Farm Bill was very successful from a lender's perspective.

Only a moral or religious people can self-govern.

We are making investments that are for a generation or generations or hundreds of years, and we need to assess that in our calculations.

there needs to be serious consideration for increasing staff levels at FSA.

What are we asking God to bless and what's my role in reclaiming that moral high ground.

We've killed 57 million babies in 43 years.

Only a moral and religious people can self-govern.

John Adams wrote that only a moral and religious people can self-govern. And amoral and immoral people have to have a different scheme altogether, because they will not voluntarily comply with the laws and rules that confront them, even…

We can't fix it in Congress or the state House or the local county commissioners courts or city councils.

This is why the ABA has endorsed Representative Bost's BALE Act which provides a pathway for increasing the limit on FSA loans.

ABA has endorsed H.R. 831, the Beginning Agriculturist Lifetime Employment Act of 2017 (BALE Act), introduced by Representative Mike Bost.

If we don't do that, then, at some point, the history of this nation will be written in the sins of that long, slow, miserable decline into oblivion.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Legislation (H.R. 5733) was introduced in the previous Congress by Congressman Bost to raise the loan limits on guaranteed farm loans to $2.5 million to $3.5 million.

Bost, Hon. Mike, a Representative in Congress from Illinois, opening statement.