Chellie Pingree

How will USDA ensure that the apple policy remains viable for growers in Maine?

I, for one, was very excited to see Secretary Vilsack announce more details about the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Initiatives yesterday, so consider me a strong supporter, and I think it is a great idea.

I think that is a growing problem, really critical in my state, and I am looking forward to working with you.

It is shameful how long it has taken to get these done.

We are hoping to move that forward, and particularly some of the extra funding we have had to deal with supply chain issues.

I am particularly excited that two of our practicing farmers are females, so great to have both of you on the panel as well.

We believe that any funding for a Forest Conservation Easement Program must be in addition to the funding for ACEP.

Maine is the most forested state in the nation with a lot of private forest land, so that is a big interest to us.

It is such an important time to be discussing these programs as we look into the farm bill.

I think we are all interested in this.

I just want to follow up a little bit because it is an issue I have brought up previously.

Technical assistance is one of the key opportunities and, frankly, challenges when it comes to serving rural places.

Maine is considered one of the most rural states in the nation, and we have a lot of distance between internet service providers.

We are all so supportive of doing more for rural America.

I know there have been some concerns raised about insufficient access in rural communities, which is kind of ironic, since it is in the rural communities that we are producing so much of the food.

It is so important today that we talk about how we reduce costs, but also how do we provide that important safety net.

I am particularly concerned about what is going to happen when we revert to pre-pandemic levels.

The nutrition programs are critical in helping people get back on their feet in these difficult times, and so I do believe that these programs cannot be a bargaining chip that gets subjected to partisan politics.

Increased funding is something obviously that we are advocating for.

Rep. Pingree's Agriculture Resilience Act provides important program innovations and funding vision.

We recommend raising the threshold for the lower tier to $50,000.

ELPC appreciates the bills that would strengthen and update REAP submitted by Rep. Pingree and Rep. Spanberger.

Consumers, including farmers, need reliable information on energy equipment to make informed choices.

We encourage Congress to substantially increase REAP mandatory funding from $50 million to, at least, $500 million per year.

We don't have enough people to harvest the right fruit that we have spent all this money investing in to grow.