Dan Kildee: “I thank the chairman for yielding and for his leadership in bringing this legislation, which I support, to the floor…”

“I thank the chairman for yielding and for his leadership in bringing this legislation, which I support, to the floor, legislation that would fund the Department of Agriculture for the rest of the year. This bill would end part of the shutdown that this President has orchestrated and fund the Department of Agriculture, which helps people from going hungry and supports our farmers. {time} 1330 With the shutdown of the Department of Agriculture, we are not implementing the farm bill that we passed here, which means we are not helping increase access to fruits and vegetables through programs like the Double Up Food Bucks program in Michigan. We are not helping struggling farmers sign up for crop insurance, our best risk mitigation tool. The agriculture industry is already being hurt by President Trump's poor trade practices. This is just another attack on them. Also, programs cannot proceed to address drinking water needs in our rural communities. We have places like Oscoda in my home district experiencing a drinking water emergency from PFAS. They have relied on the Department of Agriculture for help. That help won't be available. By passing this bill, we put thousands of Michigan workers back to work. We ensure families who rely on food nutrition assistance will get the help they need. Right now, they are only guaranteed that help through the end of February.…”