On the recordJune 6, 2013
as we come to our vote now on cloture on the bill--what we have dubbed the farm bill, the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act--I first wish to thank my ranking member, the distinguished Senator from Mississippi, for a wonderful working relationship as we have moved to this point. He and his staff have been working diligently, as has my staff. We are proud of all of our staffs, who I think are terrific and have done a wonderful job to get us to this point. I wish to remind my colleagues that the vote we are about to take affects 16 million jobs. I have said that so many times, but it is important to say again. I do not think there will be a single bill on this floor that affects more jobs for Americans than the one on which we are about to vote--16 million jobs in America. That is how many people depend on agriculture and the food industry for their jobs. They are watching us today. They are hoping that once again this body on a bipartisan basis will do what is right and provide the leadership to move this bill forward. This particular bill includes 38 amendments that were passed on the floor during our debate last year, as we considered 73 amendments just a few months ago, and another 14 amendments that we added to the bill this year. So I appreciate the input colleagues have had to make this a strong farm bill with major reforms and real deficit reduction. This is an opportunity to cut spending by more than $24 billion.…
