On the recordJune 14, 2022
I thank my colleague and friend from Pennsylvania for yielding me the time. Madam Speaker, I would like to start off by saying that I am going to specifically talk about H.R. 7606. Many of the bills included in that bill, in H.R. 7606, I supported and helped introduce. The Butcher Block Act, year-round E-15, and the PRECISE Act are all pieces of legislation I have long supported and are included in this package. I find it stunning that my colleagues in the majority after many months of sitting on these thoughtful, bipartisan bills are finally bringing them forward attached to a poison pill that is duplicative and unnecessary. Perhaps most disappointing is that this bill is being advertised as an immediate solution to skyrocketing food and fuel prices. But many of these bills are simply codifications of existing programs or duplicative of other efforts all packaged with a feel-good title. Let me be clear. These will not address the underlying drivers of inflation or increasing input costs. If the majority were serious about bringing down the cost of our food and fuel, they would check their incessant spending habits far beyond the Federal Government's means. They would roll back the Biden administration's regulatory war on agriculture. But that is not what this bill does. Madam Speaker, the Packers and Stockyards Division already has enforcement tools at their disposal to address uncompetitive behavior in the meatpacking sector.…
