On the recordJuly 24, 2012
As a lifelong farmer, I rise today in support of H.R. 4157, Preserving America's Family Farms Act. This bill prohibits the Secretary of Labor from finalizing or enforcing a proposed rule that will fundamentally alter the way family farms have operated for decades, and is another example of Washington bureaucrats trying to tell farmers and ranchers how to operate their operations. If these rules are finalized in their current form, children in rural America will not have the opportunity to learn the important life skills and values that working on the farm provides. As I talk with farm families in Missouri's Fourth District, they are frustrated by this rule. Their message is clear, plain and simple: Big Government should not tell hardworking Americans how to raise their children and care for their land. I believe the government should ensure our basic liberties, not trample on them. Parents care more for their children than government bureaucrats and should make the ultimate decisions on the activities of their children, not Washington, D.C. I encourage all of my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation.
