Jon Tester: “I rise to talk about the farm bill and recognize the fine work the Senate Agriculture Committee did in bringing this…”

“I rise to talk about the farm bill and recognize the fine work the Senate Agriculture Committee did in bringing this bill forward. I am disappointed, to say the least, that this bill is bogged down in legislative games. This bill is too important for folks to play politics. If we want to talk about a lack of predictability, this is a prime example. We should be passing a bill and instead games are being played. Agriculture is the largest industry in Montana. Montana's farmers and ranchers produce the food that powers the Nation. Providing an effective safety net for those of us in production agriculture is important, and it is potentially very costly. It would have been easy for the Senate Agriculture Committee to write a bill that keeps spending at the levels of the last farm bill, but they did not. This bill recognizes the fiscal challenges we face. It cuts more than $23 billion, more than double the amount proposed by the Simpson-Bowles Commission. Due to the good work of the Senate Agriculture Committee, this bill produces meaningful savings and reduces the number of programs at the Department of Agriculture. At the same time the bill preserves a strong safety net for farmers, invests in conservation and nutrition and institutes much needed reforms. I have offered amendments to address the issues that still face farmers and ranchers around the country. The first is my provision to ensure that farmers will be able to buy public varieties of seeds.…”