Doug Bereuter: “I want to compliment our colleagues from Texas, the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Agriculture, for…”

“I want to compliment our colleagues from Texas, the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Agriculture, for their efforts in bringing us important legislation, and one, I think, that will be even further improved by a variety of amendments that they have agreed to accept. I have three that I offer today at this point. The first relates to the Conservation Reserve Program. By virtually any measure, the CRP has proven to be enormously successful. It is a national investment which provides dividends to environmentalists, farmers, sportsmen, conservationists, the general public and wildlife. The CRP actually dwarfs other conservation and wildlife protection efforts. This Member is pleased that it has been reauthorized and expanded. However, this amendment is offered to close a loophole which was brought to this Member's attention at a recent listening session in northeast Nebraska. Quite simply, this amendment ensures that the CRP be used for its intended purposes. This straightforward amendment states that only land which has been in production for 4 consecutive years is eligible for the CRP, unless the land is already in the program.”