Kevin Roberts: “I rise today to discuss the Agriculture Act of 2014. That is the new name of the farm bill. After over 3 years of hard…”

“I rise today to discuss the Agriculture Act of 2014. That is the new name of the farm bill. After over 3 years of hard work by the House and Senate Agriculture Committees and other interested Members, we are finally nearing the finish line for this version of the Nation's farm and food policy. As all Kansans and all farmers and ranchers from every State know, the farm bill impacts not only our farmers and ranchers but also businesses up and down Main Street, as well as families in our rural towns and urban cities. Everyone in Kansas, people who work in agriculture or are impacted by its success--which, by the way, is every single American--and my colleagues in the Congress deserve to know why I was the only Senator on the conference committee not to sign the conference report as of last night. I am here today to fully explain my reasoning and why I cannot and will not vote for this legislation. It all comes down to this simple question: Does the new farm bill improve agriculture in America? I believe the answer is, unfortunately, no. While we all want to provide long-overdue certainty to producers-- something lacking for over 400 days, for 2 years; a record--the conference missed an opportunity for greater and necessary reforms to our Nation's farm programs, Federal nutrition programs, and burdensome regulations. We should not march backward and pass a farm bill with more government subsidies, more regulations, and more waste.…”