Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman for yielding. I share the chairman's passion for FFA and in the leadership that emerges from that experience for our youth. And I know that, being someone who represents a very rural district, we think of the FFA as a rural enterprise; but, Mr. Speaker, the largest FFA chapter we have in Pennsylvania--and we have a lot--it is a robust program in the city of Philadelphia. This is a program that has tremendous impact in rural America and has tremendous ability to impact in urban America today. So I rise in support of H.R. 439, the National FFA Organization's Federal Charter Amendments Act. I am honored to work with my good friend, Mr. Langevin, on this piece of legislation. This bipartisan bill makes updates to allow the national FFA to be a self-governing organization, while maintaining its long-held relationship with the U.S. Department of Education. FFA, formally called the Future Farmers of America, was organized in 1928. Congress recognized the importance of FFA as an integral part of vocational agriculture, and in 1950 granted it a Federal charter. This charter provides Federal authority to create an interagency working agreement that is focused on strengthening FFA and school-based agriculture education. However, the role of education in securing a skilled, sustainable workforce in agriculture is underscored through the required involvement of the U.S. Department of Education on the National FFA board of directors.…”