Political Quotes

“Madam Chair, as chairman of the House Agriculture Committee's Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy, and Forestry, I rise in strong support of this amendment offered by my friend from Pennsylvania and ranking member on the subcommittee, Mr. Holden. This amendment will restore limited mandatory funding for the conservation programs as defined under the current farm bill. I believe it's important to note that this amendment does not have any additional cost. We're still within the frame of the Appropriations Committee's allocation for the bill. This amendment simply preserves critical conservation programs which remain important for many farms, ranches, and agricultural lands across the Nation in order to protect environmentally sensitive areas. The programs offer voluntary incentives for farmers and ranchers to enroll land into conservation areas. In my district, these programs are vital for water quality improvement on our local farms and throughout the region. And it's the same for many other States. In my area of Pennsylvania, this is vital to be able to deal with the mandates levied upon us by agencies such as the EPA. The programs are cost-effective and provide excellent returns on investment while utilizing local, State, and private funding so that everyone involved has skin in the game. The amendment, again, does not increase the bill's cost by even one penny because it's fully offset by reducing the bill's discretionary funding by 5.88 percent.…”