Mike Conaway: “I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank him for bringing up this important issue. I agree with the gentleman…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank him for bringing up this important issue. I agree with the gentleman from Alabama that our farmers and ranchers should not be competing with the Federal Government for viable cropland. H.R. 2 makes many changes to the CRP program, such as capping the rental rate payment to 80 percent of the county average and stepping this percentage down for subsequent reenrollments of the same tract. I understand, however, the gentleman's concerns with the increase in enrolled acres, and I commit to working with the gentleman and his staff on this issue during the coming conference report, should we get there.”