Abigail Spanberger

There is significant concern about what the Russian invasion will have in terms of impact on the global food supply, the potential for an increase in food insecurity in lower- to middle-income countries, in particular, not to mention cost…

I am very excited to have the opportunity to discuss the role of American agriculture abroad in the ways that we can both support our farmers and producers here domestically, and also affirm our global leadership in assisting in…

But, it is like the line from The Right Stuff, 'No bucks, no Buck Rogers,' and what goes into the program goes out in terms of education and outreach and also funding.

You are going to have a lot more growth in rural areas when you have that kind of infrastructure available and being encouraged by Congress.

As you noted, REAP is a program focused on making our rural communities more energy-independent, resilient, efficient, all while reducing the cost to consumers.

A failure to address these basic infrastructure needs for charging in rural communities really will lead towards a future where communities will be left behind.

I introduced the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure for Farmers Act (H.R. 6390) alongside my colleague Republican Member Congressman Rice from South Carolina.

We must ensure the USDA and the Federal Government are specifically focused on rural deployment of EV charging infrastructure.

Spanberger's bipartisan REAP Improvement Act strengthens REAP resources and advances key concepts we need now for a significant REAP upgrade.

So when we are talking about REAP, Under Secretary, it is consistently oversubscribed and under-funded, leaving many producers and agribusinesses to be pretty frustrated with the backlogs in the program.

This bipartisan legislation would not only dramatically increase annual funding for the program to $250 million but also would take steps to improve accessibility for rural communities.

I have been a strong supporter of the REAP program, and I was very proud when provisions from my REAP Improvement Act were included in legislation that recently passed.

Fertilizer prices are 40 percent higher than they were before the invasion, clearly making a strong and obvious connection.

Thank you for holding this important hearing on our Energy Title programs in the farm bill.

While we continue to fight climate crisis together, we must ensure that resources are available to everyone, particularly underserved farmers.

I am grateful to the witnesses for being here, and Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

Farmers are climate champions, and so, I am a little bit surprised to hear so many comments about unnamed groups that are challenging farmers

A significant increase in conservation funding is the quickest strategy to immediately increase conservation adoption.

We appreciate Members of this Committee engaging with each other on this momentous piece of legislation.

This bill does not offer the entire solution, but an important step in that direction.

The Growing Climate Solutions Act... would serve as a foundation for setting standards and certification criteria.

And certainly, as we work towards the 2023 Farm Bill, I think we will want to work in concert with your office to determine how it is that we should consider extending some of the funding especially for these new loans.

So, could you give an update on this program, how it pertains to the funds that have been directed for meat and poultry processing, and how many awards have gone out so far?

The Climate Stewardship Act calls for nearly doubling the Conservation Reserve Program to 40 million acres a year.

Congress should provide USDA a three- to five-fold increase in new funding for conservation programs.