Herb Kohl: “I rise to support and encourage passage of this farm bill. Farm bills are difficult measures to shepherd through this…”

“I rise to support and encourage passage of this farm bill. Farm bills are difficult measures to shepherd through this chamber. There has never been--and never will--be a `perfect' one in the eyes of every Member of this body. But American agriculture needs a new farm bill and this one deserves our support for a variety of reasons. For starters, it delivers over $23 billion dollars in savings at time when our Nation's balance sheet needs it most. It improves nutrition programs by curbing fraud and improving program integrity. Hungry Americans--many of whom are children--need a food safety net when times are tough. These changes support that safety net and deliver more accountability to taxpayers. This bill also responds to concerns articulated by dairy farmers who are hugely important to me and to Wisconsin. Long-time farm policy observers know of my enduring interest in dairy policy. The MILC program, which I co-authored with several of my colleagues in this chamber, was the first comprehensive safety net for American dairy producers. It provided payments in time of low prices and cost the government nothing when we had robust dairy prices. Dairy farmers today face new and different challenges. In recent years they have seen situations where, despite robust milk prices, their input prices dramatically escalated and their margins evaporated. The dairy policy embodied in this bill recognizes that challenge and establishes margin protection insurance.…”