00:00Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the quorum call will be suspended.
00:05Without objection.
00:06Mr. President, the appropriations process is officially underway here in the Senate.
00:10Last week, the Appropriations Committee held its first markup of appropriations bills for fiscal year 2026.
00:16And I'm pleased to report that the committee referred two bills to the floor with bipartisan support.
00:22And today I want to talk about one of the bills that came out of last week's markup,
00:26and that's the Agriculture Appropriations Bill.
00:29Mr. President, agriculture is the lifeblood of our country.
00:32And in places like my home state of South Dakota, farming and ranching are a big part of our way of life.
00:38I know how hard American farmers and ranchers work to deliver food, fuel, and fiber to America and to the world.
00:47And I know this work can be challenging and, at times, unforgiving.
00:51In recent years, farmers and ranchers across the country have faced some pretty fierce headwinds.
00:55Higher input costs and depressed commodity prices strained their budgets.
01:00And higher interest rates made financing more difficult.
01:04Then there were the supply chain disruptions.
01:06Natural disasters and drought.
01:09And things like bird flu, African swine fever, and the New World screw worm that threaten livestock.
01:16Mr. President, just two weeks ago, Republicans passed a reconciliation bill that addresses many of the challenges head-on
01:23by bolstering programs that farmers and ranchers depend on.
01:27But as I said then, farmers and ranchers' priorities are going to continue to be a priority here in the Senate.
01:33And the Agricultural Appropriations Bill is an example of that.
01:37Mr. President, our colleagues on the Appropriations Committee have reported a bill that provides robust funding to support America's farmers and ranchers.
01:45It provides important funding to the Farm Service Agency, including support for $10.5 billion in capital access for farmers and ranchers.
01:53And it supports efforts to track foreign-owned land to prevent our adversaries, like China, from buying up America's farmland.
02:02It also makes investment in rural development programs at USDA.
02:06In South Dakota, that money goes far in supporting water programs, electricity, and broadband programs in rural areas.
02:15This bill also invests in conservation programs, and it advances efforts to help farmers and ranchers get their products to the market.
02:22I'm glad to see support for processing capacity for meat, poultry, and egg products.
02:28And I'm pleased that this bill also promotes programs that help state-inspected plants operate across state lines,
02:35which provides producers with more options for their products and supports smaller processors.
02:41The bill also includes funding for the Agriculture Marketing Service to help facilitate greater access to international markets for American agriculture products.
02:50And the updated market data that will result from investments in this bill will help farmers and ranchers make better decisions about their businesses.
02:59Mr. President, in just the past year, the threat to our food supply posed by diseases and pests has been national news.
03:07I'm glad to see the Trump Administration's actions to address bird flu and its effect on the egg supply have had a positive impact.
03:16And the Agricultural Appropriations Bill continues efforts to combat bird flu, as well as other potentially devastating threats like chronic wasting disease and the new world screw worm.
03:29Mr. President, nutrition is another important part of agriculture policy, and the bill that's been reported out provides robust funding for programs like WIC and SNAP.
03:38And I appreciate Senator Hoeven's work to find offsets for increased spending on these programs.
03:45Mr. President, the work of feeding America and the world isn't easy.
03:49But I know our farmers and ranchers take a lot of pride in what they do.
03:54They know they're not just working toward the next harvest.
03:58They're keeping a heritage alive.
04:01A way of life that none of us can live without.
04:04I appreciate the work the Appropriations Committee has put in to support our farmers and ranchers,
04:09and in particular, the leadership of Chair Collins and Senator Hoeven.
04:15And to America's farmers and ranchers, we'll continue to have your back.
04:20Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of...
