A bill to amend Public Law 110-196 to provide for a temporary extension of programs authorized by the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 beyond May 2, 2008.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 2954) to amend Public Law 110-196 to provide for a temporary extension of programs authorized by the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 beyond May 2, 2008.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this 2-week extension of the current farm bill. The conferees have been working hard, particularly Chairman Peterson and Ranking Member Goodlatte, and the chairman and ranking member in the other body. And we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but we still need some additional time to dot all the I's and cross all the T's, as we try to prepare the American people for a sound farm policy over the next several years. I think that we are going to present a farm bill to this body and to the American people that will do just that. I think this will gain overwhelming support in both bodies and will be signed by the President of the United States.

In the commodity title, we will not only sustain our safety net, but we will see significant reform. In the conservation title, where I have the privilege of chairing the subcommittee, along with Mr. Lucas who is the ranking member, we will see significantly more investment of about $4 billion into our conservation programs. And, in nutrition, which has been so important to our leadership, we will see an additional $10 billion in investment in nutrition programs.

And, finally on the energy title; we hear so much talk about our need to be less dependent upon foreign energy, we need to step up to the plate and do something. We should have done it years ago. But we cannot let this farm bill go without having a significant investment in energy. And we are proud of the work that we have been able to do on the energy title, particularly in the area of cellulosic ethanol. We think that we are going to have a program that is going to allow us to begin to wean ourselves off the dependency upon foreign energy.

So, Mr. Speaker, I believe that the conferees are working hard, they are making significant progress, but we need a little bit more time to accomplish our product.

I urge support.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, a procedural matter. I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 2954, introduced earlier today by Senator Harkin.

Mr. President, I ask if there is objection to proceeding?

This would follow both you and Senator Nelson.

I am informed we have to get this bill to the House right away.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with, no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume.

I rise in support of the temporary farm bill extension that will extend some of the provisions of the 2002 farm bill so that the conferees can attempt to finalize this bill. I share my colleague's perspective over there. I think progress has been made, and we need to bring this to a conclusion.

With that, I urge my colleagues to support this farm bill extension so that that work can be accomplished.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, and I will not object, I came to the floor last night to speak to a time extension for our colleagues on the farm bill.

I am speaking to the unanimous consent request and the extension, and I think it is appropriate at this time. It appears our colleagues have labored hard and long. We believe we have a compromise for the farm bill. This gives them adequate time to refine it and bring it to floor as a conference report for final consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on