Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman and my friend from Louisiana for hosting this Special Order hour and for all that he is doing to get the conservative voice out there.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to deliver the 13th installment of my farm bill impact series during a time when the effects of a poor wheat harvest in Kansas are only compounded by crushing inflation.

This is insult added to injury for Kansas wheat farmers. Producers are laboring under the burden of skyrocketing input costs while they work hard to keep our country fed, fueled, and clothed, and they deserve a workable solution to this inflation crisis before the situation gets any worse.

Farming is already a risky, volatile business without the added burden of inflation, and USDA estimates that input costs will continue to rise at astronomical rates throughout 2022.

For an example of the risk of volatility--the wheat harvest just ended in Kansas, and the results were a fraction of the yield that farmers in the Wheat State hope for and bank on for normal seasons. The farm bill, which Congress will reauthorize in 2023, exists, in part, specifically for situations like this past wheat season--to provide emergency assistance to the people who feed, fuel, and clothe the world even when Mother Nature doesn't cooperate.

The weather in Kansas can be extreme and unpredictable, which means that growing wheat in the Wheat State can be a difficult prospect at times.

I had an intern in my office this summer named Parker Vulgamore who is a rising senior at Kansas State University where he serves as the student body president. He is also a member of the sixth generation of his family's farm in Scott City, which lies in my district.

Vulgamore Family Farms is a wheat, corn, and sorghum operation, with wheat being a staple. This year, due to an exceptional drought and extreme conditions throughout the growing season, much of the wheat never grew past 3 inches tall.

You don't have to farm to know that that is not good. What is typically a highly anticipated 3- to 4-week wheat harvest only lasted a day and a half. Many wheat farmers in Kansas barely even ran their combines this year--they harvested what they could, cut their losses, and moved on.

This is where farm bill emergency assistance programs like crop insurance come in. Crop insurance serves producers and consumers alike because it helps prevent producers from going out of business and grocery store aisles from sitting empty.

Farm bill programs like crop insurance have secured our national food supply and helped generation after generation of producers avoid bankruptcy when times get tough. We are in those times right now.

Inflation is skyrocketing in America. President Biden is trying to impose his farm killer tax, and at the same time, producers are going out of business. The chance to reauthorize the farm bill for 2023 has come at a critical moment in time.

The farm crisis isn't just about money. It is about morale and spirit. It is about joy. Missing wheat harvest time in Kansas doesn't just mean missing out on the yield of a cash crop. It means missing out on the special Kansas tradition of celebrating the culmination of all your family's hard work. It means missing out on grandma's casserole in the harvest field and missing out on seeing your mom in the semi, your dad on the combine, and your little brother getting to drive the grain cart for the first time.

A bad wheat harvest in Kansas doesn't just create financial insecurity. It also leaves a void where a renewal of family camaraderie should be.

American agricultural producers are hurting not only from the skyrocketing input costs that come with inflation but also from the lowered morale that come with drought, thin margins, and a broken supply chain.

In 2023, Congress must reauthorize the farm bill with American farm families at the front of our minds because they are in crisis.

I will be back on the floor soon to deliver another installment of my farm bill impact series and highlight more programs and titles within the bill that I believe Congress must understand and support to ensure that agriculture thrives in America.

The people who feed, fuel, and clothe us all deserve our unwavering support. They also deserve a robust safety net in the farm bill and workable solutions to the inflation crisis before it is too late.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate a win for American farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers.

Fertilizer prices have been skyrocketing for over a year now, with the cost of urea ammonium nitrate, in particular, rising to record highs. Since March, I have been urging the U.S. International Trade Commission to suspend duties on UAN imports from Trinidad and Tobago, and this week, they did just that.

On July 18, the U.S. International Trade Commission rejected imposing final duties on urea ammonium nitrate, UAN, in its determination that antidumping activity surrounding UAN fertilizers in Trinidad and Tobago did not harm the U.S. fertilizer industry. With this determination, the ITC has finally responded to my three letters dating back to March, the legislation I introduced in that same month, and my testimony before them in June, all urging reconsideration of the initial duties.

I am proud to lead the charge on this effort. I will continue to monitor the situation, and I look forward to seeing the immediate removal of duties on UAN imports from Trinidad and Tobago, which is the most immediate opportunity for a near-term, partial remedy to the high cost of fertilizer facing U.S. farmers.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for hosting this very important Special Order hour, it is a hard-pressed thing and there is nothing more important that we can talk about right now.

I rise tonight to use my voice in defense of the voiceless, the unborn. Abortion has desensitized our Nation and I pray that the recent Supreme Court ruling wakes up our country to the horrors that we have visited upon our country's most vulnerable citizens whose lives have been snuffed out by abortion.

By 12 weeks of age, a baby has fully formed arms, hands, fingers, feet, and toes, a fully functional circulatory system and liver, and the capacity to experience pain--all at the weight of just 1 ounce and the length of 4 inches.

This is a miracle of God, and rather than stand in awe of it, some lawmakers would rather disregard it as meaningless. Abortion is not simply an elected medical procedure like getting your wisdom teeth taken out. There is another person involved--another eternal soul whom God created, loves, and sent his son, Jesus, to die for so that they might live.

The Supreme Court finally rectified their unthinkable wrong from 50 years ago, when the court legislated from the bench with Roe v. Wade and declared abortion a constitutional right grounded in a woman's right to privacy--a jurisprudential move that was shaky, biased, and flat wrong.

The United States is one of only eight countries in the world that permit abortion after 20 weeks of gestation, which means that 95 percent of the countries on Earth think that we are dead wrong on abortion. Now, as the Supreme Court has finally handed this decision back to the States, Americans will get to decide for themselves how abortion should be regulated.

It is easy to get caught up in the legislative language and forget that the numbers involved in the abortion issue are actual human beings. In the United States, 63.4 million people--Americans--have died from abortion over the last 50 years.

To put that number into context, that is roughly the entire population of the Midwest, which is estimated at 65 million people. Think about that.

Would our country notice if the collective populations of Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin were wiped out overnight? Would they miss these people?

That is the impact that abortion has had over the past 50 years.

I believe that life begins at conception, which is why I support adoptions, foster care, and crisis pregnancy centers that work tirelessly to care for mothers and their babies.

I take this moment to thank the pro-life movement at large in American and I am standing with you and thanking God that Roe v. Wade has finally been overturned.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to deliver the twelfth installment of my Farm Bill Impact Series: The Second State of Agriculture.

We are at the end of the second quarter, and one of the biggest issues facing agriculture across the board is the cost of things. Farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers are laboring under the skyrocketing input costs while they work hard to keep our country fed, fueled, and clothed. They deserve workable solutions to this inflation crisis before the situation gets any worse.

The U.S. farm economy crashed in the early to mid-1980s due in part to surging inflation. From 2000 to 2020, the average annual rate of inflation was 2.1 percent, which economists consider a normal rate of inflation that helps drive overall economic growth. Last year, prices increased 7 percent overall throughout 2021, which was the largest December-to-December percentage change since 1981.

Inflation is a matter of life and death for the American farm. We saw it in the early 1980s, and now we are seeing it again. Farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers are feeling the effects of inflation more acutely than almost anyone else in America.

In agriculture, commodity prices generally rise during periods of inflation, but input costs rise as well. Data collected by USDA shows that over the past three decades, on average, the input costs for U.S. farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers tend to increase more than the rate of inflation and more than the prices that they receive for their products. To make matters worse, USDA estimates that input costs will continue to rise at least 5 to 6 percent throughout 2022.

In the last 12 months, feed, supplies, and repairs are all up 13 percent while ag chemicals, building materials, and machinery are all up 21 percent.

Most shockingly, just during the last 12 months, fuel is up 115 percent, natural gas is up 202 percent, and fertilizer is up 220 percent.

Think about that. This year it is costing farmers more than double what it cost last year to farm their land.

The farm bill contains relief safety net programs like crop insurance and livestock indemnity, but these programs don't account for the rising costs of fuel, fertilizer, pesticides, and seed. Agriculture is a business, and business owners can't afford to lose money year after year, which is happening now thanks to skyrocketing inflation. We need to get this situation under control.

A Kansas wheat grower recently said to me:

``Fertilizer is one of the largest expenses on any commercial farming operation. My farm has already used more than 450 tons of fertilizer for this cropping season, which includes nearly 350,000 pounds of UAN, specifically. Even though we cut back on how much we use because of the increased price, it will still cost our farm almost $70,000 more than last year. Looking forward, we will undoubtedly have to cut back on fertilizer again until prices begin to come down.''

Fertilizer cost is a major problem, but the rising cost of everything else is only compounding the issue further. For instance, if you are a Kansas rancher looking to replace all the fence on your farm with 4- barb, Red Brand wire, last year you would have been quoted $10,000 per mile. This year, quotes are coming in at around $20,000 a mile, so it has doubled. Think about that.

From fertilizer to fuel to equipment to fencing, inflation is crushing producers across this country. How can small business owners keep up with this? How can we expect the people who bear the responsibility of feeding, fueling, and clothing the world to shoulder that burden while going broke from doing so?

The people who make sacrifices so that we can eat can't afford to buy gas to drive their kids to school right now. They can't afford to pay their mortgages. American farmers are perfectly capable of producing plentiful, healthy affordable food, but no matter how much they grow and sell, inflation is killing their margins and they are going out of business.

How does the Biden administration respond to this crisis? Well, the President's budget proposal dismantles the stepped-up basis and imposes new capital gains taxes like the farm killer tax on small businesses held in families for 90 years or more. These proposals would destroy thousands of American family farms overnight. House Democrats, for their part, would like to distract the Federal Reserve with social policy while inflation is at a 40-year high.

These ideas are a slap in the face to every American farmer, rancher, and agricultural producer. While this administration burns through money like there is no tomorrow, American producers are working tirelessly to keep America secure despite the effects of inflation on their businesses. We owe them not only a debt of gratitude, but also real solutions to the inflation crisis before it is too late.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the legacy of the McGovern-Dole Food for Education and Childhood Nutrition Program, named in part after a Kansas legend, the late Senator Bob Dole.

The McGovern-Dole program has provided 5.5 billion school meals benefiting 31 million school-age children in 48 countries over the last two decades, improving the food security, nutrition, literacy, and primary education of these children and their families. When schools closed due to COVID, the program distributed 23,000 metric tons of commodities to more than 1.7 million children and their families. This program is a success story of public-private partnership.

Representative McGovern and I have a resolution before the House expressing this body's commitment to building on the success of the McGovern-Dole program and supporting the American farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers who provide the commodities required for it to function.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this resolution, submit appropriation requests for funding, and ensure that this program can continue to support nutrition and education for children around the world.

Madam Speaker, in preparation for reauthorizing the Farm Bill in 2023, I rise today to deliver the eleventh installment of my Farm Bill Impact Series, where I am highlighting various aspects of the Farm Bill that deserve Congress' awareness and support. We need robust biosecurity in America not only because we need to eat in order to survive, but also because strong American agriculture will help keep our country free and self-determining as a Nation.

Manhattan, KS, the home of my alma mater Kansas State University, is also home to the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, or NBAF. This state-of-the-art, 700,000 square foot facility will be a national asset that helps protects our nation's agriculture against the threat and potential impact of serious animal diseases. Experts believe that 75 percent of new and emerging infectious animal diseases can be transmitted from animals to humans. NBAF will be home to the only maximum biocontainment space in the country, where USDA will be conduct comprehensive research, develop vaccines and anti-virals, and explore enhanced diagnostic and training capabilities.

The United States Department of Agriculture is currently working with the Department of Homeland Security to bring NBAF online by this December, and to begin establishing partnerships between two key sectors heavily invested in animal health: academia and industry. Working with scientists and other industry professionals, NBAF will create new safety and security guidelines that will be critical for the prevention of future pandemics. Currently, scientists are conducting this very important research in New York at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center, which is more than 60 years old. NBAF will replace this aging facility, create 400 local jobs for Kansans, generate over $100 million in total economic benefit for our state, and make Kansas the home of internationally recognized animal disease experts. NBAF isn't just an exciting development for Kansas, it also marks the future of biodefense research that will protect the United States and the world.

The 2018 Farm Bill contained special authorization for biosecurity planning and response, which helped make NBAF possible. That version of the bill explicitly mentioned, ``the coordination of tactical science activities to protect the integrity, reliability, sustainability, and profitability of the food and agricultural system of the United States against biosecurity threats from pests, diseases, contaminants, and disasters.'' NBAF is a concrete example of the impact that we can have when we reauthorize the Farm Bill in careful and creative ways.

During National Agriculture Month in March, I brought House Agriculture Committee Republican Leader GT Thompson on an Ag tour of Kansas where I was proud to show him NBAF. The technology, scale, and international significance of the facility is truly second to none. Once fully operational in December, NBAF won't just support and protect agriculture, it will protect our country and the world. I'll be back on the floor soon to deliver another installment of my Farm Bill Impact Series and highlight more programs and titles within the Bill that I believe Congress must understand and support to ensure that agriculture thrives in America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in opposition to H.R. 7606.

I support our country's farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers because they are the lifeblood of America. They keep us food and fuel secure and therefore free and self-determining as a Nation.

I cosponsor the Year-Round Fuel Choice Act, which would address limitations on Reid vapor pressure and allow for producers to supply, and consumers to purchase, E15 year-round. I have supported this measure long before my time in Congress, and I will continue to be a strong proponent of year-round E15. A temporary waiver is not enough. We must make this decision permanent and provide certainty to producers. That bill is now part of H.R. 7606.

I cosponsor the Butcher Block Act, which would codify the authority for the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants and loans to expand meat and poultry processing capacity. I support consumer choice. That bill is now part of H.R. 7606.

In the House Agriculture Committee, I voted in favor of four other bills that are now part of H.R. 7606, but today's vote is disappointing because House Democrats ignored an effort made by Mr. Davis and others, one I am proud to cosponsor, to include an amendment separating these good pro-agriculture bills from a poison pill. Included in H.R. 7606 is a provision that would create a politically charged special investigator office at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate and prosecute food producers in America.

You heard that right. The original H.R. 7606 and a provision in today's so-called Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act would create a new office at USDA to investigate and prosecute the people who work to feed us. I represent the Big First District of Kansas, which ranks number one in the country for the value of sales of cattle and calves at more than $9 billion annually. We see the entire beef supply chain in the Big First, from cow-calf producers to cattle feeders and packers. Under the Packers and Stockyards Division at USDA, all of those players, all of them, are already subject to strict inspection. Under H.R. 7606, they would be subject to a type of politically charged scrutiny we expect of no other related business.

Do you think that a Democratic-controlled Congress and USDA would stop there? No. H.R. 7606 would set the horrible precedent for political administrations to inspect and prosecute anything and anyone they disagree with.

Mr. Speaker, today it is packing facilities, tomorrow it is cornfields and biofuel facilities, or wheat growers and milling stations. I support farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers in this country, and I am disappointed this poison pill is included.

Madam Speaker, in preparation for reauthorizing the farm bill

in 2023, I rise today to deliver the eleventh installment of my farm bill impact series, where I am highlighting various aspects of the farm bill that deserve Congress' awareness and support. We need robust biosecurity in America not only because we need to eat in order to survive, but also because strong American agriculture will help keep our country free and self-determining as a Nation.

Manhattan, Kansas, the home of my alma mater, Kansas State University, is also home of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility or NBAF. This state-of-the-art 700,000-square foot facility will be a national asset that helps protect our Nation's agriculture against the threat and potential impact of serious animal diseases. Experts believe that 75 percent of new and emerging infectious animal diseases can be transmitted from animals to humans. NBAF will be home to the only maximum biocontainment space in the country, where USDA will conduct comprehensive research, develop vaccines and antivirals, and explore enhanced diagnostic and training capabilities.

The United States Department of Agriculture is currently working with the Department of Homeland Security to bring NBAF online by December and to begin establishing partnerships between two key sectors heavily invested in animal health: academia and industry. Working with scientists and other industry professionals, NBAF will create new safety and security guidelines that will be critical for the prevention of future pandemics. Currently, scientists are conducting this very important research in New York at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center, which is more than 60 years old. NBAF will replace this aging facility, create 400 local jobs for Kansans, generate over $100 million in total economic benefit for our State, and make Kansas the home of internationally recognized animal disease experts. NBAF isn't just an exciting development for Kansas, it also marks the future of biodefense research that will protect the United States and the rest of the world.

The 2018 farm bill contained special authorization for biosecurity planning and response, which helped make NBAF possible. That version of the farm bill explicitly mentioned the coordination of ``tactical science activities . . . that protect the integrity, reliability, sustainability, and profitability of the food and agricultural system of the United States against biosecurity threats from pests, diseases, contaminants, and disasters.'' NBAF is a concrete example of the impact that we can have when we authorize the farm bill in careful and creative ways.

During National Agriculture Month in March, I brought House Agriculture Committee Republican leader GT Thompson on an ag tour of Kansas, where I was proud to show him NBAF. The technology, scale, and international significance of the facility are truly second to none. Once fully operational in December, NBAF won't just support and protect agriculture; it will protect our country and the world.

I will be back on the floor soon to deliver another installment of my farm bill impact series and highlight more programs and titles within the bill that I believe Congress must understand and support to ensure that agriculture thrives in America.

Importance of Livestock Indemnity

Madam Speaker, I rise today to follow up on a speech that I gave in March about the importance of the farm bill emergency assistance programs like livestock indemnity.

Agriculture is a risky business, and Mother Nature is a tough business partner. Over the past couple of weeks, Kansas producers have been losing cattle due to extreme temperatures, and qualified producers will be able to recoup some of their losses through the livestock indemnity program.

Just like the flooding and wildfires we saw in Natoma and the surrounding areas last year, this is another example of how essential the farm bill emergency assistance programs are to our country's food supply and the people who produce it.

Emergency programs like livestock indemnity are investments in the future of our country, and they help ensure that America remains food secure and self-determining as a Nation.

Natural disasters, diseases, and weather emergencies happen, and we can't afford to let them cripple the business of the men and women who keep us fed, fueled, and clothed. That is why emergency assistance programs like livestock indemnity must remain strong in the 2023 farm bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize a great Kansan, Dale Moore, and to congratulate him on his retirement from a career of dedicated service to farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers.

Dale grew up on a livestock, hay, and grain farm in Copeland, KS, which lies in my district--the Big First. He went to Fort Hays State University, worked for Kansas Pork Producers Council, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, and Senator Pat Roberts. In 2001, President Bush appointed Dale to serve as the Chief of Staff at USDA, after which he served as the Legislative Director for the House Agriculture Committee. Most recently, Dale has been serving as Executive Vice President at the American Farm Bureau Federation, where his presence will be deeply missed.

Dale has tirelessly advocated for agriculture for more than 40 years, and he never forgot his southwest Kansas roots or the values he learned there: hard work, others before self, and personal responsibility. I am grateful for Dale's leadership and service, and I offer him, his wife Faith, and their family my best wishes as they begin this new adventure. Congratulations to Dale.

Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Arrington for doing this tonight. I thank him for being such a champion and continuing to raise this issue, which is incredibly important to all of the Midwest, the West Coast, the East Coast, our entire country, vitally important.

I enjoyed the trip to west Texas the other day, and, yes, they grow more cotton than we do in Kansas, without a doubt.

As mentioned already, we are more than $30 trillion in debt. We have added almost $6 trillion in the last 2\1/2\ years, mostly in the name of COVID. We spent more money in the name of fighting COVID than we spent to win World War II, in inflation-adjusted dollars. Let that sink in. It is absolutely mind-blowing.

The debt is now $92,000 per American. For every American, your share of the American debt is $92,000. For my wife and four kids, our family's share is $552,000.

When you rack up this kind of debt, you really only have two choices. When you spend out of your means, you can pass it on in debt or you can raise taxes. I am really concerned with the potential tax increases that this out-of-control spending will lead to.

That is why I rise today, because America is facing an economic crisis, and Democrat leaders are failing to provide the American people with any real solutions. Instead, they are just making things worse. Two aspects of this administration's budget proposal will cause irreparable harm to the economy and health of rural America.

House Democrats, for their part, want to distract the Federal Reserve with social policy while inflation is at a 40-year high. We have to solve this problem by decreasing spending, not by increasing taxes.

In America today, farmers, ranchers, and ag producers are coping with problems that this administration has caused, like a broken supply chain, rampant inflation, and labor shortages. Now, the administration is threatening the stepped-up basis again and seeking to impose new capital gains taxes on the people who feed, fuel, and clothe us all. When the assets of family farms transfer to the next generation, the Federal Government should not jump in and impose taxes on the unrealized gain of these assets to pay for this out-of-control spending. This principle is called the stepped-up basis. It has a long precedent in the tax code, and President Biden wants to dismantle it to pay for all of this spending.

Adding insult to injury, the President's budget imposes capital gains taxes on farms that have been in families for more than 90 years. Think about that. In 1940, the average cost of Kansas farmland was $50 an acre. Now, irrigated land is over $4,000 per acre. Imagine the capital gains tax implications on that history of ownership. This proposal would impose hundreds of thousands of dollars in new capital gains taxes on farmers, killing most farms overnight.

In March, I introduced a bipartisan resolution, along with 82 of my colleagues, that supports the preservation of the stepped-up basis and opposes any efforts to impose new taxes on family farms and small businesses.

The President's budget is an attempt to extort money from rural Americans to pay for his party's Big Government, socialist spending spree. The farm-killer tax and the elimination of the stepped-up basis aren't game changers for American family farms; they are game enders. Congress owes unwavering support to the American farmers, ranchers, and ag producers.

A few days ago, the Department of Labor released yet another report of record-breaking inflation for the month of May, the highest in over 40 years. House Democrats are responding this week by forcing a vote on a bill that would handcuff the Federal Reserve and force them to focus on social policy in addition to their statutory mandates of fighting high inflation and dealing with the unemployment rate, the missions for which the Federal Reserve was created. As if the economists at the Fed don't have enough to worry about, House Democrats now want to assign them the task of setting social policy. Unbelievable.

President Biden and Washington Democrats are completely out of touch with the American people on this issue of inflation, and they are out of touch with the needs of rural Americans. They need to wake up to reality and get to work on providing real solutions to the problems that Americans are facing.

Record spending and debt will lead to America's demise, and we cannot allow that to happen under our watch.

Which will lead to hungry Americans. When you are well fed, you have a lot of problems. When you are not well fed, you have one problem.

Madam Speaker, in preparation for reauthorizing the farm bill in 2023, I rise today to deliver the tenth installment of my farm bill impact series where I am highlighting various aspects of the farm bill that deserve this Congress' awareness and support.

Rural Development programs exist within the farm bill because the people of rural America, many of whom work to feed, fuel, and clothe us all, must remain connected to their families, local communities, and the world to do their jobs.

Communities are made up of families, and families in rural areas need well-built affordable housing in order to thrive. USDA Rural Development's Single Family Housing Programs enable families and individuals to buy, build, or repair affordable homes located in rural America. Through these programs, qualifying individuals can finance a new home with no money down or get financial assistance to repair their wells, hookups to rural water, septic, plumbing, heating, air- conditioning, and electrical systems, insulation, and storm shelters or safe rooms.

USDA Rural Development is also committed to helping improve the economy and quality of life in rural America, and every strong community needs strong local businesses. The Business and Industry Loan Guarantee program improves the economic health of rural communities by increasing access to business capital through loan guarantees, as well as enabling commercial lenders to provide affordable financing to rural businesses.

In Healy, Kansas, the Sharp Brothers Seed Company has sold native grass seeds since 1958. They needed additional working capital to build up their inventory for a Conservation Reserve Program enrollment, so they used the USDA Rural Development Business and Industry program to secure a $5 million guaranteed loan for additional working capital. This program helped make their operation stronger than ever before, which is good for rural Kansas.

Finally, strengthening rural broadband will help ensure that rural Americans, agricultural producers included, can keep pace with an increasingly tech-driven society and international marketplace. I believe that taxpayer dollars must be spent judiciously on existing broadband programs, and the goals set by the USDA and the FCC must be realistic.

Last summer, the House Agriculture Committee advanced the Broadband Internet Connections for Rural America Act out of committee, which authorizes $43 billion toward critical infrastructure in rural communities. I also joined several of my House Republican colleagues and introduced legislation that would leverage the ReConnect program with some of the 2018 rural broadband investments in rural areas with little or no internet access.

The ReConnect program is an example of a successful public-private partnership. Its matching grants help cover the cost of cable, implementation, and installment for broadband in rural

communities. I support whatever directly benefits the resilient people of rural America, because they are the lifeblood of this country. That is why I support the Rural Development programs within the farm bill, and why I am bringing awareness to them now to ensure that these programs remain strong in the 2023 farm bill.

I will be back to the floor soon to deliver another installment of my farm bill impact series and highlight more programs and titles within the bill that I believe Congress must understand and support to ensure that agriculture and rural America thrives in this country.

Congratulating Dale Moore on his Retirement

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize a great Kansan, Dale Moore, and to congratulate him on his retirement from a career of dedicated service to farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers.

Dale grew up on a livestock, hay, and grain farm in Copeland, Kansas, which lies in my district, the Big First of Kansas. He went to Fort Hays State University, worked for Kansas Pork Producers Council, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, and Senator Pat Roberts.

In 2001, President Bush appointed Dale to serve as chief of staff at USDA, after which he served as legislative director for the House Agriculture Committee. Most recently, Dale has been serving as executive vice president at the American Farm Bureau Federation where his presence will be deeply missed.

Dale has tirelessly advocated for agriculture for more than 40 years, and he never forgot his southwest Kansas roots or the values he learned there: hard work, others before self, and personal responsibility.

I am grateful for Dale's leadership and service, and I offer him, his wife, Faith, and their entire family my best wishes as they begin this new adventure.

Congratulations, Dale.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Jan Lyons, a great Kansan and this year's winner of the 2022 Jay B. Dillingham Award for Agricultural Leadership and Excellence.

Jan is certainly a deserving recipient of such an honor. As a young person, she got started raising her own angus cattle with a few of her dad's cows. In the 1970s, Jan and her husband Frank Lyons started the Lyons Ranch Angus cowherd south of Manhattan, Kansas, with some of the females originating from her father's herd. Today, Lyons Ranch consists of Jan and Frank and with their daughter Amy and her husband Karl, along with their sons with their wives. Jan's daughter Debbie also manages a cattle operation with her husband. Jan is the matriarch of a true family operation, which is why I'm delighted to honor her here today.

Jan was the first woman president of the Kansas Angus Association. She was also the president of the Kansas Livestock Association and the president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. With all this on her plate, Jan has still found time to serve as a 4-H leader in Riley County where she teaches young people about the importance of agriculture.

Jan has received a great deal of praise for being a trailblazing woman in agriculture. In response to this praise, Jan once said, ``Women have always been in agriculture--they just haven't always been the spokespeople. I would like to think that I am just a good rancher and good leader--not a good woman rancher.'' Well Jan, you are a great rancher and an outstanding leader.

I congratulate Jan on her well-deserved award, and thank her for all her hard work on behalf of Kansas agriculture.

Madam Speaker, in preparation for reauthorizing the farm bill in 2023, I rise today to deliver the eighth installment of my farm bill impact series, where I am highlighting various aspects of the farm bill that deserve Congress' awareness and support.

The food aid programs within the farm bill not only support the nutrition of millions of Americans struggling with hunger, but they also help to stop global conflicts before they start.

Kansas is the Wheat State, and wheat is the number one commodity used in U.S. donations for international food aid. If you combine all the aid destinations, they amount to a top 10 market for U.S. wheat.

The last two farm bills have granted USAID flexibility in implementing aid programs, which has resulted in the U.S. purchasing from other countries more than half of the total food we give out.

That is a noble thing to use our resources to help hungry people overseas, but our government should prioritize the commodities of American farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers as we carry out this good work abroad.

International food assistance programs work alongside legislation to help stabilize countries ravaged by famine and war, reduce terrorism, and give people an alternative from fleeing their homeland just to find food.

For instance, I introduced a resolution condemning and prohibiting the

use of hunger as a weapon, which some bad actors do in countries suffering from war and natural disasters. Food aid programs work alongside the legislation to avert food shortages in such countries, making it more difficult for anyone to use hunger as a weapon in the first place.

The farm bill has some excellent programs for international food assistance that I believe should be reauthorized.

The Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust is a special authority in the 2018 farm bill that allows USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance to respond to unanticipated food crises abroad. I just sent a bipartisan letter earlier this month asking the President to release

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great Kansan, Dennis Jones, on the occasion of his retirement.

In 1982, Dennis moved from Colorado to Kansas to begin working at the Tyson Fresh Meats plant in Holcomb. He started out as an hourly employee on the harvest floor and worked his way up. Soon after proving himself to be knowledgeable and committed to his job, he moved up to the role of department head.

Dennis spent time at the Amarillo plant, learning about different departments and operations within the business, after which he came back to Holcomb in 2006. He quickly became the new operations manager and then moved up again to his current role as complex plant manager.

I love Dennis' story because it exemplifies hard work, tenacity, looking for open doors, and staying committed to a calling that requires skill, intuition, attention to detail, and relationship- building.

Dennis is the type of guy that embodies grit, agriculture, and conservative Kansas values.

On his last day at Tyson, Dennis plans to return his computer in the morning and then spend the rest of the day with the hourly employees on the harvest floor.

This is a great man whose career and legacy I am proud to honor here today.

Congratulations on your retirement, Dennis.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the memory of Bob Foote, a tremendous Kansan who passed away on March 25th. Bob was a man of many talents. He built one of the largest cattle operations in America, feeding 550,000 head a year and employing 400. He and his wife Gail also built an amazing family who will carry on his legacy and lead the Foote Cattle Company into the future.

Bob had tenacity, grit, confidence, and he wasn't afraid to embrace an aggressive approach to business. His motto was ``Get It''--which he would say to remind those around him to never give up and keep pushing forward. Bob was a staunch conservative who could often be found giving one of his trademark ``Bob Foote lectures'' on politics. He was a true patriot, and most importantly, now that he has gone on to heaven, he was a man of great faith.

From the farm and headquarters in eastern Kansas, to ranchland in the Flint Hills, to feed yards in Western Kansas. I am hard pressed to think of any Ag producer who had such an impact on the entirety of Kansas agriculture. Whether he was buying cattle or sharing his faith and work ethic with his grandchildren, Bob believed that he should use the talents that God gave him to be the best man he could be. He is now able to reunite with his beloved Colleen and together watch over his legacy--the Foote Cattle Company--and gaze proudly on his spouse Gail and sons Scott, Brad, and Greg as they continue to lead the industry and Kansas Agriculture forward.

May Bob Foote rest in peace.