Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
This legislation addresses a problem that you
may have seen in the news. In difficult economic times like these, it can be more cost-effective for farmers to let crops rot than to pay to harvest and distribute food that might not sell. This bill pays farmers to farm so they don't lose money, donates the food to people in need via food banks, and uses the state vehicle fleet to provide ad-hoc transportation infrastructure to get the food from point A to point B.
Previously, Frémont
appropriated hundreds of millions of dollars to farmer relief programs, the vast majority of which is still likely unutilized. This Act takes that money, already appropriated, and effectively loosens the criteria of which farms can receive it while allowing a small portion to be accessed for personnel/administrative costs and the vehicle fleet provision. Consequently, cost is likely not an issue here.
This is a simple solution to a severe problem, and I encourage my fellow MPs to pass it as soon as possible. I yield the floor.
