Farmers make America strong, and they work every single day – from sunup to sundown – to keep is that way. Everyone can agree that a strong America begins with a strong agriculture community. In keeping with this solemn and fundamental understanding, House Republicans have taken important action this week to support American agriculture and those who proudly work within it. Let’s cover the facts.

H.R. 8646, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2027:

• Addresses foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land by improving the tracking system of foreign-owned land and adding the Secretary of Agriculture to the Committee on Foreign Investment to review agricultural land transactions by China, Russia, Iran, and others.
  
• Provides funding for land-grant universities to conduct agricultural research to ensure American producers are better equipped to compete with China.
  
• Maintains “Buy American” provisions that increase the federal government’s use of services, goods, products, and materials produced and offered within the United States.
  
• Increases resources for the Food Safety and Inspection Service to fund frontline meat and poultry inspectors and bolster support for state-level inspection programs.

This legislation is also fiscally responsible in that its total spending is 1.4% less than the previously enacted spending level – and it works to put the dedicated producers across our nation and American consumers first. I was proud, as always, to help move this legislation through the Rules Committee and to have supported it on the House floor. The agriculture community, and the men and women who support it, are the backbone of America, and we should ALWAYS remember that.

My Bill Just Passed

As I have called your attention to previously, House Republicans remain laser focused on confronting and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse of the tax dollars of hardworking Americans. This is an issue that we continue to make significant headway on every week. I’m pleased to share with you that this week, as part of those efforts, the House passed my bill, the Safeguarding Taxpayer Dollars in Child Care Act. In short, this legislation prevents child care providers who have been kicked out of one federal program for fraud from simply moving to another. Fraudsters who steal funds from hardworking American taxpayers deserve to be punished to the utmost extent of the law. 

To learn more about my bill, click here.

A Piece of American History 

The Battle of Saratoga occurred in September and October of 1777 at Freeman’s Farm and Bemis Heights in Saratoga, New York. After sustaining heavy losses on unfamiliar and foreign terrain, and being surrounded by American forces, British General John Burgoyne and the roughly 6,000 soldiers under his command surrendered in utter defeat. As a result, General Burgoyne’s campaign to capture control over the Hudson River Valley was put to an end. This victory is regarded as another turning point in the Revolutionary War – one that further cemented the ability of Americans to fend off British encroachment.

To learn more about the Battle of Saratoga, click here.

Quote of The Week

“When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization.” 

— Daniel Webster

Have a blessed weekend,