Opening Statements

House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson (PA-15) delivered the following opening statement at today's full committee hearing, "To consider H.R. 7567, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026.”

Remarks as prepared:

Good evening, everyone. Today, we will consider the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026. I appreciate all of you for your flexibility and dedication in rescheduling this markup after last week’s bad weather.

Before we begin, I want to acknowledge the empty seat in the room. Mr. LaMalfa was a staunch advocate for agriculture and a dear friend, and his presence today is dearly missed. I also want to thank Mr. Newhouse for stepping up as our new chair for the Subcommittee on Forestry and Horticulture.

I would also like to send my sincere condolences to Congressman Baird after the untimely passing of his wife, Danise. Jim, our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

The importance of what we are doing today as a committee cannot be overstated. It is clear that the policies of 2018 are no match for the challenges of 2026, and an update to the 2018 farm bill is long overdue.

The bill we are deliberating today didn’t spontaneously appear in the halls of Congress. It was formed out in the fields, pastures, and townhalls of our country.

We visited 3 states and one territory while crafting the new farm bill, and every provision is directly informed by what we learned from our stakeholders.

This is evident by the overwhelming support this legislation has received from the broad stakeholder community. To date, over 200 organizations have come out in support of this bill.

The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 is very similar to its namesake in 2024, with key updates for 2026. The provisions span across all 12 titles of the farm bill and build on the historic agricultural investments included in the Working Families Tax Cuts this past summer.

This bill restores regulatory certainty in the interstate marketplace, expands investments in rural communities, and brings science-backed management back to our national forests. Farm bill programs will improve risk management tools for specialty crop producers, lower energy costs in rural America, and prioritize American commodities on the global stage.

Importantly, the new farm bill also will expand producers’ access to credit, promote new technologies like precision agriculture, and enhance conservation programs for working lands.

Most of all, this is a practical farm bill that provides real and workable solutions.

It is inspired by 149 bipartisan marker bills. This is in addition to the many bipartisan priorities included in the farm bill that didn’t have formal marker bills filed. I am proud of the input and contributions to this bill from members on both sides of the aisle.

Since releasing text of this bill, this legislation has been mischaracterized by the Ranking Member. One of the most common misconceptions is related to the nutrition title, so I would like to clear up any confusion about that now.

Several investments across nutrition programs in the 2024 bill were not able to be included in this bill due to budgetary constraints and the inability to have a bipartisan dialogue on offsets.

This includes several of my priorities, including exemptions for income earned from employment and training programs and from older adults in the household from counting towards SNAP eligibility. We were also not able to restore access to SNAP for certain formerly incarcerated individuals.

Other provisions left out included crucial changes to strengthen program integrity in SNAP.

Unfortunately, I was informed that none of these provisions were a priority for the Ranking Member and that is why the bill before us today is different than the bill two years ago.

While we have not abandoned these priorities, more work is needed to ensure these investments are responsibly funded. It is irresponsible to move forward a bill that increases mandatory spending with no offsets.

I also need to address the recent misguided reporting on conservation funding. Let me be clear: There are no cuts to the conservation title. Anyone saying otherwise is improperly analyzing the CBO score.

Through the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, Republicans provided a historic investment into the permanent baseline of the conservation programs. The legislation before you contains an increase across the board in conservation funding, compared to FFNS 24 and the 2018 farm bill.

While we were limited in the reconciliation process, this proposal includes the bipartisan policy improvements to assist beginning farmers, advance soil health initiatives, protect private forest lands, and fund advancements in conservation technology.

This title is widely supported by farmers, ranchers, foresters, sportsmen, and the environmental community.

There is a lot of good being done in this bill, across all 12 titles. For the good of the people we represent, I encourage you all to vote based on what is in the bill, instead of based on what is not in the bill. The Ranking Member has denounced this bill because it doesn’t contain year-round E15, doesn’t provide emergency assistance for farmers, and doesn’t change tariff policy.

Had the Ranking Member ever broached those topics with me beforehand, I would have informed her that this is not the Energy and Commerce Committee, it is not the Appropriations Committee, and it is not the Ways and Means Committee, and those items are outside of our jurisdiction.

Throughout the creation of this farm bill, it was an open and honest process. My door was open to anyone who had practical, actionable items for improving ag policy. Every Member was given the opportunity to provide input. If I did not receive your priorities, that comes down to a breakdown in party leadership.

However, this weather delay has been a blessing in disguise. After hearing claims that over 300 democratic priorities were ignored, I was shocked. When my outreach to identify this list was ignored, I took action.

Over the last week I have been able to work individually with many of my democratic colleagues to hear priorities that were not communicated to me over the last eight months of negotiations. I believe our dialogue will be fruitful for our process today. If you are disappointed that a priority is not addressed in this text, please know that I understand, as the bill is missing many of my priorities as well. But we must not let perfect be the enemy of good.

Today, I hope the committee will work its will to improve this legislation and incorporate additional feedback from the many voices we represent. Members on both sides will offer amendments with policies I support.

However, I will reluctantly have to oppose any proposal that is not additive to the process and violates my goal of a bipartisan, cost-neutral farm bill.

Today is a step forward among many more to come.

I commit to work with everyone who approaches the table in good faith, as I have always done, as we meet the moment for our farmers, ranchers, foresters, and consumers.

Again, thank you all for your work and engagement thus far. Our farmers, ranchers, and rural communities are relying on us to step up and advocate for them as we work through the 12 titles of this bill.

With that, I now yield to the Ranking Member, Mrs. Craig.