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Remarks as delivered:

I rise in strong support of H.R. 5290, our agriculture industry is the best, the greatest in the world and at the centerpiece of it is our livestock industry, and that is why we are gathered here; that livestock mandatory reporting is an important tool. 

It provides the necessary transparency information to our livestock producers. This legislation extends livestock mandatory reporting until the end of September 2022, and it has bipartisan support with Democrats and Republicans working together on this very, very important bill.  

And in talking about our great livestock producers, I've heard time and again how important it is to extend this mandatory reporting program and that if we let it lapse, it would cause significant problems for our farmers and ranchers. And we're working together to make sure we get the job done the right way. 

All of our industry groups agree on this important bill. And that is the one-year extension immediately of our livestock reporting. Our Agriculture Committee held hearings earlier this year that extensively covered the importance of livestock reporting, mandatory reporting and adhering. 

We also heard from a variety of very distinguished industry representatives that, first and foremost, we need to extend this program. My Committee's work on this issue-- and while I'm at it, I want to really give great thanks and gratitude to our agriculture staff. They work very diligently on this, and we're grateful for the hard work and dedication of the House Agriculture Committee staff. 

And so, as I said, my work on this issue is indicative of how important the livestock industry is to our fellow Committee members, both Democrats and Republicans, and to our nation, and the vital importance as the leading force in our nation's economy. That is where our great agriculture system is today. 

I’m aware of some ongoing discussions and pending legislation that seeks to reform the cattle industry, and we're going to deal with that. We are dealing with it over in the Senate Agriculture Committee and in our House Committee. 

However, we should not let negotiations of those reforms that we’re working with stand in the way of extending this vital program for one year. In recent months, we have seen cattle markets begin to recover. Prices for producers have moved up. 

This change in market dynamics is important to account for as we look to reach a consensus point on the framework of our reforms. This one-year extension will help to settle the concerns in the livestock markets and provide certainty to our livestock industry, while also giving our agriculture members in both the House and the Senate more time to come up with a consensus of the proposed reforms to cattle market. 

We in our House Committee are working with the Senate Agriculture Committee. I'm personally working with Senator Grassley on the Senate Committee so that we can have a bolder legislation going forward that has the vital input of both the House and the Senate.