Newhouse Stands Up for Rural America

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) participated in a Special Order to highlight the strength of American agriculture and the impacts the Biden Administration’s policies are having on rural communities like Central Washington around the country. 

Click here to hear Rep. Newhouse’s remarks.

As a lifelong farmer, former director of agriculture for Washington state, and current Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, Rep. Newhouse has been a champion for agriculture, fighting against burdensome regulations that impact rural communities across the nation.

Rep. Newhouse’s remarks as prepared can be found in full below:

Thank you, Mr. Mann for your leadership,

Mister/Madam Speaker, I rise today to talk about something that affects every single person in this room: American Agriculture.

Central Washington is made up of honest, hardworking, freedom-loving Americans who provide food and fiber for this nation, and my community is home to some of the most dedicated and innovative agriculture producers in the country.

Washington’s farmers and ranchers produce over 300 commodities, including high-quality hay, wheat, beef, dairy, and winegrapes, hops, potatoes, cherries, mint, and Washington’s iconic apple.

Blessed with the conditions to produce such a diverse range of crops, Central Washington is proud to share its natural abundance in helping feed the country—and the world. Those of us who live there have a deep appreciation for our nation’s farmers and recognize how important it is that we have a strong domestic agriculture sector.

But lately, President Biden and his far-left Democrats are so focused on radically altering the country with their trillion-dollar spending proposals. They’re blind to the impacts their own policies are already having on Americans across the country. The cost of living is at a 40-year high—and is still going up. Now they are looking to raise taxes, again, on small businesses and family farms.

As a lifelong farmer, former director of agriculture for Washington state, and current Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, I understand the vested interest we share in supporting our agriculture producers—and I am proud to join my House Republican colleagues in advocating against burdensome regulations that impact rural communities and for real solutions—not just empty promises—to our farmers and ranchers, to our farmworkers, and to all Americans who deserve a strong food supply chain.

I introduced the first serious agriculture labor reform bill to pass the House in over 30 years, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, to ensure those who wish to come to our country, abide by our laws, and contribute to our farms, ranches, and local communities are able to do so.

I, alongside my Republican colleagues, am leading the effort to stop our foreign adversaries, like Communist China, from gobbling up American farmland and taking control of our food supply chain.

I’m protecting our hydroelectric dams that provide baseload power for Central Washington and beyond and serve as a sustainable and efficient way to transport our nation’s crop exports. The Columbia River alone barges more than 50% of U.S. wheat destined for export, and barging on the Columbia and Snake Rivers keeps 700,000 semi-trucks off the roads—and their emissions out of the air—each year.

I’m leading the entire Congressional Western Caucus in fighting back against this Administration’s efforts to revive the single most overreaching federal regulation in history: the “Waters of the United States”—or WOTUS—rule. This dangerous policy empowers federal bureaucrats to place every single body of water—every ditch, puddle, and stream—under federal regulation, and as a result, the livelihoods of farmers and rural communities across the nation are at stake.

While it is clear to me – just as I know it is clear to my constituents—that President Biden and Democrats in control of Congress are failing to display the leadership America needs and deserves, there is a silver lining here. American agriculture is strong. We have overcome far worse and will not let these radical policies hold us back from our job of feeding this nation.

I call on the Biden Administration to take a good long look at how their policies are harming us here in Central Washington and in rural communities across the country and take immediate steps to reverse them. We deserve far better.

Thank you and I yield back…

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