Preserving America's Family Farms Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4157, the Preserving America's Family Farms Act, and I thank Representative Latham for his work on this issue.

Like many Hoosiers who worked on a farm during their youth, I believe we must encourage young men and women to participate in family farming and ranching.

Last September the Labor Department proposed regulations that would significantly limit the ability of young men and women to work on farms and ranches. They have since backed-off, but the law does not currently prevent them from bringing it up again. This legislation will explicitly prohibit the Department of Labor from pursuing these types of regulations and ensure that family farming and youth employment will be continued traditions in Indiana and throughout our Nation.

Despite the severe drought we are currently experiencing, young Hoosiers continue to look forward to summer jobs on the farm, where life lessons and a few dollars can be learned and earned along the way.

Mr. Speaker, I can think of few places better than an Indiana farm where a young person can truly learn the values of personal responsibility and hard work. And if America's farms are to continue to feed this nation and world, we must encourage young men and women to participate in farming and ranching. I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense, bipartisan legislation.

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