Keep Them on the Farm

Floor Speech

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, the regulators are going after America's farms. Now they are considering prohibiting kids from working on farms. Growing up on a farm teaches kids valuable lessons and a strong work ethic.

Now the Federal Government is contemplating prohibiting kids from doing chores on their uncle's farm, including ``the storing, marketing, and transporting of farm product raw materials.''

According to the Department of Labor, ``prohibited places of employment would include county grain elevators, grain bins, feedlots, stockyards, and livestock exchanges.''

Anyone under 16 would not be allowed to drive any type of power equipment, including tractors. So if the farmer wants to hire a young boy to help him move some hay, it'd be a crime?

People who know nothing about farms are trying to stop educating our future farmers, because a lot of thesefarm kids grow up to be farmers. Now we're faced with the problem that the average farmer in the United States is over 50.

If the regulators have their way, and young people are shut out, there will be a lost generation of American farmers. This ought not to be, but that's just the way it is.

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