Farm Bill Impact No. Nbaf Ribbon Cutting

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to deliver the 20th installment of my farm bill impact series and celebrate this week's ribbon cutting at USDA's National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kansas, in the heart of my district.

It has been 8 years since the facility's groundbreaking in 2015, and now this state-of-the-art, 700,000-square-foot research center is a national asset that will help protect animal agriculture against the threat and potential impact of serious animal diseases.

NBAF will be home to the only maximum biocontainment space in the country where USDA will conduct comprehensive research, develop animal vaccines and antivirals, and explore enhanced diagnostic and training capabilities. This facility isn't just about animal health. It is about public health, as well.

NBAF will replace the 60-year-old Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York, create 400 new jobs for Kansans, generate more than $100 million in total economic benefit for our State, and make Kansas the home of internationally recognized animal disease experts.

By bringing healthy animals into the facility, world-renowned research will happen here. I am proud to have this facility in my district and right down the street from K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine and the Biosecurity Research Institute, creating a scientific hub that will lead the world in agriculture research and health.

Last month, I chaired my first hearing of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry on animal health with USDA Under Secretary Moffitt. Animal health is at the forefront of livestock producers' minds, and so it is at the forefront of my mind on their behalf.

This year's farm bill is an opportunity to lead in the areas of innovation and research. We must get animal health right for our food security, economic security, and national security.

The 2018 farm bill contained special authorization for biosecurity planning and response, which helped make NBAF possible. NBAF is a concrete example of the impact that we can have when we reauthorize the farm bill in careful and creative ways.

Last year, I hosted House Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson on an ag tour of Kansas, where I was proud to show him NBAF. Last month, I hosted House Agriculture Committee staff and congressional staff from agriculture districts around the country for a tour of NBAF. The technology, scale, and international significance of the facility are truly second to none.

Once fully operational, NBAF won't just support and protect agriculture. It will protect our country and the world.

I will be back on the floor soon to deliver another installment of my farm bill impact series and highlight more programs and titles within the farm bill that I believe Congress must understand and support to ensure that agriculture thrives right here in America. Opposing a National Abortion Hotline

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to use my voice in defense of the voiceless.

Abortion has desensitized our Nation and resulted in the deaths of nearly 64 million unborn American citizens, which is basically the entire population of the Midwest.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, rectifying a wrong that has plagued our country for decades. While that is a huge triumph for the right to life, there is still a lot of work to be done.

Last month, the Biden administration announced that it plans to use $1.5 billion of taxpayer money to establish a national abortion hotline to counsel individuals on how to obtain an abortion and certain other family planning services.

According to the administration, the project will operate as a supplement to the existing Title X Family Planning services grant. The grant information states that one of the hotline's purposes will be to offer information, counseling, and referral for pregnancy termination.

The Public Health Services Act of 1970 established Title X funds to help low-income and uninsured women access healthcare and family planning services. From the beginning, Title X funds were never intended to support abortion services, and the underlying statute explicitly prohibits it.

In October 2021, however, the Biden administration finalized a rule that violated the spirit of this law by actively supporting abortion. It provided Title X funding to clinics that perform elective abortions by requiring grantees to make abortion referrals.

This new abortion hotline goes one step further.

Taxpayer dollars should never go toward funding abortions, but President Biden and his administration are continually attempting to use Title X funds to promote abortion services.

This week, I am leading a letter to President Biden to push back on this gross violation of the law, and I will be doing everything within my power to prevent this hotline from going live, including a piece of legislation that I plan to introduce soon.

I firmly believe that life begins at conception, and I will fight to protect the lives of all Americans, born and unborn. I will also continue to protect pregnancy resource centers and pro-life organizations from domestic terrorism.

As a proud father and member of the Values Action Team, I will strongly oppose any legislation that would endanger the lives of the unborn, and I will support legislation that protects the rights of the defenseless.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source