madam chairman , i rise in strong support of h.r. 2744 .  madam chairman , the chairman and the new ranking minority member of the agriculture appropriations subcommittee have done an excellent job under very difficult circumstances .  madam chairman , i support this bill because it will ensure that important farm bill programs are administered -- as well as many of the important discretionary programs of usda .  madam chairman , the farm bill was developed in a responsible , forward-looking manner .  it was devised within the terms of the congressional budget , and while it addressed farm income , it also made substantial investments in research , in conservation , and in enhancing the nutrition programs that protect the needy .  but because of this congress ' failure to take a similar , forward-looking approach to government debt , this bill makes deep cuts in those farm bill programs that were so strongly supported in this house .  the fy 2004 agriculture appropriations bill made substantial cuts in farm bill programs , the fy 2005 bill went even farther , and this bill cuts them even more .  madam chairman , the appropriations committee ca n't be blamed for this situation .  they have worked on a bipartisan basis to provide the best bill possible in a bad situation .  but in order to meet the cap , this bill cuts these mandatory farm bill programs : the initiative for future agriculture and food systems ; rural broadband and local television initiatives , the wetlands reserve program , bioenergy and renewable energy development ; the eqip program , the conservation security program , the wildlife habitat incentives program , the farmland protection program , and others as well madam chairman , the farm bill -- which was developed in a very inclusive and bipartisan manner -- has been working very well .  in fact , during the time it has been in effect , commodity program spending has been $ 15 billion less than originally projected .  but our current fiscal policies are tearing the farm bill apart bit by bit .  i hope that soon we can end the partisanship that characterizes fiscal policy and work together towards a common solution .  madam chairman , once again i commend appropriations committee members on both sides for their work on this important bill and i urge my colleagues to vote for its passage .  