00:00Instead of a clean CR, this bill contains language that has been airdropped in that
00:06will destroy hemp farming in Kentucky and across the United States.
00:11Tucked away on page 163, Title VII, Division B of this spending package is a provision
00:19that will shut down the hemp industry across the United States.
00:23My amendment would strip the provision designed to regulate the hemp industry to death.
00:27The bill as it now stands overrides the regulatory frameworks of several states, cancels the
00:35collective decisions of hemp consumers, and destroys the livelihoods of hemp farmers.
00:41And it couldn't come at a worse time for America's farmers.
00:45Times are tough for our farmers.
00:47Farmers' costs have increased as the price of fertilizer and machinery have jumped, while
00:52prices for their crops like soybean, corn, and wheat have declined.
00:57For many farmers, hemp has proved to be a lifeline, a new cash crop.
01:02Farmers turn to growing hemp to mitigate the losses they've endured during this season
01:07of hardship.
01:08But that lifeline may soon be extinguished by this very legislation.
01:14The effective hemp ban included in this spending package is a result, we are told, of bad actors
01:20skirting the legal limits by overly enhancing the concentration of THC in their products.
01:25The hemp industry, myself and others, have come together, and we have been willing to negotiate
01:32to get rid of the bad actors.
01:34And yet, instead, we are met with legislation that would be prohibition.
01:42Members of the industry, myself and others who are advocates of this, have been willing
01:46to get rid of synthetic cannabinoids.
01:48We have been willing to compromise at every turn, but we are met with the numbers in this
01:52bill which will eradicate the hemp industry.
01:56For the last several weeks, we have offered proposals, with the goal of creating an environment
02:00in which the hemp industry could thrive and sell products.
02:04And we have been met with those who want to prohibit the industry from continuing.
02:10This bill's per-serving THC content limit would make illegal any hemp product that contains
02:17more than 0.4 milligrams.
02:20That would be nearly 100 percent of the existing market.
02:24The numbers put forward in this bill will eliminate 100 percent of the hemp products in
02:30our country.
02:32That amounts to an effective ban because the limit is so low that the products intended to
02:36manage pain or anxiety will lose their effect.
02:40The states have done what they're supposed to.
02:42The states have instituted laws.
02:45Twenty-three states have instituted laws on hemp.
02:48None of them have limits anywhere close to what is being proposed in this bill.
02:54So what will happen is most of the things that your states have regulated, are regulating,
02:59and have made legal will be made illegal by this bill.
03:04This bill will effectively preempt and nullify all state laws concerning hemp.
03:11Currently Maine limits THC to 3 milligrams per serving.
03:14That will be overruled.
03:16My home state limits THC to 5 milligrams in beverages.
03:19That will be overruled.
03:21Minnesota, Utah, Louisiana also have 5 milligrams per serving.
03:25Alabama and Georgia have 10 milligrams.
03:28The bill before us nullifies all these state laws and makes the hemp industry kaput.
03:37The language in this bill will outlaw all current hemp plants and seeds.
03:41It changes the definition of what a hemp plant is.
03:45It makes it so low that there may not even be an existing plant that can meet the parameters.
03:51That every plant in the country will have to be destroyed.
03:55Every hemp seed in the country will have to be destroyed.
03:58This is the most thoughtless, ignorant proposal to an industry that I've seen in a long, long
04:06time.
04:09The states have made progress, and more progress was coming.
04:12Most states have age limits.
04:15To add insult to injury, we are given this legislation and appropriation bills.
04:21We have senate rules against this.
04:24So I would recommend that we vote for this amendment.
04:29And my amendment would strip out the language.
04:31And I would like to transfer the remainder of my time to Senator Merkling.
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