Pete Domenici: “I honestly believe that we would be better off if instead of continually adding emergencies for agriculture or anything…”

“I honestly believe that we would be better off if instead of continually adding emergencies for agriculture or anything else, if we were to add more money straight up to the appropriations process. I believe we ought to just ask the chairman and ranking member at the end of this year to add more money. But we ought not to, by the week, add emergencies. I know there are a number of bills--who knows where we will come out on them--that are taking care of problems by adding emergency provisions. I believe the chairman understands, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee understands our problem. I believe Senator Byrd understands our problem. The solution is not to add an emergency by the week, have a bill and then everybody comes running and we say: There is no room for it. Well, call it an emergency and then there will be room because it doesn't count against anything. I want to make another observation about the agricultural community. I probably have the best support or at least as good support as any Senator here from the agricultural community of my State. But I am not impressed with the year-in-year-out emergency requests of the agricultural community of this country. It is approaching the ridiculous.”