Dale Bumpers: “for the first time in nearly half a century, we are rapidly approaching the end of the first month of the first year in…”

“for the first time in nearly half a century, we are rapidly approaching the end of the first month of the first year in which American farmers are without a farm bill. To those not directly engaged in agriculture, this fact may be little more than a slightly interesting footnote to a much larger story of deadlock in Washington. Actually, the only people not involved in agriculture are those who don't eat. But to men, women, and families across this Nation whose livelihood comes from the production of food and fiber, this simple fact is keeping them awake at night. What is most striking and most disquieting about the failure to enact a farm bill on time is the apparent disregard by some Members of Congress to the plight of family farmers who are desperately calling me and other Senators for some signal of what to expect for the 1996 crop year. You can't blame them. If you look at the calendar you will see it is 1996 and farmers in my State, especially rice farmers, need to be in the fields in the next few weeks. Unfortunately, before they go into the fields, most farmers need to go into their banks. But bankers are unable to complete loans due to the uncertainty in farm policy that has resulted from just 1 year of Republican majorities in Congress.”