Jeff Flake: “Let me just pay tribute first to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind) for the hard work in bringing this amendment…”

“Let me just pay tribute first to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind) for the hard work in bringing this amendment and being the lead sponsor to the floor. It strikes me that the committee in this case, as the saying goes, is traipsing down a flower-strewn path unpricked by the thorns of reason. We are running headlong, whether we like it or not, into international trade agreements that will not coexist with the status quo bill. We cannot move forward and maintain the access we have to world markets or increase access to other world markets with this bill. We simply can't. Nor can we maintain the fiscal burden carrying this forward. We need a real reform bill, a reform bill that really looks out for family farms, as opposed to protecting those who are gobbling up family farms. That is what this reform bill is all about. Members of this body have wanted an opportunity to vote for a bill that doesn't increase taxes, that has real reform. This is that chance. This is the amendment. This is the chance to actually do that. We need real reform, reform that allows us to go forward, that allows the American farmer to actually become independent and independently competitive globally. The status quo bill, the committee bill, just doesn't do that. It doesn't cut direct payments. As much as we have heard that tonight, it doesn't. High prices have done that. There is no cut in direct payments at all here. Only prices have done that. I urge support of this amendment.”