DENNIS A. CARDOZA: “I rise in strong support of overriding the misguided Presidential veto on the Farm, Conservation and Energy Act. It is…”

“I rise in strong support of overriding the misguided Presidential veto on the Farm, Conservation and Energy Act. It is extremely unfortunate that we must go through this exercise on legislation that is so critically important to both rural and urban America alike. The bipartisan conference report on the 2008 farm bill represents the blood, sweat, and tears of many members on this floor and of the other body of the agriculture committees and including myself. We have made significant reforms, preserved the safety net for American farmers, and dramatically increased domestic nutrition assistance. And for the first time in history we have given specialty crops a seat at the table. It is not a perfect bill. There are some who would have preferred more conservation spending or more reforms. However, the 2008 farm bill is the product of hard work and compromise, and should not be discounted simply because we could not meet the unrealistic, impractical, and unworkable benchmarks set by the administration. Meeting our global trade obligations should never trump critical domestic priorities.”