Richard Pombo: “Mr. Chairman, I think we have to be honest with ourselves. The reason that we have a Federal agriculture policy at all…”

“Mr. Chairman, I think we have to be honest with ourselves. The reason that we have a Federal agriculture policy at all is to provide a dependable, abundant supply of cheap food for the American people. That is why we do this. I think that if you look at this amendment and what the impact of the underlying policy goal of Federal ag policy, what the impact would be on that, you have to go to the very source. They take millions of acres of land out of production. Now, some people may like that. Some people may not. But the truth is, is that it puts us in the position of providing less food and fiber for the consumption of the American people, because you are taking millions of acres of land out of production. I heard earlier in the debate somebody said that we want to give more money to our family farmers, that we want more money for them. And somehow, in the twisted logic, they think that putting them out of business gets more money to them. It does not work that way.”