Tony Thurmond: “I have offered an amendment, cosponsored by my colleagues from North and South Carolina and Virginia, that will provide…”

“I have offered an amendment, cosponsored by my colleagues from North and South Carolina and Virginia, that will provide temporary relief to flue-cured tobacco growers in our States. I express my appreciation to the chairman and ranking member for accepting our amendment into the manager's package. Flue-cured tobacco is produced under a system of acreage allotments and marketing quotas. This system involves both the amount of land on which the tobacco may be grown and the amount of tobacco harvested or the yield from that land. Hence, the allotment refers to acreage, while the quota refers to the right to market or sell the poundage produced on the allotted acreage. Usually to simplify discussion of this system, reference is only made to the term 'quota'. Originally quota was owned by the producers as a tangible asset that could be passed down through inheritance from the owner to his spouse, his children, his grandchildren, or other heirs. Over time as people left the farm, we now find quota owners who no longer have any connection with Flue-cured tobacco production other than that they derive income from the leasing of their quota to Flue-cured tobacco producers.”