Victor Fazio: “I rise in support of H.R. 3603, the Agriculture Appropriations bill for fiscal year 1997. First, I need to thank my…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 3603, the Agriculture Appropriations bill for fiscal year 1997. First, I need to thank my chairman, Joe Skeen, and the ranking Democrat, Dick Durbin, for their assistance during the last few weeks. I only recently became a member of this subcommittee, although it is one I have admired for many years. My admiration stems from the bipartisanship traditionally displayed by this subcommittee, and exemplified by the Skeen-Durbin team, and it is truly a model for the House, so I am proud to join the subcommittee's ranks. H.R. 3603 is not a perfect bill. In fact, our bill continues an alarming trend in providing the absolute minimum resources to USDA to accomplish their important missions in the areas of agriculture research, animal and plant inspection, food safety and inspection, conservation programs, and rural housing and development. The Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee is a victim of our budget-balancing efforts, which, of course, we all support.”