Jack Kingston: “Mr. Chairman, I rarely am on the opposite side of issues with my friend the gentleman from Arkansas [Mr. Tim…”

“Mr. Chairman, I rarely am on the opposite side of issues with my friend the gentleman from Arkansas [Mr. Tim Hutchinson]. He is a great budget watchdog, a super friend of the taxpayers, but this time I find myself going against him. And yet I can say this, that you can vote against the Hutchinson amendment and still be a friend of the taxpayers, because as the committee has reported this bill, it still is in the 602(b) allocation which will move us to a balanced budget. This bill is a bill that is a cut and a reduction bill. Indeed, this program alone has been reduced by 50 percent. I heard the gentleman from California speaking up on the peanuts. Let me tell you about farm programs and why people from the agriculture communities should listen to this. What we are doing on the Committee on Agriculture is we are saying to our farmer friends, change status quo. Your farm subsidy may be a good investment, there may be a reason for it, but we need to change status quo. The Committee on Agriculture is responding that way. Well, these folks are doing the same way with historic preservation. They have taken a 50 percent cut, and they have come up with their own plan to reform themselves. In addition to that, keep in mind this is not a frivolous program. They have a statutory obligation under the National Historic Preservation Act.”