Paul Coverdell: “I want to share my feelings on this amendment with those of my distinguished colleague from Alabama. The Senator has…”

“I want to share my feelings on this amendment with those of my distinguished colleague from Alabama. The Senator has made an eloquent case against the amendment which he began last night and has echoed again this morning. I am going to be reasonably brief. I understand that the chairman, the Senator from Mississippi, will move to table this amendment, and I will support that motion. I think it is entirely appropriate. These issues were fought extensively in the early part of this year when we dealt with the farm bill. Farm policy was settled by the passage of that landmark bill. At the time we were debating that bill, Mr. President, we were hearing from the farm community not only from my State and the State of the Senator from Alabama but across the Nation that we had to get the farm policy settled so that people could get into the fields, so that they could make their financial transactions and deal with the planting season and the farm season. We were already late. We passed this in early April, but that was late into the spring. Nevertheless, we got it done. In the ensuing 4 months, the entire farm community, including those who deal with peanuts extensively in my State and the State of the Senator from Alabama and others, everybody has been to the bank. Everybody has made their financial transactions. Everybody made their plans according to what the Congress of the United States and the President said the rules of the road would be for the next 7 years.”