Sanford Bishop: “I couldn't agree more with the gentleman from Arizona when he says that we've got to put everything on the table in…”

“I couldn't agree more with the gentleman from Arizona when he says that we've got to put everything on the table in order to eliminate this deficit and to put us on a path toward balancing our budget. We've got a fiscal crisis. But at the same time, we need to make smart choices. We need to establish priorities. We don't need to cut off our feet or cut off our hands. We need to empower ourselves and have the tools that we need. And I think that if we're going to have a strong agricultural community, if we're going to have American farmers be able to produce high quality, safe, economical food for the people of this country and for export, and to be able to compete in the global marketplace, we are going to have to have reasonable and smart farm support. Our authorizing committee has done a great job. And Members of this body have done a tremendous job in trying to review over the years what we need to do to tighten up and make more efficient our farm support programs. And we've got to do that. And of course they do have to be on the table. But let's be smart. Let's not take a meat ax to it when we need to take a scalpel approach. An individual or a legal entity must be actively engaged in farming rules that are administered by USDA in order to participate in farm programs.…”