Sanford Bishop: “Let me just say I believe that we are missing out on the opportunity to effectively do our jobs. As elected Members of…”

“Let me just say I believe that we are missing out on the opportunity to effectively do our jobs. As elected Members of Congress, we are here to fight for what is right, what is fair, and what is just. When presented with the administration's budget, it is Congress that is charged to serve as the first line of defense for the needs of the American people. And the agriculture bill before us, as a part of this omnibus, is our attempt at doing just that. However, the progress made in the agriculture bill will end here because we do not have a budget resolution to conference, and it is entangled with other very contentious bills, and that is most unfortunate. In light of the draconian budget request presented by the President, Congressman Aderholt and I, along with our bipartisan Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee colleagues, worked diligently to protect as much of our country's agriculture and food and drug safety systems as we could. In order to inflict the least amount of damage, the funding reductions were spread across several programs. But let me be clear, the communities that make up this great Nation need these programs to be robustly funded in order to keep us competitive in the global marketplace. The United States of America will not continue to be the Nation that produces the safest, most abundant, highest quality, most economical food and fiber anywhere in the industrialized world if sufficient resources are not made available by this Congress.…”