Political Quotes

“I wanted to note a few concerns with items in the en bloc amendment. I am not opposing it, but I want to lay down some markers. On the amendment by the gentleman from Florida relating to ag research, my major concern about the amendment is that the intent is, in effect, to earmark USDA competitive research grants. That really is a no-no. USDA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative is one of the jewels in our bill. We have built up funding for it over time and have zealously protected it against any efforts by Congress to say what research is and is not funded. The agency in charge, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, has a complex internal process for deciding what areas to focus on, and that is free from political interference. For AFRI to retain its credibility, we must not start micromanaging that process and specifying research areas and amounts, as the amendment does. My other concern is that cutting the Agricultural Marketing Service by $2 million is not a wise choice. In many ways, AMS is the little engine that could. Of critical importance to many Members on both sides of the aisle is its role in overseeing the National Organic Program and the Specialty Crops Program. Similarly, on the gentleman's NRCS amendment, I want to point out that cutting the National Agricultural Statistics Service, as the amendment would do, is not a good idea. NASS is USDA's premier statistics agency.…”