Patsy T. Mink: “the House is about to debate the farm bill, and it will be a contest of the wills of both sides of this Chamber in its…”

“the House is about to debate the farm bill, and it will be a contest of the wills of both sides of this Chamber in its dedication to the concept of jobs. One of the most interesting developments in the Republican Presidential race is that they have discovered that jobs are uppermost in people's minds. In debating the farm bill, I hope that this House will keep in mind the fact that we are talking about jobs, not about commodities. There is this wholesale effort to try to destroy the farm community. I come from a farming district. Sugar is an important commodity. If they do away with the sugar program, it will mean 6,000 jobs in my district alone. And so when we come to this floor to talk about the farm bill, it is not commodities. It is not some abstract notion about something that we put on the table to consume. It is thousands of jobs in the sugar industry alone. It is 420,000 jobs that are about to be eliminated. So, focus on what the American people are concerned about. It is jobs in America. Let us not destroy our American working families.”