Bruce L. Braley: “All of us have our own natural disasters we deal with on an annual basis. This point was driven home with me in February…”

“All of us have our own natural disasters we deal with on an annual basis. This point was driven home with me in February when a huge ice storm hit my State. We had 350,000 people without power. The 133rd of the Iowa National Guard has been stationed in Iraq for over a year and had their deployment extended by another 120 days. They were struggling with people available to respond to this very significant demand for assistance. So that is when you understand in a very real way how foreign policy affects domestic policy in your district. But as my friend from Vermont knows, when he was talking about the need to preserve the heritage of agriculture in this country and its importance to our economy, my great-great-grandfather, George Washington Braley, walked from Vermont in Mr. Welch's district to Iowa in 1855 looking for better farmland, Mr. Perlmutter, better rain. My parents both grew up on farms in Iowa during the Depression, and the whole sense of stewardship and preserving the land for the next generation is something that is almost a spiritual quality about farming. I know there are very many people looking for ways to diversify their agricultural economy. Mr. Klein, you raised a very good point about the multiplier effect of renewable energy. Right now Iowa ranks third in the production of wind power, which surprises people.”