Chuck Grassley: “I have to tell you there is one gigantic loophole you have to consider, and out of the three forms of payments--direct…”

“I have to tell you there is one gigantic loophole you have to consider, and out of the three forms of payments--direct payment, loan deficiency payment, and countercyclical payment--the caps that are in the bill, adding up to $200,000, are for countercyclical and direct payments. So if you don't have a cap on loan deficiency payments, that means the payments farmers can receive are unlimited and, from that standpoint, when loan deficiency payments are considered, there is not a hard cap. Now, the adjective, ``hard,'' is applicable to Dorgan-Grassley, and it is very important because we have had caps on farm programs for, I will bet, three or four decades. They have been ineffective caps because there has been legal subterfuge to get around it. The underlying bill, as well as our amendment, takes care of some of that legal subterfuge. But we maintain one for loan deficiency payments within this bill. So you, consequently, don't have a hard cap.”