Political Quotes

“I want to thank the Chairman for his relentless leadership to get some relief to America's farmers and ranchers who are dealing with this drought. In my home state of Iowa we now have 42 counties that have been declared by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as primary natural disaster areas. The latest crop conditions report in Iowa has 18 percent of the corn declared as ``very poor.'' Only one percent is rated as ``excellent''. Soybeans are in a very similar situation. Our pasture lands are in terrible condition with 55 percent of pasture being ``very poor.'' While lands in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) are being opened today for haying and grazing, it really isn't going to amount to much. As a result of these conditions, our livestock producers are going to have a really hard time getting feed. I appreciate that this disaster package will bring some relief, especially to those who have lost animals due to the extreme heat. However, let us not forget that we have work to do on a real farm bill. We need to get the 2012 farm bill done and in proper order, so that we do not have to do ad hoc disaster assistance packages and so that farmers can plan for the future. I appreciate the Chairman and Ranking Member's work on this bipartisan bill that we reported out of Committee and look forward to us finishing our work and bringing the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act to the House Floor. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr.…”