Tom Harkin: “I yield to no one, including my good friend from Missouri, in fighting for our farmers and people who live in small…”

“I yield to no one, including my good friend from Missouri, in fighting for our farmers and people who live in small towns in rural America to ensure that they are not set upon by the powers of the Federal Government in any way that would act to their detriment, their safety, their security, their well-being, their ability to make a living, or their ability to live as free and independent citizens of this country. But I have looked over this amendment. At first I thought it might be OK. I looked it over. Then it hit me that the Senator's amendment says basically that the Secretary of Agriculture may review any action proposed by any Federal agency. That is what it says here. It says: Any. It says: The Secretary may review any agency action proposed by any Federal agency. . .. And then it says: If the Secretary determines that a proposed agency action is going to do certain things with adverse effects on agricultural producers, then the Secretary can give it to the President for review. And then the President can reverse the agency action, just like that. He can reverse it, preclude it from going into effect, or he can amend it. Well now, I don't know. I would like to ask: Why don't we include small businesses?”