Tom Harkin

Because of what has happened, and for our country, we speak of patriotism a lot, patriotism of our brave soldiers and airmen and seamen in Iraq and around the world, the patriotism of those in our country who fight for justice, fight for…

SEN. TOM HARKIN (D), IOWA, For our country, I believe Mr. Rumsfeld has to resign.

For our country, I believe Mr. Rumsfeld has to resign.

I still believe for the benefit of our country, our nation, our honor that he has to resign and he has to go. Nothing I think less will suffice.

Senator Gregg has it all wrong. To respond, my amendment says ``duties''--if your duties remain the same, you get overtime. But if your duties change, there is no glass ceiling. If you are a secretary today but you become CEO next year, of…

I am convinced now more than ever that we really do not have a health care system in America. We have a ``sick care system'' in America. In the United States we spend in excess of $1.5 trillion a year on health care. Fully 75 percent of…

But nothing the administration has done in the last couple, 3 years with regard to job creation, with regard to treating labor fairly in terms of getting its fair share of any economic gains, or the proposed regulations last year that…

Well, my figures show about $15 billion less, so I think agriculture has got a good story to tell there.

Surely, we could get a couple of billion out of that or a billion-and-a-half at least to help on the conservation program.

Take it to the bank--as long as I am here.

I would not let this opportunity pass without thanking Chairman Bennett for his strong support of conservation programs.

Is there an attempt by some to kill the suborning--to kill it before it even gets off the ground?

Well, it looks like that. I am just telling you. It is 2 years and not one farmer.

We are now coming up on 2 years since the Farm Bill was passed--2 years--and not one farmer has been signed up in the CSP program.

I cannot believe that a 15 percent limitation is any kind of a real onerous limit.

It would not be acceptable for a commodity program to do that, and it should not be acceptable for this kind of commodity program.

The proposed CSP rule--I am getting back to that proposed rule again--would bar the vast majority of producers from participating.

Which we said no cap.

Well, do you see the irony that I have just--the irony that USDA is complaining about the difficulty of implementing a rule that is open to all with a cap, okay? But we took off the cap. Then the Administration turns around and requests a…

So is the Administration requesting a change then in their budget proposal to reflect what we did?

I also know that you attended the listening session on the proposed rule in Des Moines in February, where over 250 people attended, again, which I understand most of whom opposed the proposed rule and everybody who spoke was against the…

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

I want to convey my thanks to the Secretary, to you, to Mr. Knight, for providing public access to the comments on the CSP proposed rule.

I was listening with some interest to the unanimous consent proposed by the distinguished majority leader, and I thought for a minute I was back in the House of Representatives. I remember a time in the Senate when we actually introduced…

The numbers are all within the margin of error.