Helen Chenoweth-Hage: “I begin my remarks tonight with the words from one of our Nation's greatest orators, Daniel Webster. This great Senator…”

“I begin my remarks tonight with the words from one of our Nation's greatest orators, Daniel Webster. This great Senator eloquently sums up the mission of agriculture for this Nation in a rally cry, and that rally cry is placed, Mr. Speaker, right above the Speaker's head in this very Chamber. That rally cry says, ``Let us develop the resources of our land, call forth its powers, build up its institutions, promote all its great interests and see whether we also in our day and generation may not perform something worthy to be remembered.'' Mr. Speaker, this foundational principle largely responsible for bringing the prosperity to this Nation is now being threatened. In fact, the market power struggle between corporate giants and helpless farm families is divesting rural America, especially when consumers are buying record amounts of food at record high prices while our family farm producers are going broke. Mr. Speaker, few of us realize that approximately four big companies control most of the processing and distribution of all of the beef, pork, chicken and grain in this United States.”