Dick Lugar: “today we will debate a matter of special significance and timeliness to agriculture producers throughout the United…”

“today we will debate a matter of special significance and timeliness to agriculture producers throughout the United States, and that is the subject of risk management legislation. During many full committee hearings, a public roundtable and hundreds of hours of research and public discussion spanning the past year, members of the Senate Agriculture Committee have engaged in active deliberation, considering a host of options in providing risk management assistance to our Nation's farmers. The task has been formidable. Variances in agriculture production, regional considerations of weather patterns, and different perspectives on farm management have contributed to a most complex and yet beneficial discussion. The foundation of our efforts was section 204 of the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for fiscal year 2000. Six billion dollars was provided over a 4-year period commencing October 1, 2000 for agricultural risk management. The basic rationale was that farm producers could take action to minimize risk, including severe market price fluctuations, and therefore render emergency recovery legislation less necessary.”