Dick Lugar: “I respectfully say to my distinguished colleague that the only well-thought-out aspect of the bill before us are…”

“I respectfully say to my distinguished colleague that the only well-thought-out aspect of the bill before us are thoughts as to how a Senator might be enticed by more money for particular crops for his or her State. It is a catchall bill. It really has no particular philosophy. One subsidy is piled on top of another. That is my point. Somebody has to bring an end to this chaos. The chaos is not going to be joyous if continued as the Senator from Iowa pointed out. Sixty percent of farmers get nothing from this; they are not going to get a dime. I hope that understanding finally comes through to agricultural America. This bill is targeted at a very few farmers. Forty percent at least have a chance; but as a matter of fact, as we pointed out numerous times, half of the payments go to 8 percent of those farmers who have a chance. And very sharply, large percentages go to a very few that fall behind the top 8 percent. In fact, by the time you get to the top 20 percent, 80 percent of the money is gone, even for that segment that is getting something. This bill has been a grab bag of trying to figure out how various Senators might be enticed into a coalition if a certain amount of money was promised, regardless of who it goes to--the size of the farmers and the problems of the farmers notwithstanding.”