Sam Brownback: “I rise today for two purposes: first, to support the amendment from my friend and colleague from Kansas, and second to…”

“I rise today for two purposes: first, to support the amendment from my friend and colleague from Kansas, and second to briefly discuss an important priority of mine, carbon sequestration. Shortly, we will vote on the Cochran-Roberts amendment, which is in essence, a substitute farm bill, with the main difference lying in the commodity title. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment for a variety of reasons: this proposal helps farmers during hard times by retaining loan rates and increasing the fixed, decoupled payments that farmers now get, but in place of the target price programs, Cochran-Roberts adds a farm savings account. These savings accounts will be available to all producers to help with the risks of production and market risks. These savings accounts give farmers the tools they need to manage their finances and provides up to $1.2 billion in matching funds annually. The Cochran-Roberts proposal provides market-oriented loan rates and promotes dependable policy. This proposal provides farmers a consistent, predictable income safety net and maintains flexibility in market-oriented planting. The current Marketing Loan Program is continued for traditional program crops under this legislation. Overproduction is minimized by ensuring more market-oriented loan rates. In times of low prices farmers are protected through counter-cyclical income protection.”