Sam Brownback

Prices have fallen by more than 20 percent since peaking in late 2007, and my guess is there is still further downward trending taking place.

What number are you pegging for a loss in value when we hit the bottom of this commercial real estate trough?

Thank you very much. I think it is an excellent panel. Although you have put me in quite bit of distress from what I hear you say.

one thing that did come out of that debacle that was worthwhile was a move to a more transparent and public ownership of both debt and equity in commercial real estate

We need to look at what it is that is taking place and what policy issues we can address to try to make it better or at least not as bad as it could possibly get.

I think, on these things, what we have got to do is try to stimulate money back into the marketplace.

the only thing that is selling is something at a real fire sale or distressed, somebody just dumping on the market

Just an excellent panel.

the lending rates both in terms of interest and time are so severe that it makes the property almost become a nonperforming asset

So any of those that we can change to make it easier and make it more value on depreciation, or any of these investments, would be helpful?

I think this is one of the most important issues for us to keep our eye on at this point in time.

Yeah, that is--let's talk about policy proposals here.

this is a Department that intersects American lives every single day in multiple ways.

Now, the reason I make that point is that they polled a series of Nobel laureates and said, if you were going to put money anywhere in the world to improve the status of humanity, what would you do?

The point I wanted to make is it is a corn-soy blend. Great. All for corn-soy. But this formulation has not been changed in 30 years.

A 65 percent number just seems way high to me on those two areas.

We think there are opportunities to create wealth and repopulate rural America.

The President has provided a directive to us to accelerate the implementation of the energy provisions of the farm bill.

We are losing a lot of population in rural areas.

May I suggest you or your staff take a look at a bill several of us put together and have for a series of years called the New Homestead Act?

It is the goal of the President. It is the goal of USDA, and I suspect it is the goal of this committee to significantly reduce childhood obesity and hunger in this country.

We want to develop an ecologically sustainable forest and private working land system.

I think there is a genuine concern in rural communities.

We want to aggressively implement the energy title provisions of the 2008 farm bill.

We have tried to outline the fact that we have taken steps. Pork producers are feeling stress.