Political Quotes

“I take this time on behalf of Maryland farmers. They are hurting, along with many farmers around the Nation, because of the devastation from the drought. I am talking on behalf of the poultry farmers. As the Presiding Officer knows, in the Delmarva peninsula the impact they have had from the drought on the corn crop makes it extremely difficult to make ends meet. I am talking about dairy farmers in western Maryland. We have a robust agricultural community. It is one of the largest parts of our economy. That is true in just about every State in the Nation. We have seen the worst drought in 50 years. It is affecting 42 States in this Union. This is widespread. Congress needs to act. First we should encourage our colleagues in the House of Representatives to take up and pass the farm bill that we have passed. That was a bipartisan bill. It was a bill that was debated in this Chamber. It is a bill that would help our agricultural community to get through this crisis brought about by extreme weather. As I mentioned, the farm bill was a bipartisan effort. It dealt with many components that would help segments of our agricultural community as a result of the conditions from the drought. Let me mention a few. The livestock disaster provision that expired in 2011 in the farm bill is strengthened, it is made retroactive back to 2012, and it would help those who are in the cattle producing part of agriculture get through the conditions of this drought.…”