Political Quotes

“Mr. President I rise to clarify an important issue with the distinguished chairman of the Agriculture Committee. First, I thank the chairman for his leadership in getting this child nutrition bill to the floor. He has worked hard and has produced a good, bipartisan bill which I supported in the Committee. For over 2 years, a bipartisan group of Senators and I have been concerned about USDA disregarding language included in the 2002 farm bill. The 2002 farm bill, section 10603, states that at least $200 million must be spent annually on the purchase of specialty crops. However additional language included in the 2002 farm bill conference report states: [t]he Managers intend that the funds made available under this section are to be used for additional purchases of fruits and vegetables, over and above the purchases made under current law or that might otherwise be made without this authority. The Managers expect the $200 million to be a minimum amount for fruit and vegetable purchases under section 32 funds; it is not intended to interfere with or decrease from Agricultural Marketing Service's historical purchases of fruit and vegetables [e.g. $243 million in 2001; $232 million in 2000] or to decrease or displace other commodity purchases. Does the chairman agree that this language is clear and that the intent of Congress is $200 million in new purchases on top of existing commodity purchases?”