Political Quotes

“while I rise to oppose the Cochran- Roberts amendment, I want to congratulate my colleagues for their dedication as members of the Agriculture Committee. I have great respect for both Senator Cochran and Senator Roberts and realize they come to this from their respective States and how they view the needs of agriculture in our country. I come from the great State of Michigan. We have more diversity of crops than any other State, other than California. It is very heartening for me to have worked on a bill coming out of committee that for the first time addresses a number of crops and concerns of Michigan farmers that have not been addressed before. Our farmers stock the kitchen tables of America and the world, as we know, but they have the right to put food on their own family's table as well. That is what we are debating, the best way to make that happen. I was a member of the House Agriculture Committee for 4 years, and now I am honored to be on the Senate Agriculture Committee. Every year I have been in the Congress, we have had to pass an emergency supplemental because the Freedom to Farm Act was not enough to address the needs of American agriculture. I think now is the time to correct what was not working in the past farm bill. In Michigan this year, we have had such an extensive drought that 82 of the 83 counties have been declared disaster areas. We have seen 30 percent of our corn crop wiped out as a result of the drought.”