James Barcia: “I rise in limited support of H.R. 2854--the Agricultural Market Transition Act. I say limited support because the…”

“I rise in limited support of H.R. 2854--the Agricultural Market Transition Act. I say limited support because the inclusion of the sugar and dairy provisions of this bill are essential to key components of production agriculture in my district and in my State. Without them, I find little to support in this bill. Farm programs have already been cut by 50 percent in the last 10 years. I continue to tell my colleagues that if other programs had only done half as much as agriculture, we probably would be spending time trying to deal with the budget surplus. But to continue to demand that farmers endure greater and greater cuts is a tremendous disservice to the most productive people in our economic arsenal. It is an insult to individuals who year after year generate the most positive returns on our balance of payments. Representations have been made that this sugar program is the same as it has been for the past several years. That is false. There are already significant changes proposed in the sugar program by this bill that I know many growers would prefer to avoid. The fact is that some changes have to be made to continue the program and some changes are being made. However, Mr. Chairman, there are some who dislike the sugar program because it makes sugar cost more. American consumers have been the beneficiaries of some of the most stable prices on sugar of any consumer in the world.”