Political Quotes

“I rise to address the assembly today on the subject of the problems facing Michigan farmers and ranchers. The conference report on the 1999 Agriculture Appropriations Act helps some of these farmers in facing what is a very, serious problem in this Nation. What we are faced with is a transition of our farmers and ranchers into a new Federal market-oriented, freedom to farm, public policy. That means that subsidies in place for the last 65 years are being phased out. The problem is, Mr. Speaker, that this year in particular farmers are facing a combination of disease, bad weather, a loss of our markets, especially in Asia, and extremely low commodity prices. Farmers are going out of business. Bankruptcies are being advertised throughout the United States as farmers have hit disastrous situations where they feel that they and their families and their kids can no longer survive on that particular farm operation. Often a farm operation that was run by their parents, their grandparents, their great-grandparents can no longer provide a living. The 1999 appropriations bills deal with some of these problems but not all of the problems.”