David Minge: “Mr. Speaker, the bill that is under consideration is an emergency response in an emergency situation. We have seen the…”

“Mr. Speaker, the bill that is under consideration is an emergency response in an emergency situation. We have seen the reemergence of an agricultural depression in this country. Among other areas that have been hit are wheat producing communities in the Red River and west. It has hit areas of Texas. It is critical that when our producers are in financial distress, we not attempt unilateral sanctions against other countries in this world that are doomed to failure. Unfortunately, the unilateral sanctions we have announced against India and Pakistan do not appear to be destined for effectiveness, because other countries which are competitors in selling agricultural commodities are more than willing to come in and replace American farmers as the suppliers of those commodities; in this case, wheat. I would urge my colleagues to carefully review this situation, and understand that as much as all of us abhor the spread of nuclear weapons and nuclear testing, that what we need to make sure is that we act responsibly here and we not use a bludgeon that is designed to be ineffective, and in many cases come back and hit ourselves and inflict a mortal wound on our own producers, when what we are trying to do is to emphasize to India and Pakistan and other countries of the world that this country does not tolerate continued nuclear testing. This bill is a bill that ought to pass today.”