Political Quotes

“I support the Grassley amendment. This amendment will provide an additional $63.5 billion to the baseline for Commodity Credit Corporation mandatory payments to farmers. This will allow the authorizing committee to write a comprehensive farm bill that will cover major commodities in addition to livestock and specialty crops, rural development, trade, and conservation initiatives. Conditions in agriculture are not improving. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the agriculture community will be facing persistently low prices and depressed farm income this year, and possibly the next. This amendment provides an additional $5 billion in fiscal year 2001 for supplemental support that is needed by farmers. Should farmers need additional assistance in the fall, this amendment also provides for $7.35 billion in fiscal year 2002 that could be used for this crop year. Again, I support this amendment because it provides additional funding needed by farmers this crop year. It also provides a significant level of agricultural funding in the out years to provide effective and predictable financial support.”