Political Quotes

“this is a subject we have debated on a number of different occasions on the floor of the Senate. I recall when we had the agriculture appropriations bill before the Senate this past year there were amendments offered to change various parts of the legal authorization for the program, the statutory authorization. We resisted those amendments on the appropriations bill and tried to keep the focus on the amount of money that was being appropriated for the program. As I understand the history of this amendment, when it was brought up on the appropriations bill, the Senate passed it, or a version of it. I am advised by members of my staff that on that occasion when we went to conference the House conferees did not agree to accept the language and the provision was dropped. It did not make it through the process to be included in the appropriations bill as finally adopted and submitted to the President for his signature. So that is why this issue is raised again. Let me just point out, while this is a controversial program, and some of the television networks have sort of made a hobby at least, if not a profession, of attacking it and exaggerating it and trying to sensationalize it as something that is evil and not workable, the facts are that this is a program which has created American jobs because it has expanded our level of exports in agriculture commodity trade and in food product trade to the extent that it has been reauthorized.”