Max Baucus: “I will use some of my time to praise you because that is very generous of the Senator from Mississippi, and it is…”

“I will use some of my time to praise you because that is very generous of the Senator from Mississippi, and it is typical of his generosity and his graciousness. He is a very, very fine man. Mr. President, sometimes we have to disagree with one another, and I am about to say that as much as I respect and admire the Senator from Mississippi, I have a different view than he has on this issue. Mr. President, I rise toady to express my profound disappointment in the conference report before the Senate. The words of our forefathers speak volumes about many topics, including this one. ``Blessed is the man who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.'' These words were written in a letter from Alexander Pope over 270 years ago. They paraphrase biblical verse. I believe they speak to rural America today about the farm relief provisions included in this conference report. But more accurately they speak to the matters excluded from this package. This package should include meaningful relief for farmers in the worst economic crunch of this decade. Instead, it includes a pittance. While the conferees could have adopted a package that provided roughly 60 cents per bushel on wheat in addition to what farmers get now, which is virtually nothing in the market, the conferees did not provide that 60 cents. Instead, the bill provides 13 cents per bushel. That is how it works out. Frankly, I am stunned.…”