Kevin Roberts: “I wish to thank my dear friend, my colleague from Georgia, for making such an outstanding statement in his own…”

“I wish to thank my dear friend, my colleague from Georgia, for making such an outstanding statement in his own inimitable fashion--sort of a Paul Harvey of the Senate, if you will--and I know that he would never lie on the Senate floor. He might stretch the truth a little, but just a bit. I thank him so much for his testimony on behalf of our next Secretary of Agriculture. The Senate will soon vote on the confirmation of Governor Sonny Perdue, the President's nominee for U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. The Department of Agriculture is made up of 29 agencies and offices, and it employs nearly 100,000 men and women who work in all 50 States and around the globe. The Department provides leadership on food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, nutrition, scientific research, and related issues that impact every American every day. Throughout our Nation's history, our farmers and ranchers and business owners in rural America have survived drought and disease and floods and tornadoes and whatever else Mother Nature throws at them. We just had a big prairie fire in Kansas. Yet, year after year, they produce the safest, most abundant and affordable food and fiber supply in the world. Today, however, our producers from across the country are facing tough economic times, with multiple years of low prices. These same producers now need a strong market for whatever they produce.…”