Deborah Koff Ross: “I fought hard for an appointment to the Committee on Agriculture when I got here in January, and I did so because, one…”

“I fought hard for an appointment to the Committee on Agriculture when I got here in January, and I did so because, one, I understand agriculture. I grew up on my grandfather's farm. Secondly, agriculture is critical to the economy of my district in South Arkansas. This new farm bill was written after months of testimony. It was written in a bipartisan spirit and it is fair. It is fair to our farm families. It is fair for conservation. In fact, we increase baseline spending for conservation by 75 percent. This bill addresses the needs of our farm families. We all know that the 1996 farm bill did not work. We might as well have called it 'Freedom to Fail.' I will lose farm families and perhaps a few banks in the delta without this new farm bill. We are already too dependent on foreign oil. The last thing we need to do is to lose our farm families and become dependent on Third World countries for our food and fiber. My farmers do not want to be welfare farmers. They do not want to be insurance farmers. They simply want to feed America. This bill ensures America will be there for our farm families when market prices are down, just as our farm families have been there for America for many, many generations. I rise in support of this bill.”