Byron Dorgan: “it is a custom in the Senate to speak well of someone you are about to oppose. So let me speak well of the Senator from…”

“it is a custom in the Senate to speak well of someone you are about to oppose. So let me speak well of the Senator from Mississippi. We have worked together on a wide range of issues. He is a very effective Senator and somebody I enjoy working with a great deal. He has a very effective staff and we work on a lot of issues together. But I come to the floor today opposing the conference report and to do so as aggressively as I possibly can. I want to explain to him and other Members why I feel so strongly about this. First of all, it is not the case that all that was offered in July was the $500 million indemnity program that was introduced as an amendment by Senator Conrad and myself. It is the case that we also proposed, and had a vote on an amendment to increase the price supports by lifting the caps on the loan rate. We did it then; and we did it a second time. We lost twice in those efforts. We proposed a series of steps, one of which was lifting the loan rate, and another of which dealt with disaster issues. I want to describe why I feel so strongly about this. I received a letter from the head of the Farm Service Agency in our State. I asked him, ``If things don't change, what should we expect in the next few months in North Dakota with respect to family farms?'' He points out that North Dakota in the judgment of the Farm Service Agency, will lose over 3,500 farms by this spring without some significant assistance. That is probably some 14,000 people.…”