Byron Dorgan: “let me follow the remarks of my colleague from Minnesota, Senator Wellstone, and say as a cosponsor of this disaster…”

“let me follow the remarks of my colleague from Minnesota, Senator Wellstone, and say as a cosponsor of this disaster relief that I have never voted against a proposal to help people in this country who have suffered a disaster. There are many kinds of disasters that people suffer, and in each and every case I have been pleased to be a part of this Congress to say to them you are not alone, the rest of the country wishes to help. It is an important thing to do. Disaster, in this case, is spelled in part of my State by a drought that is devastating. It means those who have invested their lives and fortunes to put seeds into the ground, hoping to raise a crop and to have some income with which to raise a family, have discovered that drought has killed their crop. There is nothing to harvest. There is nothing left. In other parts of the State, flooding has prevented fields from being planted. Yes, we ought to respond to this in a positive way. I support the efforts of Senators Daschle and Baucus and Johnson of South Dakota, Wellstone, and others, and I am happy to be a cosponsor of the bill.”