Byron Dorgan: “first I will say a word about the leadership of this subcommittee, Senator Bennett from Utah and my colleague, Senator…”

“first I will say a word about the leadership of this subcommittee, Senator Bennett from Utah and my colleague, Senator Kohl, from the State of Wisconsin. I appreciate the work they have done. This is not easy to do. The product that came out of the Senate was a good subcommittee bill. To the chairman, the ranking member, and their staffs, I thank them for all of the work they have done on this legislation. As they might know, while they are complimented, there is something that comes behind the compliment. They both know that I did not sign the conference report, having nothing to do with their actions or their activities. I refused to sign the conference report because of what happened in the conference. I wish to describe just a little of that. The process by which we went to conference with the U.S. House was one in which we expected we would be treated with some respect and we would, through the normal course of things, make judgments and decisions and have votes. That did not happen. It did not happen on the issue especially of the country-of-origin labeling for meat--something my colleague just described. This is a commonsense, farmer-friendly, rancher-friendly law that has always been opposed by the big meat- packing plants and those who do their bidding. The fact is, it is the law of the land and should have been implemented last year. One day, I brought a porterhouse steak to the floor of the Senate.…”