Political Quotes

“I just returned today from 3 weeks in North Dakota. I want my colleagues to understand just how desperately dire the farm situation is in my State and throughout the upper Great Plains. We are absolutely ravaged by the twin disasters of very difficult times producing a crop and then a horribly insufficient price once you get a few bushels to market. In fact, let us focus on the price problem for purpose of the debate before us. Price adjusted for inflation for wheat is at its lowest point in 50 years, this in the face of input costs that have gone up 71 percent since 1992. Under that new farm bill, we have done terrible damage to any functioning safety net for agriculture, as the farmers in my region are so tragically demonstrating. That means we have to do everything possible to try and get that price up. That is why I was so pleased to join the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Nethercutt) in initiating the legislation that is substantially what is before us this afternoon and why we must act and must act now.”