Political Quotes

“a year ago Grand Forks, North Dakota, was ravaged by flooding waters from the Red River. The eyes of the Nation watched with horror as this city of 50,000 suffered not just a devastating flooding event, but, in the middle of all else, fires began in the downtown that ravaged 11 of the major buildings in downtown Grand Forks as well. The attention of this body was focused on that event, and the assistance resulting in the disaster supplemental appropriations bill really played a very critical role in our ability to begin the rebuilding process, a process that continues even today. Today I take the floor to tell you of another disaster, a disaster that, at least as far as North Dakota is concerned, is every bit as threatening, every bit as devastating, every bit as disastrous as the Grand Forks flood. But this disaster, chances are you will have never heard of, not seen a second of television footage, and be utterly unaware it is occurring. This is a stealth disaster, and it is a disaster facing the agriculture base of the State of North Dakota. This chart tells the story, just as clearly as this story can be told. The U.S. Department of Commerce reported that in 1996, the net farm income in North Dakota totaled $764 million. One year later, that total had fallen to $15 million net farm income for the entire State, a drop of 98 percent.”