Political Quotes

“as my colleagues know, in the farm bill debate there is a character to this debate different than other farm bill debates. In the past, rural Representatives, Republicans and Democrats, stood together fighting for rural America. That has not been the case. I am astounded to come to the well following a colleague on the Committee on Agriculture, a gentleman for whom I respect, and he is talking about farm spending creating a budget problem for this country. My colleagues, farm spending has been reduced more than any other function of Government, bar none. If further functions of Government had the cuts agriculture had had, we would not even have a budget deficit today. And they tout a farm bill that over the next 7 years spends 46 percent less on rural America than was spent over the last 5, and they say what they are doing for rural America. I will tell my colleagues what they are doing for rural America. They are sticking it right in the neck with a very ill-advised bill that we are trying to make a little better with this amendment.”