Kent Conrad: “I hear over and over from the other side that we can't get it done. That is a self-fulfilling prophecy. We have gotten…”

“I hear over and over from the other side that we can't get it done. That is a self-fulfilling prophecy. We have gotten it done for 4 years, before last year, every year. When farmers suffered a natural disaster, we responded--and we responded with the package we are offering today. This isn't some new formulation. This isn't something that has never been done before. It was done every year before when farmers suffered from a natural disaster. All of a sudden, the other side throws up their hands and says they cannot do it. The reason they can't do it is they will not vote for it. Vote for it, and we will pass it here, and then we will be able to go to the House and fight it out with them. This notion that we should give in to what the House might agree to, I have never heard of that working very well in the Senate. We are the masters of our destiny. We represent the people who sent us here. We should not abrogate our responsibility to what the House might do or might not do. We ought to do what has been done for 4 years in the past and reach out and help a part of the country that has been devastated.”