Kent Conrad: “when I saw the Senator from Minnesota was speaking on the farm bill, I wanted to come and thank him publicly for the…”

“when I saw the Senator from Minnesota was speaking on the farm bill, I wanted to come and thank him publicly for the role he has played as a new member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. The Senate Agriculture Committee deals with some of the most difficult issues when we are dealing with a new farm bill. This has been a debate that has extended over a long time. I point out that the Senator from Minnesota, as a new member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, in my judgment, has become one of its most thoughtful members. We saw that with respect to the amendments he offered and his debate, both in the public sessions and also the sessions in which there were only members discussing how we would proceed. I thank him. It is awfully good to have a new colleague from a neighboring State who has done his homework on the issues in this farm bill. I believe that is the case with the Senator from Minnesota. I commend him for the role he has already played. One of the things that happens around here is you develop respect based on your credibility, and the Senator from Minnesota I think has laid a basis that will serve him well for many years to come in the Senate.”