Kent Conrad: “Mr. President, I want to address, just briefly, the statements that were made by the Senator from Texas about whether or…”

“Mr. President, I want to address, just briefly, the statements that were made by the Senator from Texas about whether or not this bill--the underlying bill; not the amendment by the Senator from Indiana but the underlying bill--violates the budget, whether it busts the budget. I think it is very clear that the bill brought out of the Agriculture Committee by the chairman, Senator Harkin, does not violate the budget in any way. The budget provided $5.5 billion in fiscal year 2001 to the Agriculture Committee for this legislation and provided an additional $7.35 billion in fiscal year 2002 for additional legislation to assist farmers at this time of need. The bill that is in the assistance package provides $5.5 billion in 2001 and provides $1.9 billion in fiscal year 2002. It clearly does not violate the budget in any way. It does not bust the budget. It is entirely in keeping with the budget. I just challenge the Senator from Texas, if he really believes this violates the budget, to come out here and bring a budget point of order.”