Political Quotes

“I rise to oppose the Chabot amendment to the Market Access Program (MAP). Unfortunately, some of my colleagues appear not to understand the importance of MAP to our producers. Two weeks ago, the director of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture was in town to discuss agriculture policy with Members of Congress and the administration. We discussed in general terms all of the options for supporting American producers, and keeping US agriculture competitive in the world market. But there was one thing the director specifically asked for, and that was continued funding for the Market Access Program. Nebraska's central location and small population base make it difficult for many individual producers to compete internationally. MAP funds help our producers, and the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, to overcome this hurdle by partially funding market service, and trade and research missions to foreign countries. These funds help support and promote the buying, selling, and development of Nebraska agricultural products. In today's market, this is critical. Let's face it, our producers must export in order to survive and prosper. And their products must be competitive on the world market. The Market Access Program is one small way we can help our producers. I strongly urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and to support our producers.”