Scott Garrett: “I support his amendment because it does bring both fairness to the American farmer and also to the American taxpayer…”

“I support his amendment because it does bring both fairness to the American farmer and also to the American taxpayer, and it does so by dispelling certain myths that are out there. This program started in 1933 as an emergency program that was supposed to be temporary. Well, 70, 80 years later and this temporary program is still with us. It started out as a program that was supposed to be for the small farmers, like we have in the State of New Jersey still, actually, and yet we find that three-quarters of the farmers are getting 10 percent of the program. The small farmers are just getting a slice of it. It is supposed to be going out for the small farmers and the farmers who are only making a small income, to help the family farm, yet we see that the average income of these farmers for the large sales are making $199,000. This amendment helps to dispel the myth to make sure that we get a program that actually helps the family farmer and helps the American taxpayer at the same time.”