Joseph Skeen: “Mr. Speaker, I feel somewhat like Mrs. Custer, and how she would have felt about Indian relief, after we have gone…”

“Mr. Speaker, I feel somewhat like Mrs. Custer, and how she would have felt about Indian relief, after we have gone through this exercise earlier. But I am pleased to bring before the House today the conference report on H.R. 1906, providing appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, the Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies. This bill does a lot of good for important nutrition, research, and rural development programs and still meets our conference allocations on discretionary and mandatory spending. Basic research on agriculture, food safety and nutrition has been increased by $80 million. The Farm Service Agency budget is also increased by $80 million, and this will be especially important to farms affected by the drought, the floods and the low prices. Loan authorizations for the Rural Housing Service are increased by $330 million. The program to provide loans and grants for rural schools and medical facilities, to allow them to access the resources of large urban institutions, is increased by two-thirds to $20.7 million. Our feeding and nutrition programs are all increased or maintained at the 1999 levels. This report has $108 million for the WIC program over last year, and the direct appropriation for Food and Drug Administration is $70 million over last year.”