Maurice Hinchey: “Mr. Chairman, we have just been reminded once again by the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), the ranking member of the…”

“Mr. Chairman, we have just been reminded once again by the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations, that the people who live and work in rural America, who own and work on the farms and ranches of our country, are in deep trouble. That trouble has been visited upon them as a result of acts both natural and man made. First of all, we have seen serious drought sweep across vast sections of the country. Following that, large sections were hit with hurricanes. Hurricane Floyd, for example, did an enormous amount of damage. All this follows upon the devastating impacts of the Freedom to Farm Act which was enacted by this Congress in 1996, which in and of itself has done extraordinary damage to people on the farm and ranchers all across America. However, we have pointedly ignored the producers of specialty crops.”