Don Nickles: “I have a couple comments. Again, I compliment my colleagues, Senator Kennedy and Senator DeWine. They have been…”

“I have a couple comments. Again, I compliment my colleagues, Senator Kennedy and Senator DeWine. They have been steadfast in their advocacy. Senator DeWine is right, he and Senator Kennedy introduced this a long time ago. If I am correct, it did not pass out of a committee, it is not on the calendar, and all of a sudden it appears on the floor. These are two bills combined, and my biggest objection is with the buyout. The buyout is $12 billion. How often do we spend $12 billion around here without having any hearing on it? The buyout did not pass out of a committee. It did not pass out of the Agriculture Committee. It certainly was not considered by the Budget Committee. There is no payment limitation, I say to Senator Grassley. In the House bill, with the $9.6 billion, it is estimated by one group to be 480 millionaires. Some estimates are 85 percent of the quota owners are not farmers. I do not know how many of those will be made millionaires. The Senate bill we are going to vote on does not even eliminate the tobacco program.”