Frank Lucas: “I would simply note, one of the challenges of any farm bill, certainly every farm bill since the 1960s, has been the…”

“I would simply note, one of the challenges of any farm bill, certainly every farm bill since the 1960s, has been the payment limitation issue. Every farm bill we tighten the definition, every farm bill we attempt to reflect the will of this body. We will do that again this time. The question about payment limitations on the conservation programs, that is an inevitable outcome, simply the fact that there will never, ever be enough money to do everything we all want to do. And in a year and a bill when we put 10 billion additional dollars in the nutritional program, no doubt justified, but that was a decision made on high, that makes funding for all these other programs even more challenging. $4 billion in additional conservation spending is an impressive accomplishment in the circumstances we work, but those payment limitations are a necessary thing, just as in conservation as in every other part of the bill to make sure that everyone has a fair and equitable chance at those resources.”