J.C. Watts: “I rise in support of H.R. 4461, the FY2001 Agriculture Appropriations Act. I would like to thank Chairman Skeen and the…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 4461, the FY2001 Agriculture Appropriations Act. I would like to thank Chairman Skeen and the members of the Subcommittee for their leadership in drafting this legislation and I rise in strong support of its passage. Included in this bill is significant funding for the boll weevil eradication program. Boll weevil eradication has been a federally sponsored initiative for the last twenty-five years which has successfully eradicated the cotton pest from many states. The remaining states with on-going eradication programs include New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. While all these states do receive some direct federal grants, it is nowhere near the percentage received by those states where the eradication program has already been completed. Instead, our states are required to call upon cotton growers in the State to self-finance the cost of most of the eradication program. The federal government's percentage of support for these programs has steadily declined over the last few years and today, the federal contribution is only a few percentage points of the cost of the overall program.”