Tom Coburn: “I will be very brief. One of the things we know we are all going to have to look at in the 2007 farm bill is how do we…”

“I will be very brief. One of the things we know we are all going to have to look at in the 2007 farm bill is how do we continue down this road and be able to afford it. The 2002 farm bill put in what was called crop insurance. Every time we put in a program that undermines the incentive to use crop insurance, all we do is add it to the deficit, and we come back. There is no question there are some needs, and probably legitimate, but what this appropriation does is create an incentive for people not to use crop insurance. That is exactly what it does. So if we want to unwind further and raise the costs for the American people of the farm bill we have today, all we have to do is keep this kind of funding in, and we will undo and make sure we spend more money in the future. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate? The Senator from Arizona. Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I will be brief. I understand Hawaii experienced severe flooding this winter. It should be pointed out that the heavy tropical rains did not lead to a Presidential disaster declaration. Surely the flooding impacted a broad range of agricultural commodities in Hawaii, not just sugarcane growers, and the Secretary of Agriculture is providing assistance under existing USDA disaster recovery programs. These programs will help farmers with noninsured crops, debt management, emergency loans, infrastructure repair, and farmland rehabilitation.…”