Political Quotes

“I do identify with the comments of my colleague from Michigan, a family farmer who is focusing on the priority needs of agriculture in this country. I look at this bill before us, and I argue against the bill; I argue against the rule. It is a lost opportunity for farmers, for people in my State, in Oregon, for conservation and water quality, and, most definitely, a lost opportunity for American taxpayers and consumers. We are going to hear a lot of talk about conservation, and clearly conservation is a critical need for American agriculture. The rural-urban interface to protect farmland and their suburban neighbors is absolutely critical. Yet this bill struck important Senate provisions for conservation; and even though there is a huge increase in the dollar amount for agriculture, so large we do not know how much is going to be spent under this bill, at the end of the day, it devotes a smaller percentage for conservation than the 1996 bill. It stripped out or watered down animal welfare provisions. This House approved provisions dealing with animal fighting, cockfighting. It reduced those penalties and delayed its implementation for a year. Also dealing with downed animals. It is not a good bill in terms of animal welfare. There are those, sadly, who think the only way you are going to help agriculture is to be able to pile more benefits on the very largest producers.…”