Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, first I want to thank the chairman of the full committee for his assistance and that of the administration for providing upwards of $20 million in disaster relief in this supplemental for the people, the ranchers of Klamath Falls, Oregon, in the Klamath Basin, that includes also over into California. This aid is extraordinarily important. Saturday, the House Committee on Resources held a hearing in Klamath Falls that had to be moved to the fairgrounds because more than 2,000 people affected by this cutoff of the water turned out to hear what the Federal Government was doing. Mr. Chairman, as we have discussed, I greatly appreciate all the efforts of the chairman and that of his staff to expedite the delivery of those funds in the form of grants to the farmers that are so affected. As we have talked, however, this is literally a drop in the bucket in terms of the disaster magnitude there. Upwards of $200 million is what they estimate will be the problem. I wondered, Mr. Chairman, if it might be possible, recognizing this will not be the only vehicle going through this session of Congress, but if possible we could work to increase that disaster aid to these people whose fields are drying out and they are getting foreclosure notices today.”