Robert Smith: “Mr. Chairman, this whole question of fees is always controversial and charges are made back and forth, and I maintain…”

“Mr. Chairman, this whole question of fees is always controversial and charges are made back and forth, and I maintain that this fee is not a subsidy to anybody. The livestock industry in this country has never asked this Congress or the American people for one dime and I doubt if they ever will. However, we do plan a new formula, and I oppose the Vento amendment because it destroys the idea that this formula will be in place and people can be confident in it. The formula, by the way, was developed by a professor at New Mexico State University, and it changes the manner in which we measure the amount of money that the Federal Government should receive from an asset, a capital asset, like its lands. The way it is done, and I think very effectively, is to measure the production of an animal on public lands. The way that is done is to determine the value of production of a cow, calf, a bull, and replacement heifers, which by the way is published every year by the Agricultural Economic Program. The value then is divided by the 6-month Treasury note.”