Robert Smith: “I rise today, again, to raise my voice on behalf of the farmers of Klamath Falls, OR, and the Klamath Falls Basin that…”

“I rise today, again, to raise my voice on behalf of the farmers of Klamath Falls, OR, and the Klamath Falls Basin that includes northern California in equal numbers. I first thank my colleagues of the Senate and of the entire Congress for the $20 million that was allocated on an emergency basis to help these farmers to stave off foreclosure. My colleague, Senator Wyden, and I pointed out at the time that it was probably a tenth of what was actually needed, and that is proving to be the case, because the wolves of foreclosure are at the doors of many farms right now. The reason is simply that they were denied a season of farming. You can imagine what it would mean if the Federal Government took away the means by which any of us makes a living for a year and how we might survive. The truth is, we cannot. No one saves that money. The way farms operate, they do not have those kinds of margins. So what I am doing today is seeking an additional appropriation to help them; it comes in two requests: One, it is to provide these 1,400 farm families with an additional $38 million in direct assistance; in addition to that, $9 million for activities to improve water storage and water quality in the Upper Klamath River Basin.”