Political Quotes

“In the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2001 Congress provided $20,000,000 in emergency money for farmer families in the Klamath. This amount was designed only to keep these farms afloat until further monetary assistance could be found or until the drought ended. According to the Klamath Basin Water Users Association, this drought will cost the Klamath Basin agricultural community at least $200 million above the $20 million provided already. In 2000, the revenue for agriculture in the Klamath Basin, according to the USDA Farm Service Agency, was $132 million. The projected income for 2001 is only $28 million. There is a difference of $104 million in lost revenues alone. That figure does not include the increased costs my constituents incurred to get through the drought with their farms intact, such as well augmentation and cover crop planting to protect topsoil from erosion. May I count on the consideration of the Senator from Iowa, the chairman of the Agriculture Committee and a member of the Agriculture Appropriation Subcommittee, as I pursue additional funding for the Klamath Basin farmers at the first possible opportunity?”