Political Quotes

“I rise to offer a measure to revise the Honey Research, Promotion and Consumer Information Act, the statute under which the National Honey Board is organized. Briefly, my bill would impose a penny per pound assessment on handlers and importers of honey. This will increase the research budget of the Honey Board by approximately $500,000; and enable the industry to fund research programs aimed at addressing the serious problems caused by viruses, parasitic mites, and Africanized bees. The bill also changes the constitution of the National Honey Board to improve packer representation on the board to reflect the imposition of a new assessment on honey handlers. Under my amendments, packers would have a total of four seats versus the current two. Producer and importer representation on the board will not change. In developing my legislation, I worked the American Beekeeping Federation, which represents more than 1,400 honey producers nationwide. The amendments have the support of a broad coalition including producers, packers, and importers, and I encourage my colleagues to join me in this effort by approving this legislation.”