Thomas Daschle: “So we adopted that amendment with 79 votes, with every expectation that we could get help to the farmers and ranchers…”

“So we adopted that amendment with 79 votes, with every expectation that we could get help to the farmers and ranchers who need it as quickly and as meaningfully as possible. Almost from the beginning, the administration's position was that we just could not afford it; that the $6 billion was out of line; that it was too expensive; that there really was not a way to provide the resources to help farmers and ranchers with the magnitude of help we proposed in the amendment. I must say, I find it deeply troubling that at the very time the administration says we cannot afford the $6 billion in disaster assistance, they come forth with a $670 billion tax cut, a tax cut that helps those at the very top, with very little support for anyone else-- borrowing the money, I might add. So, on one hand, the administration is saying to the American people, somehow we can afford a tax cut, $20 billion of which will go to 226 millionaires, at the very time we do not have the resources, we do not have the will, we do not have the support for $6 billion for farmers and ranchers.”