Thomas Daschle: “I simply say there is no logical conclusion one can draw from this except that there are those in the administration and…”

“I simply say there is no logical conclusion one can draw from this except that there are those in the administration and apparently here in Congress who believe farmers and ranchers ought to be subject to a double standard; that they aren't as poor as other victims and the other people who have experienced disasters of other kinds. For some reason, this administration has minimized the losses in agriculture almost from the beginning. As the Senator so well knows, because he was right in the middle of the fight 2 years ago, we tried to persuade the administration to help farmers and ranchers with $6 billion disaster assistance. That was actually passed here on the Senate floor. They sat on it. They stalled it. They did everything they could to prevent it. Ultimately, all we got before the end of the year was about $1 billion--$5 billion less. It is no surprise. This isn't something new for this administration or some of our colleagues in the Congress. This is yet another illustration and pattern of demonstration of how minimally they are prepared to support agriculture and our farmers and ranchers. It is a double standard. It is a shell game. They are telling farmers and ranchers we are going to take money out of your right-hand pocket and put it in your left-hand pocket, and we want you to feel good about it.”