Thomas Daschle: “I applaud the effort made by the majority leader and all Members of Congress to respond as quickly and as…”

“I applaud the effort made by the majority leader and all Members of Congress to respond as quickly and as comprehensively as we can to the extraordinary disaster we have now witnessed in Florida. Our hearts and prayers go to all of those people who have experienced this remarkable set of circumstances. There are other areas of the country which have not had the same degree of direct adverse weather but have suffered adversely the effects in many parts of the country with regard to drought, in particular, in certain areas. The two Senators from North Dakota, Senators Dorgan and Conrad, in particular, have been very vocal about the extraordinary impact it has had. South Dakota has also been very adversely affected. We have had terrible drought. We have not been able to address it satisfactorily. There are some people now who are actually having to sell their farms and ranches because they are unable to cope any longer with the drought circumstances. I ask that we might modify the consent to provide for a single amendment which would provide disaster assistance primarily to agricultural producers in Florida and throughout the country in an effort to address those needs, as well.”