Emerson Etheridge: “I am going to vote for H.R. 5253 because I think it is a good bill and a timely bill. What took so long? Last September…”

I rise again today, in strong support of the 2008 Farm Bill. Mr. Speaker, because of a technical glitch, this Farm Bill will have a new number, but this is the same bill. This is the same bill that was passed on a bipartisan vote in the…

Let me ask this question as if I am sitting at my kitchen table and I get my credit card. In effect, I am paying only the interest on that credit card month after month. That is what we are doing. We are not paying any on the principal. I…

I remember when we went out to South Dakota and through Iowa and how tough it was when it was dry. I will always remember with my good friend, Jerry Moran, we flew into Kansas last year to do a hearing on the ag bill. Lo and behold, when…

Here is my question. If I keep building this big enough, pretty soon the bankers are going say to me, ``Mr. Etheridge, if you can't pay some of the principal, we're going to have to sit down and work out a plan for you.'' Normally, people…