Charles W. Stenholm: “I rise in support of H.R. 1906. Let me say I am grateful to the conferees for their recognition of the economic plight…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 1906. Let me say I am grateful to the conferees for their recognition of the economic plight of American agriculture and I commend the chairman and the ranking member for their efforts. I cannot, however, feel good about the way in which we are helping our farmers and ranchers. For the second year in a row, we are using emergency spending to compensate producers for low prices. This fact is a stark admission that our basic farm program is not working. Our Nation deserves a long-term reliable farm policy. Taxpayers have a right to know what the Nation's agriculture programs will cost and agriculture producers should be able to know up-front what kind of assistance they can expect and what the rules will be for distributing it. I wonder how much longer we can go on like this, how much more our government will spend on ad hoc, supplemental AMTA payments before we realize that a more rational, predictable policy needs to be in force.”