Larry Combest: “A countercyclical program works in such a way that if prices are low, there is a safety net which is built into the…”

“A countercyclical program works in such a way that if prices are low, there is a safety net which is built into the program. I think, to my budget-conscious colleagues, of which I am one, this is much more of an honest way to deal with this problem than ad hoc disaster bill after disaster bill after disaster bill after disaster bill. It also gives an opportunity for farmers to plan much better, because they know there is a program in place. If prices are high or if prices are good, a countercyclical program does not kick in. So I would say to my friends who look at this from a spending standpoint, under our program, if we achieve what we are hoping for, and that is higher commodity prices, we will spend substantially less, substantially less than we would by the authors of this amendment, if it passed, because this spending will be there, regardless of what happens to crops. If prices next year or the next year or the next year are extremely low, do we not think that we are going to come back to the Congress, because there is no mechanism to help in those low-price situations, and ask for billions upon billions of dollars? Another thing, this amendment also is very unfair, Mr. Chairman, and I think it is important to point out a couple of things that sound pretty good on the surface, but when we begin to look under a little bit, we begin to realize that this is a little inequitable.”