Mike Conaway: “I thank the chairman, and I rise today in strong support of this disaster relief bill. To fully appreciate the need for…”

“I thank the chairman, and I rise today in strong support of this disaster relief bill. To fully appreciate the need for this legislation--and it's going to pass the House today, we hope, and be signed into law by the President this week--just turn on your television or look at the front page of any newspaper to see the details of the drought gripping our countryside today. As a west Texan from cattle country, I know a little bit about droughts. The record-breaking drought that we faced last year in Texas, that's still being felt this year, by the way, was heart breaking for all of us, especially those who make their living raising livestock and growing crops that feed and clothe our Nation. I'm sometimes called upon to explain how good can come out of a bad situation. Maybe this is one of those times. I hope my colleagues who doubt the need for farm policy might think a little bit about what our country's farmers and ranchers are going through right now, and then imagine what many of them are going through without crop insurance, which is the one and only reason why we are not in here today debating a multi-billion dollar disaster package. In other words, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Unfortunately, our livestock producers do not have crop insurance. They have to depend on disaster programs instead.…”