Burgess Owens: “At that time, Mr. Speaker, there was a partisan defense of farm subsidies. I am happy to report that yesterday on the…”

“At that time, Mr. Speaker, there was a partisan defense of farm subsidies. I am happy to report that yesterday on the floor that partisan defense crumbled, and we had legislation, amendments being offered by both sides of the aisle which sought to break through the hypocrisy of corporate welfare for agribusiness. Common sense is on the rise, you know. We should be pleased. In this great democratic process, common sense raises its head from time to time, and common sense is our greatest hope. If this great democracy of ours is to endure, and I think it will endure, because of the fact that built into the structure are opportunities for common sense to come forward. I think the fact that our legislators and Members of Congress have gone home and spent several weeks at home had something to do with the fact that there was a breakthrough and a recognition that agriculture, the agribusiness, is corporate welfare, and that we should get off the dole. Billions of dollars down the drain, billions of dollars down the drain, in contradiction of marketplace, the marketplace economy; a command structure similar to the Soviet Union's command structure. The problem is the Soviet bureaucrats would end it. But there is still much work to be done. Until we are able to deal with farmers' home loan mortgages and other farm loans out there to the tune of $10 billion or $11 billion that are going to be forgiven, we have only begun to scratch the surface.”