Political Quotes

“farmers face a great deal of uncertainty. The uncontrollable forces of nature or a volatile market can destroy a farmer's livelihood without warning. When the crops are planted, growers worry about whether they'll be enough rain--or too much; whether supply will be too great or demand too small; whether prices will be too low, or production costs too high. For tobacco growers, these unavoidable concerns were compounded when the tobacco industry and the 40 states' attorneys general unveiled their global settlement of tobacco issues on June 20 of this year. The parties did not address how the settlement would affect America's tobacco growers and their communities. Much has happened since that time. Congressional hearings have been held, legislation has been drafted, and the President has reviewed the global settlement. A common theme runs through these separate actions, and that theme is that tobacco farmers and the families and communities that depend on them should not be punished by comprehensive tobacco legislation. I believe the President said it best when he remarked during his discussion of the tobacco settlement in September that: We have a responsibility to [tobacco growers]. They haven't done anything wrong. They haven't done anything illegal. They're good, hardworking, tax-paying citizens, and they have not caused this problem. And we cannot let them, their families, or their communities just be crippled and broken by this.…”