Political Quotes

“The experience with the Emergency Wetland Reserve Program led me to include the flood risk reduction initiative into this legislation. The purpose of this program is to help farmers who farm in a areas that flood frequently to move their farming activities off lands that are flooded frequently. It helps farmers by giving them the capital that they need to move their farming operations to fewer risky areas. To the taxpayer, it is a commonsense program that will reduce the long-term taxpayers' exposure for agriculturally related flooding costs. It should help reduce the severity and frequency of floods to the farmers' neighbors. Crop damages in recent years have been the source of more than half of the property damages in many floods, including the great Midwest flood of 1993. Our farm programs have unfortunately provided incentives that increase flood damages because they have directly supported the growing of easily damaged commodities even in areas that are flood prone. The crop insurance, disaster assistance, and related programs also make the public assume much of the risk of growing commodities in flood prone areas. We have a strong interest in eliminating the authority to help farmers to switch to more flood resistant uses of flood prone land. It gives farmers the financial capability to move their operations to less risky land.”