Herb Kohl: “I believe a more critical examination of this bill demonstrates something entirely different, and so I want to refute…”

“I believe a more critical examination of this bill demonstrates something entirely different, and so I want to refute some of the assertions that have been put forth during this debate. I think every Member of the Senate would agree that agricultural policy needs reform. The realities of production, markets and budgets change rapidly, and therefore what is demanded is a periodic revamping of agricultural policy. I agree that we need greater market orientation in farm policy, and I agree that we need less Government intervention into the production decisions of farmers. However, we also need a farm policy that is defensible to all citizens of our country, and I believe that this bill will ultimately fall short in this very important regard. The structure of current farm programs is basically to provide a safety net, making supplemental payments to farmers only when prices are low, and freeing farmers to make their money from the market when prices are sufficiently high, as they are currently. In contrast, this bill offers farmers a so-called guaranteed payment every year for the next 7 years, based entirely on their past production, regardless of market prices.”