Hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee on the Farm Bill Markup

Statement

Hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee on the Farm Bill Markup

Sen. Chambliss Opening Statement During Farm Bill Markup Business Meeting

"As Ranking Member of the Agriculture Committee, I am looking forward to debating the 2007 farm bill in the Senate. This markup is the result of many, many long hours of field hearings, meetings and negotiations dating back almost a year and a half ago. My staff, Senator Harkin's staff and Senator Conrad's staff has been working tirelessly for the past few months to craft a bipartisan bill which, we believe, strikes accord with essentially every Member of the Committee. In this process, we have reached out to Committee Members to determine the best direction for the agriculture policy that will govern how American farmers and ranchers operate for the next five years.

"America has very diverse agricultural landscape. Whether it's peanut farms in Georgia, asparagus farms in Michigan, or growing energy crops in South Dakota, we all have parochial interests around this table and every part of the farm bill has a large impact on agribusiness and the U.S. economy as a whole. Keeping that in mind, we must ensure that the farm bill provides balance among all involved in order to pass new legislation. I will admit that there are some provisions in this bill that I typically would not support if they stood alone. But, I am committed to getting a strong, bipartisan farm bill passed out of the Committee and passed in the Senate. I support this legislative package that has been carefully negotiated and deliberated.

"As we are all aware, the tight budget situation is the primary reason for the delay in getting a new law written. The fact we are here today with no additional money above our baseline is a testament to the hard work put in by the Members and staffs to compromise and strike a delicate balance between all the titles in the bill. Do I wish we had more resources? Yes. But we find ourselves in a very different situation compared to the last time the Congress passed a farm bill. It is ironic that the strong prices we are experiencing today in farm country would make our jobs more difficult in drafting a new law.

"The offsets and tax funding provisions passed out of the Finance Committee are helping to free-up over $3 billion that otherwise would not have been available to honor many of your requests. I believe Senators Baucus and Grassley put together a balanced package that compliments the bill before us and strengthens the farm safety net for farmers and ranchers. Our intention is to marry-up the farm bill and the Finance Committee funds into a total package on the Senate floor.

"Ultimately, I hope to see the Senate pass a farm bill that does not require raising taxes to fund new spending, does not disregard existing trade agreements, and protects the safety net of American farmers and ranchers, which are the backbone of this country. Let us remember, that at the end of day, the reason we are here is to represent the hard working men and women who get dirt under their fingernails each and every day to provide the highest quality agricultural products in the world."

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