Thank you Mr. Chairman. I want to acknowledge the hard work you have put into to providing a package for this committee to consider. I know as Chairman of the Finance Committee how hard it is to find savings for programs that resonate hard back home. I have to find 10 billion to cut from the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Finance has oversight on our trade negotiations and I want to recognize this committee’s action as necessary to preserve budget baselines, but this should not be seen as an attempt to pre-empt vigorous Farm Bill discussions in Congress.
Most important, our trading partners need to recognize that we will use all tools available to us under the WTO to protect our agriculture interests. If they do not come forward with market-opening proposals and steep reduction in their trade-distorting support, we need to retain our ability to use our existing programs up to the limits allowed by our current commitments. We are dealing with difficult times in agriculture across this country from droughts to hurricanes.
Now this package may not be completely to my liking, but as I stated earlier, as Chairmen we have jobs to do and they are not easy.
As a farmer, it is hard for me advocate any cuts to commodity programs and conservation that could negatively affect small producers. I will consider all amendments and hope we can come to an agreement on those amendments without dividing this Committee on unnecessary partisan votes.
Now I know there has been discussions out there on whether or not I would be offering my payment limits legislation to this package. I have not backed off from wanting to address the issue of 10% of the farmers getting 72% of the payments. We need to be looking at how to get more and more people back into farming and prevent large operators from receiving excessive support. By implementing some type of payment limit reform we can reduce government spending and apply savings to more needy programs.
During this Congress on the Budget Resolution, I introduced an amendment that was cosponsored by Senator Conrad that expressed the Sense of the Senate that any reduction in agriculture programs should come through payment limits. This amendment passed with bi-partisan support. That amendment puts the Senate on record on this issue.
I have made my position clear on this issue and have made no secret of the fact that I will be offering some type of payment limit reform when Reconciliation is considered on the Floor of the Senate.
Once again, I thank the chair.