[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 77 (Wednesday, May 10, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H4676]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                PASS BOTH A BUDGET BILL AND A FARM BILL

  (Mrs. CLAYTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, we are now in the process of shaping a 
budget for America for the next fiscal year. Soon, we will consider 
reauthorization of a farm bill for the next several years. It is my 
hope that we will pass a budget bill and pass a farm bill. The two 
bills should not be mixed.
  None will dispute that cuts in the budget are inevitable; all will 
agree that farm programs should bear a share of the cuts. But, $15 
billion in reductions is not a cut, Mr. Speaker, it is a severance. $15 
billion in reductions will gut the farm programs, will disrupt vital 
revenue sources in rural communities, and will affect the economy in 
severe and unintended ways. This issue transcends party and region. It 
is a direct hit on rural America, and it also strikes a blow against 
urban America.
  Let us pass a budget bill. Then, let us pass a farm bill, but, in our 
effort to stabilize the budget, we must be careful not to destabilize 
food production for working families who are America's consumers.

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