[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 106 (Friday, July 31, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H6868]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         UNCERTAINTY AND WORRY IN ``OLD BELT'' TOBACCO MARKETS

  (Mr. GOODE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GOODE. Mr. Speaker, next week the ``Old Belt'' flue-cured tobacco 
markets open in Southside, Virginia, and the farmers have never faced 
greater uncertainty. Over the course of the last year, the tobacco 
farmers in the Fifth District of Virginia, and across the southeastern 
part of the United States, have been tossed around like a political 
football.
  The farmers were not included in the original settlement, but 
throughout the debate over the proposed settlement, people on all sides 
have indicated that they want to protect the tobacco growers. Yet, we 
see legislation proposed in Congress that will cripple and ruin the 
American grower. We must fight such proposals.
  Mr. Speaker, I just hope that as various political agendas go 
forward, the hard-working growers and their families and their 
communities do not end up busted, bankrupt, and broken.
  The annual opening of the tobacco markets historically have been a 
time of optimism and hope. But this year, as the markets open in 
Southside, Virginia, the optimism is replaced by uncertainty and worry.




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