[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 77 (Wednesday, June 6, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H2929]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HAS THERE EVER BEEN A TIME WHEN ONE COULD NOT BUY A GALLON OF GAS FOR A 
                            BUSHEL OF CORN?

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, the sign at the gas station and the 
sign at the co-op tell the story. Gas is $1.93 a gallon. Corn is $1.81 
a bushel. We have suffered through some tough times in farm country, 
but I can't remember a time when one could not buy a gallon of gas for 
a bushel of corn.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about a crisis that affects my 
constituents and everyone living in rural America. We are facing an 
economic one-two punch. The price of the principal product we sell, 
grain, is at an all-time low while the price of the principal product 
we use to grow that grain, fuel and fuel-derived inputs, are at an all-
time high.
  One does not have to be an accountant to know that we cannot sustain 
this economic environment for much longer. Over the Memorial Day 
recess, I hosted nine of the 66 county townhall meetings that I conduct 
each summer across western and central Kansas. The concern was the same 
at every stop. How can we make a living with $1.93 gas and $1.81 corn?
  Since I came to Congress in 1997, my priorities have remained the 
same: Preserving our way of life for the next generation of Kansans. 
The current economic situation puts rural communities and the family 
farm in jeopardy. In the long-term, all Americans will suffer if we 
ignore America's agriculture producers. High gas prices today are the 
result of a failed energy policy. At the height of the so-called energy 
crisis in the 1970s, we were importing 30 percent of our oil needs. 
Today, we import 60 percent. In Kansas, we lost a good chunk of our oil 
production and the related jobs because it was easier to buy foreign 
oil than to support domestic producers.
  Now our energy policy essentially amounts to using the U.S. military 
to protect our foreign sources and then begging them for mercy when 
they meet to set prices. Ironically, we run the risk of repeating the 
same mistakes in agriculture that we have made in energy. If we do not 
act to save our farm infrastructure today, we will be dependent upon 
others for our food tomorrow.
  For several years, Kansas producers have been able to survive low 
prices with high yields. However, a drought last year and poor growing 
conditions this year have left most farmers with few options of where 
to turn. This is an issue of importance to all of us. Our rural energy 
and agriculture producers are vital to the prosperity of our country. 
Congress must act to sustain the way of life in rural America and to 
ensure a prosperous, self-sufficient America tomorrow.
  As we develop a sound national energy policy and as we draft the next 
farm bill, I encourage my colleagues to consider the concern of my 
constituents of $1.93 gas, $1.81 corn.

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