[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 20368]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                AGRICULTURAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE NEEDED

  (Mr. REHBERG asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. REHBERG. Mr. Speaker, it has been a tough week. But as we wind 
down this congressional session, I come to this floor to make one more 
plea on behalf of our Nation's farmers and ranchers. Producers in this 
country have suffered through multiple years of drought, causing many 
to go out of business and others to cut severely into the equity they 
have built for generations.
  My message today is simple: Before we leave town, we must do the 
right thing for farmers. It is not too late. Members of this House, let 
us agree that this farm country drought is a natural disaster. And let 
us also agree to compensate those hard-working farmers for their 
economic losses in the same way we would compensate producers who 
suffer from the devastation of a Florida hurricane or the ravages of a 
Mississippi flood. There is no difference. Let us address this crisis 
before we adjourn by passing a meaningful agriculture disaster 
assistance package for 2001 and 2002.

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