[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16065]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND 
               RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. RICHARD BURR

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 13, 2004

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4766) making 
     appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and 
     Drug Administration, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year 
     ending September 30, 2005, and for other purposes:

  Mr. BURR. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this misguided 
amendment that threatens not only the delicate balance achieved in 
passage of the international tax bill, H.R. 4520, but also the future 
of every farm program administered by USDA.
  Tobacco simply happens to be first. More crops will most certainly 
follow. To my colleagues who produce feed grains, wheat, rice, cotton, 
tobacco, dairy, soybeans, oilseeds, peanuts, sugar, honey, wool, and 
certain other crops: Your crops are next.
  It is also somewhat disingenuous for proponents of this amendment to 
claim that they are protecting the American taxpayer. If indeed 
``taxpayers'' are impacted by the tobacco reform provisions included in 
H.R. 4520, the burden falls only on those who pay excise taxes on 
tobacco products. Any approach other than the one proposed in H.R. 4520 
will actually result in a tax increase on those who choose to use 
tobacco products. If that is what colleagues really are seeking, they 
should say so.
  The facts, Mr. Chairman, are that tobacco and tobacco taxes raise 
more than $30 billion every year for states and the Federal government. 
We are only asking for a portion of this money over five years to 
provide relief to our struggling farmers and their communities.

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