Date: 1985-05-22
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. Over 20 years ago when I first came to the Congress the first bill I introduced was a balanced budget constitutional amendment. I had come from the Texas Legislature and we operated in Texas under a balanced budget. I felt that if it was good enough for Texas it ought to be good enough for the good old U.S.A. Well. at that time few were interested and less cared. We worked the process eventually to where we got a Budget Committee. We began the necessary discipline several years ago toward having a legislative congressional budget. I think today is an historic day because we are almost near fulfillment of that discipline that we began several years ago. I want to extend my commendation and gratitude to the chairman of the Committee on the Budget and to the ranking minority member In the areas where they cooperated. but mostly to my chairman and the members who have worked so diligently to get us to this spot. Now. agriculture. let me tell you. my dear friends. we in agriculture. in spite of the very drastic situation in which rural America finds itself. we have done our share. In the past four or five sessions we have reduced almost $30 billion. working with the Budget Committee. This year we were allocated $1.8 billion which we shall meet. gladly. even though we have a very difficult situation out there in the hinterlands. I have looked at the alternate proposals. at the substitutes. They are no better than the administrations which decimates and dismantles programs of rural America. We cannot do that because without that base that we have of what is the greatest production capacity in the worldyes. we have problems. yes. sometimes we have surpluses. but that is because of the technology and the ingenuity of the American producerbut in the budget process the worst suffering of the American producer. the farmers. is the deficit. the strength of the dollar. and the area where interest Impacts. and all of the other matters that impact beyond our control. This Is one way to help the farmers and to help rural America. not by taking away rural water supply. not by taking away conservation. not by taking away farmers loans but by seeing that we reduce..as we have done in our committee. with a scalpel. We have done it. we have done it quietly. You do not make headlines when you do the right thing and. the proper thing. You do not get on the 6 oclock news when you are doing the right thing. But we have done it. and I want to very sincerely thank this chairman. I want to thank this chairman because he has allowed us that privilege. He has come to us and said: "I need this money." and we will give it to him. But he has allowed us to do the cutting. We will do that. We will comply with his request. Now. why should we help agriculture? Well. when I joined the Navy I saw signs which said: "Join the Navy and see the world." Well. I never got to sea. Then when I came to Congress. we had the liaison people to come and visit with us and say: "Come and visit with us. you have the privilege of visiting aboard ships." Eventually I worked my way up to a submarine. I went on the submarine and two things happened. One. that submarine had enough megatonnage to destroy the world. an awesome feeling. Second. the submarine underwater. undetected. to protect the United States of America. I asked the commander of the submarine: "How long can you keep the sub underwater undetected"? He let me take a guess. so I said 7 years. Well. he told me: "I can keep this submarine underwater undetected as long as I have food for my crew." So who is running the defense of this country? Who is running the U.S. Navy? The farmers of America are running the defense of this country and those who would dismantle their programs are wrong because it is in the national interest. the national security. We are the best fed people in the world. not that we do not have problems. but they are never the fault of the farmer. Something else went wrong. they do not have a job. we did not help with the program. we did not distribute. Never the fault of the farmer. So. Mr. Chairman. I commend you and your committee. We will give the chairman the necessary savings he calls for from agriculture. We will suffer and it will hurt. but we will do it because the chairman is along the right track and we will support his budget because he has done us justice and equity. He has treated agriculture and rural America with sensitivity and compassion.