Date: 1990-10-07
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

It is an agricultural cut minute. much larger than we are supposed to have. That is what I am trying to get across. I thank my distinguished colleague from Texas for allowing me to make that point. So. that is what it is. However. we are the bestfed people in the world. in the history of the world. for the least amount of disposable income of any other people in the world. in the history of the world. and If the Director of OMB says he wants to cut from agriculture. well. that is agriculture. but over here almost 50 percent is food stamps and nutrition and school lunch. Only this part here is a part. that is the erroneous perception that they have. Only this part here is what goes to farm support programs. and then it does not include cattle. It does not include poultry. It does not include hogs. !hey get no support. My fruit and vtgetable production in my congressional district. all they get from the Government is harassment. to tell Members the truth. This is how it comes out. Then. again. let me show Members. it is almost embarrassing that. and I point this out with pride. for being the bestfed people in the world. in the history of the world. and now we are going into organic. and we are going Into a lot of other areas in agriculture. but yet when we look at the Federal Government and the functions. we start with Defense around $300 billion. and then we go to Social Security. and net interest. and that is too high. That is one of the areas that we need to cut. but we have already spent 99 percent of the budget by the time we get to agriculture. Shame on OMBs Director. when they want people in agriculture to take an inordinate amount of the cut. when we have already spent. That has not made the deficit. This has not made the deficit. This has not made the deficit. That has not made the national debt. This has not impacted at all the way we sit here with 99 percent of the budget already spent by the time we get to agriculture. Therefore. I would hope that my colleagues. with some degree of charity and civjc consciousness. and responsibility as realizing and appreciating we are the bestfed people in the world. for the least amount of disposable income per family. that when they ask for the cuts. that we be in proportion to the impact that we make. Now. all along I have been saying that we will take our fair cut. We have been responsible. Every year I have stated. give us a number. let us decide. make the decision where the cuts are made and we will give you the number. The other night when it was 1 to 3. I voted for the resolution. even though it was not in my estimation in my district. the Medicare part of it I thought would impact on my district. the gasoline tax would impact very hard on my district. and it was unfair. I thought. to agriculture. but nonetheless I voted for it because I thought it was the right thing to do. I do hope now that we are reversing that position and we will be addressing those areas. but nonetheless as chairman of the Agriculture Committee I bit the bullet. regardless of political consequences. and I am not here pointing at anyone or crowing about it myself. but just so that Members will know that we have been responsible. We will continue to be responsible. but I think the honest and the fair thing to do is to allow us to be cut in proportion to the impact that we make. Mr. Speaker. I hope this might help my colleagues in their deliberations and maybe entice some of you. even though you are being treated unfairly. the total aspect of the impact of what we do here goes beyond your immediate interest and beyond your immediate needs and beyond your fair and equitable responsibility. and I would hope that all of us will feel and act accordingly.