Senate Proceeding on Sep 27th, 2008 :: 3:43:35 to 3:49:14
Total video length: 6 hours 29 minutes Stream Tools: Stream Overview | Edit Time

Note: MetaVid video transcripts may contain inaccuracies, help us build a more perfect archive

Download OptionsEmbed Video

Views:220 Duration: 0:05:39 Discussion

Previous speech:

Next speech:

3:36:35 to 3:43:35( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Blanche Lincoln

3:43:25 to 3:43:35( Edit History Discussion )

Blanche Lincoln: from north dakota. the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. conrad: i thank the chair and i especially thank senator landrieu, the senator from louisiana for her leadership, senator

3:43:35 to 3:43:53( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: lincoln who is a valuable member of the agriculture committee and the finance committee played such an important role in writing a new farm bill and senator pryor, from arkansas, who is here. they

3:43:35 to 3:49:14( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Kent Conrad

3:43:53 to 3:44:10( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: are fighting for farmers that have been devastated by disasters. farmers who are down and out through no fault of their own. and we hear some saying, wait; there's a disaster program that is just

3:44:10 to 3:44:27( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: passed that is in the farm bill. indeed that is true. in fact, i am the author of that legislation. very proud of it. the problem is, we don't yet have the regulations from the u.s. department of

3:44:27 to 3:44:49( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: agriculture as to how that program will be add administered. so the farmers that have been hit by one hurricane after another, don't know the rules of the road. they can't know. and so they are there

3:44:49 to 3:45:03( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: wondering, is there any help for them? and what do they see? they see congress rushing to t help wall street and understanding that if credit in this country locks up, that it's not just going to

3:45:03 to 3:45:18( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: be wall street. the chairmanest feder cal reserve has told us, if the credit lockup continues, 3 million to 4 million americans will lose their jobs in the next six months. so we all understand there's

3:45:18 to 3:45:35( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: much more at risk than wall street. main sphreet son the line. but what -- main street is on the line. but what about these farm families? what about them? apparently there's no place in this package for

3:45:35 to 3:45:52( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: them. and the excuse is, well, we've got a disaster program in the farm bill, but the problem is it's not in effect. and no one knows the rules of the road because usda hasn't written them. you know,

3:45:52 to 3:46:10( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: you talk about catch-22, these constituents of senator landrieu, these constituents of senator lincoln, of senator pryor are out there in limbo land. they are being told, oh, yes there was a disaster

3:46:10 to 3:46:25( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: program four, but nobody can tell you what it is because the rules and regulations have noton yet been drafted. but it's there so don't you worry. and they're thinking, wait a minute. where's the help?

3:46:25 to 3:46:40( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: what am i going to do about the decisions about planting for next year because with no money i can't finance it. and with no disaster program yet in place, without the rules and regulations, what are

3:46:40 to 3:47:02( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: wha do they take to their banker, a newspaper headline that the farm bill bassed with a disaster program withh the current situation of a lockdown in credit? what's the banker going to do with that?

3:47:02 to 3:47:19( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: what senator landrieu is asking for here is exactly what needs to be done. and that is a bridge program to deal with the current emergency until the disaster program that's part of the farm bill is in effect.

3:47:19 to 3:47:38( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: so, mr. president, i would hope that our colleagues in the house and the senate, representatives of the administration, would help find a way to deal with this crisis, because these farm families

3:47:38 to 3:47:54( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: are in every bit as much a crisis as the families who are bng affected by the fiscal crisis. and these farm families deserves help as well. i want to thank senator landrieu for her leadership. she has been

3:47:54 to 3:48:10( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: persistent. she has gone from colleague to colleague. she's talked to the house, the senate, trying to persuade them that these farm families should not be abandoned at their time of need. what an

3:48:10 to 3:48:30( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: irony it would be if the congress of the united states moved in the next few days to react to a fiscal crisis in the country but leftart of the country out. said to those farm families in arkansas

3:48:30 to 3:48:44( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: arkansas and louisiana and texas and, yes, in mississippi, tough luck for you. we've got $700 billion for other parts of the country, but we don't have. 1 billion for you. -- but we don't have $1 billion

3:48:44 to 3:48:57( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: for you. i thank senator landrieu for the time. ms. landrieu: i thank the senator from north dakota. i couldn't say it better myself, and i most seniorly is don't know it as well as he does. but i'd

3:48:57 to 3:49:14( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: like to read to the senator before he leaves the floor something that will, i think, make him even more concerned. and i would like to say to the senator that in anticipation -- because i was getting

3:49:14 to 3:49:33( Edit History Discussion )

Mary Landrieu: nowhere with my conversations except to good people such asourself -- of course senator harkin was very interested, senator lincoln , senator hutchison, but others didn't seem to have a real understanding

3:49:14 to 3:53:41( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Mary Landrieu