10 



Honorable Jack Kingston 

 House Committee on Agriculture 

 Wednesday, February 3, 1993 



My research revealed quite the opposite, Mr. Chairman. With 1992 

 costs of operating the farm programs at less than eight-tenths of one 

 percent of the total budget, I have concluded that American consumers are 

 really the true beneficiaries of these efforts which ensure an abundance of 

 the world's most healthful foodstuffs at prices far below those paid by the 

 consumers in any other country in the world. 



Let me close these brief remarks by saying that I will work 

 enthusiastically with my Colleagues on the committee in those areas where 

 we can identify costs which can reasonably be reduced even further. But, 

 we should let the American public know the real truth about U. S. 

 agricultural programs. We should make them fully aware that even if we 

 totally dismantled the Department of Agriculture, there would be no 

 significant cost savings to the taxpayer -- in fact, increased costs to 

 American consumers would likely be far higher than the paltry budget 

 savings we would accomplish. 



We should insist that our agriculture budget not spend one dime 

 more than absolutely necessary to effectively and efficiently operate the 



