The Democrats in the House are coming out swinging full guns on this one.<br />n<br />n<blockquote> September 12, 2006<br />n<br />nThe Honorable Dennis Hastert The Honorable John Boehner<br />nSpeaker Majority Leader<br />nU.S. House of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives<br />nWashington DC 20515 Washington DC 20515<br />n<br />nDear Speaker Hastert and Majority Leader Boehner:<br />n<br />nWe are writing to ask that you schedule time in the U.S. House of Representatives to debate and vote on emergency agricultural disaster assistance for 2005 and 2006 before the House leaves for its announced October recess.<br />n<br />nVery limited and in some cases inadequate disaster assistance has been provided to some parts of the country, while other regions continue to be ignored. Farmers and ranchers are still struggling to recover from disastrous floods, droughts and other natural disasters in 2005, only to face another bad year in 2006, so the time to act is now.<br />n<br />nDemocrats have sought to provide disaster relief several times in the House. Last fall, Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee proposed emergency disaster assistance measures that were defeated by party-line votes. Democrats have offered similar proposals in the Appropriations Committee that were also defeated by House Republicans last fall and early this year. The Senate included agriculture disaster assistance in both of their emergency supplemental bills. Unfortunately, earlier this year, under pressure from President Bush's veto threat, House Republicans failed to stand up for disaster assistance in the conference committee, once again abandoning the pressing needs of our rural communities. Now, the Senate has included disaster assistance in its agriculture appropriations bill. However, since it is not likely that this bill will be completed before Congress recesses, this is another lost opportunity to provide this needed relief.<br />n<br />nA coalition of more than 30 farm and allied organizations, including the National Farmers Union, American Farm Bureau Federation, Independent Community Bankers of America, Farm Credit Council and others have recognized the critical need for disaster assistance and are urging Congress to act quickly and decisively to provide comprehensive relief before the October recess.<br />n<br />nFloods, droughts and other natural disasters have a profound negative economic impact on our small rural communities, impacting the banks, equipment dealers, grocery stores, and other businesses as well as our nation's farmers and ranchers.<br />n<br />nThe House Democratic Caucus recognizes the pressing, urgent need to provide this assistance in our rural communities, and we ask that you schedule time this month to debate and vote on a comprehensive agriculture disaster package.<br />n<br />nSincerely,<br />n<br />nNancy Pelosi<br />nDemocratic Leader <br />n<br />nSteny Hoyer<br />nDemocratic Whip<br />n<br />nJames E. Clyburn <br />nChairman <br />nDemocratic Caucus<br />n<br />nJohn Larson <br />nVice Chairman<br />nDemocratic Caucus<br />n<br />nCollin Peterson <br />nRanking Member <br />nHouse Agriculture Committee<br />n<br />nRosa DeLauro<br />nRanking Member <br />nHouse Ag Appropriations Subcommittee <br />n<br />nBob Etheridge <br />nCo-Chair<br />nDemocratic Rural Working Group <br />n<br />nStephanie Herseth<br />nCo-Chair<br />nDemocratic Rural Working Group </blockquote><br />n<br />nIt looks like the Democrats are coming out swinging on this issue. What do you want to bet they are trying to buy off farmers and ranchers for a few more votes to get a few more seats in Congress? No takers huh. This is a bribe pure and simple. The question is will it work and will the Republicans respond in kind. If they do there is a good chance disaster relief will happen. Interesting times. We will wait and see.<br />n<br />n<strong>In most economic situations outcome and the payoff depend on each participant's own strategy and the strategy of other participants. John Harsanyi</strong>