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Washington DC Office
555 Dirksen Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Ph: 202.224.6342
Fax: 202.224.1100
North Carolina Offices
Raleigh Office:
310 New Bern Avenue
Suite 122
Raleigh, NC 27601
Ph: 919.856.4630
Fax: 919.856.4053
Salisbury Office:
225 North Main Street
Suite 304
Salisbury, NC 28144
Ph: 704.633.5011
Fax: 704.633.2937
Western Office:
401 North Main Street
Suite 200
Hendersonville, NC 28792
Ph: 828.698.3747
Fax: 828.698.1267
Eastern Office:
306 South Evans Street
Greenville, NC 27835
Ph: 252.329.1093
Fax: 252.329.1097
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Press Office - Speeches
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REMARKS TO THE NORTH CAROLINA FARM BUREAU ANNUAL MEETING
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December 6th, 2004 - Thank you so much, Larry, for that introduction and video – my, what a production! It is such a pleasure for me to be here with you today at the 69th annual meeting of the North Carolina Farm Bureau. You all are dear friends, and I always look forward to being with you. It is also a pleasure to be here with Mike McIntyre and Richard Burr – two true statesmen who really care about our farm families and their livelihoods. And of course, I am absolutely thrilled that Richard will soon be serving with me in the United States Senate.
I understand that Howard Coble was here earlier as well. He’s another for whom I have real respect. I work closely with all of these gentlemen, and I can tell you first-hand they serve North Carolina with tremendous distinction and effectiveness. Each has been a supporter of the Farm Bureau for a long time.
During the past two years in which I have had the honor of serving as your United States Senator, I too am proud to have worked closely with you on issues that impact the farm families of this state, from efforts aimed at repeal of the death tax to achieving a tobacco quota buyout. Together, we have all accomplished a lot in that time.
And this has not been a time for the faint of heart, that’s for sure. Your president, Larry Wooten, has provided strong, unwavering leadership during what has been one of the most stressful and trying periods ever encountered by the North Carolina tobacco family. We literally charted – and then inched our way, – carefully and thoughtfully, through the political minefields, to achieve the tobacco quota buyout. Had it not been done this way, our opportunity, which was a long-shot to begin with, could have easily been scuttled, leaving us with nothing.
When Senator Helms spoke by video to the North Carolina Tobacco Growers Association several years ago, he said something that rang true every single day we worked on this issue. Achieving a tobacco buyout, he said, would be the most difficult task he’d undertake during his 30 years in the U.S. Senate. He wasn’t kidding, but we are here today because he began laying the groundwork so many years ago.
Two years ago, had you asked political pundits in Washington if a tobacco buyout would get across the goal line, most would have expressed very serious doubts, and some may have even laughed. So when a buyout was included as part of the FSC/ETI Conference Report, long-time observers were absolutely shocked. They were astounded that we were able to see it through, and at $10 billion to boot! As Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said, after it passed the House and Senate and was sent to the President, the tobacco buyout “was a legislative miracle.”
Clearly though, in spite of the immense political obstacles – the fact that only a handful represent tobacco states – and in spite of the inherent polarization that the term “tobacco” invites in Congress – it was the right thing to do. It was the fair thing to do. That is why I made the buyout my number one legislative priority when I arrived in the Senate. Our tobacco producing communities have suffered terribly in recent years. At the April field hearing in Smithfield, which I held as Chair of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Production and Price Competitiveness, Larry Wooten put it well: This rigid government program created in the 1930’s was not designed for the intense world competition of today, and it was not designed to withstand the consequences of the Master Settlement Agreement.
In past years, our farmers led the world in flue-cured tobacco production. Now, they account for only 7 percent of flue-cured sold worldwide – and our percentage share has been continuing to decrease at an alarming rate. As the United States market share in tobacco slipped, the quota system with its price supports, led to a 58 percent cut in quota over the past six years. That is equivalent to cutting your paycheck by 58 percent. There isn’t a business in America that wouldn’t take a serious hit with a 58 percent cut in revenue. And according to Blake Brown, our respected agricultural economist at NC State, North Carolina’s farm families were about to experience at least another 33 percent cut in quota for the 2005 crop year – and at least a twenty cent assessment per pound sold. It would have been devastation for many rural communities and families who were already struggling!
By buying out the quota holders and growers, we are providing rural North Carolina with a major economic boost. We are giving our farmers the opportunity to retire with dignity, and for those farmers who want to continue to grow leaf, they can make the transition to compete in the international marketplace. We will stop conceding tobacco production to countries like China and Brazil.
Farmers and their families are substantially better positioned now, to pay off the bank for loans made against an ever shrinking quota. Simply put…by getting the buyout done before the next quota cut, literally thousands of families in North Carolina have been saved from bankruptcy. This single act of Congress will prevent foreclosures to thousands of farmers. It will stop the negative economic ripple effect felt so strongly in our rural communities. It is the retailers, the equipment dealers, the chemical dealers, the fertilizer dealers – and a whole array of small local businesses – who’ll benefit. These are, indeed, the small businesses that create the majority of new jobs in tobacco producing states – jobs that are vitally needed.
And there are other initiatives that will help significantly, too – the President’s call for permanent tax relief, elimination of the death tax, simplification of the tax code, legal liability reform, the enactment of legislation which makes it possible for small businesses to form Association Health Plans to pool their risk, and use their market power to lower health care costs. All of these major reforms will help create an environment more conducive to doing business. All of these major reforms will make a positive difference for North Carolina’s economy.
As I mentioned earlier, I can’t wait to have Richard Burr join me in the U.S. Senate to work side by side on these, and many other issues, important to North Carolina. Richard brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the Senate. It was his foresight, ingenuity and ability to work with other members that allowed him to broker the deal with Bill Thomas, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, to put the tobacco buyout on the international tax bill. That got the ball rolling and allowed us to achieve what Washington insiders are still calling unbelievable.
And again, let me pay tribute to Mike McIntyre. He and Richard pulled together the bi-partisan coalition necessary to provide the votes to secure the deal – two true statesmen every step of the way.
I told you last year at this very meeting that we would not stop fighting for a buyout…that we would leave no stone unturned to get this done. Ladies and gentlemen, it is so nice to be able to look back at our effort and then look you in the eye and tell you that we not only kept our word, we got a law passed!
As with any major change in an industry, there will be a transition period. There will be uncertainty on a number of fronts, but there will also be opportunity including a great opportunity to regain America’s rightful place in tobacco
production – and keep our jobs at home.
And speaking of jobs, agriculture in North Carolina represents roughly 23 percent of the state’s employment, and 20 percent of our state’s domestic product. You are a major economic force in North Carolina – and we are blessed to be so diversified in agricultural production. And we are blessed to have the NC Farm Bureau advocating on behalf of each and every one of you, advocating on behalf of our state’s farm families and the variety of agricultural enterprises you represent. This great organization has been around for a mighty long time, and you have all witnessed and weathered a lot of change in North Carolina’s agriculture.
I have always admired our farm families for standing firm for their values – honesty, integrity, hard work, perseverance, respect for one’s fellow man, faith in families, and faith in God. Without you, where would this country be? You provide the food and fiber for this state, for America, and for the world. I am proud to stand with you!
Ladies and gentlemen, may God bless each and every one of you, and may God continue to bless this great land of the free, America.
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