Etheridge to Hastert: Welcome to N.C., Please Quit Stalling Buyout

WASHINGTON - With U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert in Raleigh today for a political fundraiser, U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-Lillington) called on him to waste no more time in appointing conferees to work out differences in the Senate and House versions of H.R. 4520, which includes the tobacco buyout. In a letter to Hastert, Etheridge urged the immediate appointment of House conferees so that negotiations can begin immediately. The House passed HR 4520 including tobacco buyout legislation on June 17th. The Senate passed its version of the legislation on July 15th and immediately appointed conferees.

"I'd like to welcome the Speaker to North Carolina and urge him to stop stalling the buyout," Etheridge said. "The Speaker ought to immediately appoint conferees on H.R. 4520. "With time running out in the 108th Congress, delaying even for one more day could have disastrous results for our farm families. With a 30 percent quota cut looming next year, our farmers cannot afford to wait another year. Congress must act now to deliver on our promise to farmers."

Recent statements by members of the House Republican leadership have signaled confusion and further possible delays. Last week, House Majority Leader Tom Delay said no decision had been made on the timing for appointing conferees. "There's not a must-do list for legislation," DeLay said (CongressDaily 9/8/04). House Majority Whip Roy Blunt signaled yesterday that the Republican leadership might wait until a lame-duck session after the elections to vote on a possible conference report. According to Blunt, little progress has been made in informal negotiations. "There's no particular reason to appoint conferees if the things that you should be able to work out without conferees haven't been worked out," Blunt said (Congress Daily 9/9/04).