mr. chairman , i rise in complete support of this amendment , and i want to commend the strong and tenacious leadership of the gentleman from montana ( mr. rehberg ) xz4003350 for his offering of the amendment today . 
i also rise with no small measure of frustration and exasperation that this amendment is even necessary today . 
the 2002 farm bill made a promise to farmers and ranchers across this country . 
it promised them that the secretary of agriculture would implement a program to inform consumers where their meat and vegetables come from . 
producers in south dakota see tremendous potential in this program and urged its inclusion in the farm bill . 
in fact , had this provision not been in the bill , i think that many of them would not have supported its passage . 
this promise was supposed to be fulfilled by september 30 of last year . 
the program should already be up and running . 
instead , the large meat packers have rallied to kill this program because they do not want american consumers to discover how much of the meat in the grocery case is actually imported . 
and these packing interests have found strong and willing allies here in this body . 
two years ago in an appropriations bill , congress voted to delay the implementation of this program until september 30 of next year . 
now we see that this 2-year delay was not enough for them . 
their allies in this chamber are at it again today , seeking to delay implementation of this important program for yet another year . 
this is unconscionable and it is just the tip of the iceberg . 
leadership in this body is breaking faith with rural america on a host of important issues . 
the administration is leading the fight to reopen our border to canadian beef despite ongoing concerns about the safety of their beef supply and over the strong objections of many u.s. ranchers and consumer groups . 
rural america is also under attack in the budget process . 
the 2007 budget , which recently passed this body with only republican votes , will cut $ 3 billion from farm safety net programs in the coming years . 
the president 's budget was even worse , seeking a cut of almost $ 6 billion in farm bill programs . 
because of this budget , the farm income safety net , conservation programs and food stamps are now facing huge cuts in the coming years . 
i see mandatory country-of-origin legislation as a win-win situation and no more delays are justified . 
it is a win for consumers who get the security of knowing where their meat comes from , and it is a win for our producers who can build a stronger marketplace for their meat based on the quality of the product . 
let us not forget that american consumers have shown overwhelming support for cool . 
a nationwide poll taken last year found that 82 percent of consumers think food should be labeled with country-of-origin information ; 85 percent said they would be more inclined to purchase u.s. products ; and 81 percent said they would be willing to pay a few cents extra for food that is grown here at home . 
american consumers want the ability to be as informed about their food purchase decisions as they are about virtually all of the other consumers goods they purchase . 
country-of-origin labeling gives them this tool and they support it . 
let us restore our commitment to rural america . 
i urge my colleagues to support this amendment . 
a 2-year delay is long enough . 
let us allow the agriculture secretary to fulfill the promise of the 2002 farm bill by giving producers the marketing tools that they need and consumers the information that they are seeking on the origin of the food they buy . 
