Agriculture, Rural Development, Food And Drug Administration, And Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010

Floor Speech

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Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the Flake amendment to cut potato research.

Potatoes are an important part of our national diet and potato farming is an important part of our national economy.

The $1 million included in this bill for Potato Research goes directly to developing potato varieties that provide profitable, sustainable production for the grower, and a healthy, inexpensive food supply for American consumers.

In Skagit County in my district, over 13,000 acres are devoted to potatoes.

However, late blight disease is a constant threat to my local farmers, and growers use the research provided them by this program to minimize their losses.

Washington state is second only behind Idaho in potato production in the country producing over 9 billion pounds of potatoes every year.

The economic value of the potato industry to Washington is approximately $3.5 billion supporting nearly 20,000 farming jobs. These jobs can be found across our state, and it is critical that we protect them.

The potato breeding program in the Pacific Northwest, the target of this amendment, is a partnership among the USDA Agricultural Research Service, the University of Idaho, Oregon State University, Washington State University, and the potato commissions of the three states.

For every dollar invested in the Northwest Tri-State Potato breeding program, a value of $39 results in improved quality and increased production.

Mr. Speaker, this funding is important to my district, my state, and our country--and I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment.

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