McConnell Disagrees with Bush Statement

Source from:  Post staff reporter By Feoshia Henderson  05/31/2004

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell says he disagrees with a statement President Bush made during a campaign swing through Ohio earlier this month that appears to indicate he opposes a tobacco buyout for farmers. "I don't agree with his observation made in Ohio recently. That would have been a good answer in 2000; it's not a good answer today," McConnell, R-Louisville, said after a speech in Covington Thursday. Bush's remarks, in response to a question on May 4, ignited protests in the tobacco community, particularly in North Carolina, where a hard-fought Senate race is under way. Asked about whether there's a need for further government regulation of tobacco and how the interests of long-time tobacco farmers should be balanced against other concerns, Bush replied: "Well, they've got the quota system in place, the allotment system. And I don't think that needs to be changed." But McConnell said he believed that if Congress could work out the details of a buyout, the president wouldn't stand in its way. "Our growers do need a buyout and I'm confident that if we can figure a way to get a buyout out of Congress, that he'll sign it," McConnell said. Kentucky's two Democratic congressmen, Reps. Ken Lucas of Richwood and Ben Chandler of Versailles, criticized Bush's statement earlier. Enditem