Speech #900047964

The Secretary of Agriculture estimated 700 million pounds of imports early last year and then began revising his estimate in an attempt to keep up with the imports. But even his last estimate did not equal the actual imports of 1966. which totaled 823.5 million pounds. When it became clear in 1964 that the cattle crisis of 1962. 1963. and 1964 was due to excessively high meat imports. the Congress. in spite of this administrations resistance. passed the Meat Import Quota Act. Now it is clear that the watering down which was completed in the name of "compromise" must be removed. It was an achievement to get the law of 1964 on the books. but the effect of meat imports on our domestic producers causes us now to strengthen that law.