06/29/07 Speaker Chopp tours eastern Washington ag

Washington Ag June 29, 2007 Just as they are the controlling party in the state Legislature, Democrats were the majority of state lawmakers who attended this week's legislative tour put on by the Washington Association of Wheat Growers. Many of them from western Washington. Among those attending the tour of the Palouse region was House Speaker Frank Chopp. Chopp: "Well this is third wheat tour I have been on and each time I learn something. Part of our effort as House Democrats is to emphasize the whole theme of "one Washington" where we are working together to make sure we are paying attention to every part of the state. And also in particular to help agriculture which is an incredibly important part of the economy of our state. So we are learning a lot and also identifying things we can do to be helpful to help the industry do even better in the future." Chopp specifically mentioned rail transportation. Chopp: "We have invested some in that regard but I think we need to do more." The lawmakers visited labs at Washington State University in Pullman. WSU's Ag Initiative was not fully funded during this past legislative session but Chopp says there will be a supplemental spending bill next year. Chopp: "Bill Grant, who is the House Democrat from Walla Walla, is going to help the charge to get that additional money for WSU for ag research so I hope we will be successful there." I'm Bob Hoff.