[House Document 106-32]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 106-32
REQUESTS FOR EMERGENCY FY 1999
SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS
__________
COMMUNICATION
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
REQUESTS FOR EMERGENCY FY 1999 SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
March 1, 1999.--Referred to the Committee on Appropriations and ordered
to be printed
-----------------------
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
69-012 WASHINGTON : 1999
The White House,
Washington, February 26, 1999.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Sir: I ask the Congress to consider expeditiously the
enclosed requests for emergency FY 1999 supplemental
appropriations. The requests, totaling $152.4 million in budget
authority, would provide urgently needed funds to the
Department of Agriculture. The proposals include $109.6 million
in budget authority to support a total of $1.1 billion in
additional lending to farmers and ranchers for emergency,
operating, and ownership loans. In addition, $42.8 million is
requested for the Farm Service Agency to support the greater-
than-projected workload required to implement emergency farm
programs in the remainder of the year. I urge the Congress to
join me in helping our farmers and ranchers by providing this
emergency relief by the end of March.
I hereby designate the following requests as emergency
requirements pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended.
Department of Agriculture
Farm Service Agency, Salaries and expenses:
$42,753,000
Farm Service Agency, Agricultural credit insurance
fund program account: $109,609,000
The details of these requests are set forth in the enclosed
letter from the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget. I concur with his comments and observations.
Sincerely,
William J. Clinton.
Enclosure.
[Estimate No. 8, 106th Congress, 1st Session]
Executive Office of the President,
Office of Management and Budget,
Washington, DC, February 26, 1999.
The President,
The White House.
Submitted for your consideration are requests for FY 1999
emergency supplemental appropriations for the Department of
Agriculture (USDA). A total of $152.4 million in new budget
authority is requested to support $1.1 billion for emergency
agricultural programs. Due to the urgent needs of America's
farmers and ranchers, we request that you ask the Congress to
complete action prior to the end of March.
As described in the enclosures, the following supplementals
are requested to address these emergency needs:
$109.6 million to increase the lending capacity of
USDA's direct and guaranteed farm loan programs, including farm
ownership loans, farm operating loans, and emergency loans, as
well as the program expenses associated with their delivery.
$42.8 million to assist the Department in the delivery
of disaster assistance related to the emergency provisions of
P.L. 105-277, the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency
Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1999.
I recommend that you designate the amounts requested as
emergency funding requirements pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)
of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985, as amended.
I have carefully reviewed these proposals and am satisfied
that they are necessary at this time. Therefore, I join the
Secretary of Agriculture in recommending that you transmit the
proposals to the Congress.
Sincerely,
Jacob J. Lew, Director.
Enclosures.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Farm Service Agency
Salaries and Expenses
For an additional amount for ``Salaries and Expenses,''
$42,753,000, to remain available until expended: Provided, That
the entire amount is designated by the Congress as an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended.
P.L. 105-277, the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, provided $40 million in
Department of Agriculture (USDA) emergency salaries and
expenses funds. This funding was in recognition of the
administrative burden placed on USDA's Farm Service Agency
(FSA) by the disaster assistance provisions in P.L. 105-277.
FSA estimates the need for additional temporary staffing for
five months to implement those provisions fully. This proposal
would not fund additional permanent staff.
The entire amount requested has been designated by the
President as an emergency requirement pursuant to the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Farm Service Agency
agricultural credit insurance fund program account
For additional gross obligations for the principal amount
of direct and guaranteed loans as authorized by 7 U.S.C. 1928-
1929, to be available from funds in the Agricultural Credit
Insurance Fund, $1,095,000,000, as follows: $350,000,000 for
guaranteed farm ownership loans; $200,000,000 for direct farm
ownership loans; $185,000,000 for direct farm operating loans;
$185,000,000 for subsidized guaranteed farm operating loans;
and $175,000,000 for emergency farm loans.
For the additional cost of direct and guaranteed farm
loans, including the cost of modifying such loans as defined in
section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, to remain
available until September 30, 2000; farm operating loans,
$28,804,000, of which $12,635,000 shall be for direct loans and
$16,169,000 for guaranteed subsidized loans; farm ownership
loans, $35,505,000, of which $29,940,000 shall be for direct
loan and $5,565,000 for guaranteed loans; emergency loans,
$41,300,000; and administrative expenses to carry out the loan
programs, $4,000,000: Provided, That the entire amount is
designated by the Congress as an emergency requirement pursuant
to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended.
P.L. 105-277, the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, (the Act), provided $2.8
billion in Department of Agriculture (USDA) farm loans
supported by more than $121 million in credit subsidies. This
funding is expected to be depleted for all USDA farm loan
programs by April 15, 1999. This request for emergency
supplemental appropriations for farm loan is in response to
unprecedented demand for agricultural credit due to
persistently low commodity prices. In FY 1998, USDA loan
programs served 26,000 farmers. The Act increased that number
for FY 1999 to 31,000. With this supplemental funding, USDA
would have the ability to help more than 12,000 additional
farmers in need of capital, bringing the total to over 43,000
in FY 1999.
The entire amount requested has been designated by the
President as an emergency requirement pursuant to the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended.