[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 80 (Wednesday, June 22, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 22, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
  AGRICULTURAL, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND 
               RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1995

                                 ______


                               speech of

                          HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 16, 1994

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4554) making 
     appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and 
     Drug Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the 
     fiscal year ending September 30, 1995, and for other 
     purposes:

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 
4554, the Agriculture appropriations bill for fiscal year 1995. This 
bill provides crucial, much-needed support for the wine and winegrape 
industry in the United States.
  The wines and winegrapes that come from the district I represent, 
Marin and Sonoma Counties in California, are famous worldwide for their 
excellence. The assistance provided by the fiscal year 1995 Agriculture 
appropriations bill to the wine and winegrape industry will enable the 
industry to continue to thrive in my district and all of California.
  H.R. 4554 provides funds to the Market Promotion Program [MPP] which 
is, in part, responsible for the success of California wines in the 
international market. Although California's wines are competitively 
priced and are of the highest quality, they cannot survive in the world 
market without MPP due to unfair trade barriers and other 
disadvantages. The European Community is heavily subsidized through 
export refunds and domestic price support programs that allow European 
Community wine producers to lower costs and absorb high tariffs. 
However, the wine industry receives no production subsidies from the 
U.S. Government. MPP is not a subsidy; it is a program aimed at making 
U.S. exports successful in international markets.
  In addition, H.R. 4554 provides funds that will allow the Department 
of Agriculture to continue its research on grape phylloxera--an insect 
that has been devastating to the grape growing industry. Phylloxera 
attacks the roots of grapevines, eventually killing the entire vine. 
The only solution to date is to replant with resistant rootstock, which 
is very costly. At the end of 1993, a total of about 1,350 acres of 
grapevines were removed in Sonoma County due to phylloxera, resulting 
in substantial financial losses. I am pleased that the fiscal year 1995 
Agriculture appropriations bill enables the USDA to proceed with its 
efforts to assist the winegrape community in finding solutions to this 
costly problem.
  Wine and winegrapes are a multibillion dollar industry for the United 
States, and I believe that the USDA has a responsibility to provide 
support and assistance to vintners and growers, enabling them to 
increase the quality and quantity of the wines produced in California 
and the United States.
  Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 4554, the 
Agriculture appropriations bill of fiscal year 1995.

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