[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 73 (Thursday, May 4, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S6147]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      OBSERVATIONS ON AGRICULTURE

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I have just returned from a trip through 
the agricultural region of my State and the farmers I represent are 
very worried about their own future and the future of their industry. 
By any measure, American farmers are one of this country's success 
stories. They have provided their fellow citizens with a stable food 
supply that is both safe and affordable. In fact, Americans pay less 
for food than any other industrialized nation in the world. They have 
also produced enough food to feed the world's hungry and are one the 
few sectors of our economy that has consistently registered a positive 
balance of trade. Their success, however, seems to get lost in the 
discussions here in Congress and the political rhetoric of the Nation.
  I visited with farmers in Pullman, Colfax, Walla Walla, and Moses 
Lake and they do not feel that the rest of the country or the U.S. 
Congress appreciates their efforts. After reviewing the spate of 
proposals advanced this Congress, I am forced to agree with them. There 
seems to be a misconception around here that farmers are the only 
beneficiaries of the commodity programs. Nothing could be further from 
the truth. In exchange for income protection, the farmers that sign up 
for the program agree to accept production controls and numerous other 
guidelines and regulations on the operation of their farms. While these 
conditions were often put in place to achieve a specific public policy 
goal, it is important to remember that it is an additional cost to 
farmers and it is a cost they will not be able to recoup from the sale 
of their commodity.
  Because wheat farmers face many difficulties in providing the rest of 
us with our food, it is easy to understand why almost 90 percent of 
them in Washington State sign up for the program. In addition to a 
regulatory environment that they often consider unfavorable, they face 
unfair trading practices by our competitors, nontariff trade barriers, 
escalation costs, and a price that is too low to cover their costs of 
production. On top of all this, weather conditions often wreak havoc on 
all the producers' hard work. Every economic analysis I have seen 
paints a very bleak picture of the future of rural America. I believe 
the conditions of American agriculture justify our continued support of 
the commodity programs, the export promotion programs, and the 
conservation programs.
  The gloomy conditions in farm country are not the only reason to 
support these programs, however, and I am here talking on the floor of 
the Senate because I believe all Americans are well served by these 
programs, not just farmers. In my State, many of the jobs in urban 
areas depend on the exports provided by agriculture. If we, as a 
nation, wish to continue to guarantee that we have a stable food supply 
and continued economic growth in our cities, it is in our interest to 
continue to adequately fund this Nation's agricultural program. I know 
that I will have to continue to make that point in the urban areas of 
my State as well as here in Congress so that there will be a greater 
understanding of just how critical our agricultural industries are to 
all of us. We need to keep these things in mind as we consider the 
budget, the farm bill, and other legislation that impacts farmers.


                          ____________________