[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 135 (Friday, August 11, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S12367]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  THE CHALLENGES OF THE 1995 FARM BILL

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, the 1995 farm bill got off to a good 
start recently when the Senate Agriculture Committee drafted 
significant parts of the legislation, including the research, farm 
credit, rural development and trade sections. Taken as a whole, I am 
optimistic these first four provisions will benefit rural America by 
helping beginning farmers get started and putting renewed focus on the 
production of value-added agricultural products.
  While progress was indeed made and such a good beginning is 
encouraging, I walked out of the committee room after voting feeling a 
bit like a farmer watching his fields in early spring. It is always 
nice when your crop gets off to a good start, but experience suggests 
we should not get overly confident until it has been harvested and sold 
at a fair price.
  There is still a long and difficult path to travel before we can 
declare any sort of victory for the American farmer.
  My highest priority in the coming months will be to tackle those 
parts of the farm bill that will have the most immediate impact on the 
income of family farms and ranches. I have talked to hundreds of 
producers across South Dakota in the last few months about the 
importance of this farm bill. They all tell me the same, very simple 
thing: ``Go back to Washington and write a farm bill that will allow us 
to get a fair price for the food we produce.''
  They ask for nothing more--and nothing less.
  I have been very pleased by the bi-partisan nature in which we were 
able to work out the fine details of these first provisions, and hope 
this cooperation will continue as we take up the issues that are most 
important to farm and ranch families across South Dakota. Make no 
mistake--increasing net farm income will not come without a fight, but 
those of us in Congress who have been waiting for years to draft a farm 
bill that puts the farming family above the farming corporations are 
ready and eager for the debate.
  To this point, the Senate Agriculture Committee has taken action on 
four sections of the farm bill:
  The research provisions include my proposal to require that USDA 
allocate 40 percent of competitive research dollars to applied research 
that will have a tangible, positive impact on the daily lives of 
producers and the economic health of our rural communities. I also 
fought for a provision that requires USDA to include full-time farmers 
as members of their research advisory board. Many of the decisions made 
by the Secretary of Agriculture are based in part on the advice of this 
board. It simply does not make sense to have it packed with 
bureaucrats.
  The farm credit provisions improve the guarantee program by 
increasing the protection afforded to banks if they lend to a beginning 
farmer or refinance the loan of an existing direct USDA borrower. Also, 
the direct loan program is reformed to increase its focus on beginning 
farmers and on those in need of only temporary assistance.
  The trade title sets workable, concrete goals for trade expansion, 
increases the percentage of our exports that must be used for high-
value and value-added products, and creates new procedures that will 
help enforce recently signed international trade agreements.
  Finally, the rural development title in the committee-approved bill 
will give States the flexibility they need to pursue innovative 
projects to revitalize our small communities by allocating a portion of 
the funds for State-specific projects.
  There are many reasons to be optimistic about the progress achieved 
to date. These first few provisions address important issues facing our 
future--beginning farmers, meaningful applied research, expanded trade 
and new markets. We now need to reenforce the point that if we do not 
do something about declining farm income in the present, there may not 
be a future.
  We also need to remember that no one gets the prize for a good start. 
My sights are now set on continuing this initial momentum on through to 
the finish line. Our goal is a farm bill that will improve net farm 
income, simplify farm programs and bolster our rural economies. The 
stakes of this race are nothing less than the future of rural America.


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