[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 143 (Thursday, September 14, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1789]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                U.S. PRODUCTION OF WHEAT GLUTEN DECLINES

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                            HON. TODD TIAHRT

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 14, 1995
  Mr. TIAHRT. Mr. Speaker, I want to express concern about a serious 
problem that is rapidly destroying the United States vital wheat gluten 
industry and has reverberating effects on U.S. agriculture.
  Wheat gluten is natural protein that is used principally for its 
cohesive qualities in bread products, especially in multigrain and high 
fiber breads. U.S. producers of this unique product are barely existing 
due to overwhelming competitive advantages that are allowing their 
counterparts in the European Union to seize an alarming share of the 
U.S. market. These advantages include European government incentives 
and a lopsided tariff system that heavily favors the European gluten 
industry.
  As U.S. production of wheat gluten declines, so does the requirement 
for domestically grown high protein wheat. This situation, therefore, 
threatens to wipe out a premium, value-added market that farmers in our 
country rely on.
  I urge immediate attention to this problem and call for strong 
efforts to resolve it before the American wheat gluten industry becomes 
extinct.


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