[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 88 (Friday, June 14, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6267-S6268]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   USE THE DISASTER RESERVE OF GRAIN

  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I will try to talk for a few minutes 
here to alert my colleague and anybody watching about the importance of 
a Senate resolution which I submitted, along with Senators Daschle and 
Domenici and Pressler and Leahy. That is Senate Resolution 259. It was 
agreed to by unanimous consent. I call on the Secretary of Agriculture 
to give that resolution very serious consideration.
  The resolution simply states that it is the sense of the Senate that 
the Secretary of Agriculture should use the disaster reserve of grain, 
which is under his authority, to alleviate the distress of livestock 
producers. This should be done in the most efficient manner 
practicable, including cash payments from the sale of commodities that 
are in the disaster reserve.
  The disaster reserve currently has about 44 million bushels of grain. 
The Secretary of Agriculture has two choices, essentially, as to how to 
proceed in compliance with the resolution. He can transport the grain 
from the Midwest, where it is currently stored, to the southwest, where 
that grain is needed.
  Of course, this kind of an option would be time consuming; it would 
be inefficient. The other alternative, and that is what we urge in our 
resolution, is that he could sell the grain on the open market and use 
the proceeds from the sale as cash payments to livestock producers who 
are in the most distress. This action would provide significant relief 
to ranchers in New Mexico and in many other States.
  Mr. President, the resolution I have referred to represents one of 
several efforts that we have made to provide immediate assistance to 
livestock producers. Those in the livestock industry cannot wait for 
the normal period that it takes to pass legislation in this Congress.
  Many people have had to sell their cattle because they could not 
afford to feed those cattle. To bring a calf to market today, to get it 
up to the weight where you can bring it to market, a rancher is 
required to spend about $350 on grain. Under the present circumstances, 
he could be expected to sell that calf for $200 or less. That, of 
course, does not make sense. Many ranchers have had to sell their 
entire herds now, at this point, when the price of cattle is at a near 
all-time low.
  A rancher from Quay County in my State on the east side of New Mexico 
reported that semis loaded with cattle have had to wait up to 18 hours 
to be unloaded at the slaughterhouse in Hereford, TX. The cattle that 
remain on the range are in poor health.
  Twenty-two of the thirty-three New Mexico counties have been declared 
disaster drought areas. Farmers in these counties, in many cases, have 
had to plow their fields into large clods to keep the wind from blowing 
precious topsoil away.
  Without question, the current hardships affect the entire community. 
In certain areas of New Mexico, banks are having to let ranchers and 
farmers pay only interest on their loans.
  This drought has also started an early fire season with very 
devastating results in my State. As of May 5, fires had burned 162,000 
acres of Federal land in the two States of Arizona and New Mexico. This 
figure is twice the area burned in the entire year of 1995. As a 
result, in our State, fireworks have been banned statewide.
  Part of my State did receive rain in the last 2 days. However, as 
welcome as that rain is, it is clearly not enough. We have talked to 
various extension offices around New Mexico, and the indications are 
that the amount of rain received was very sparse and widely 
distributed. In Chaves County, the extension office indicated that they 
received one-tenth of an inch of rain in areas that are usually farmed, 
and even less than that in grazing areas.
  The normal rainfall from January until the present time is about 2 
inches. In Eddy County, in the southeast part of our State, they 
reported they had a few drops of rain a few days ago. Roosevelt County, 
on the east side of New Mexico, had one-half inch in the town of 
Portales, but less out in the county. Lincoln County indicated that 
there was some rain in Carrizozo, none out in the rest of the county.
  Mr. President, let me show a chart which I think makes the case much 
better than a description by me could make. This is the Palmer drought 
index, which is the primary way in which people in the weather 
predicting business and weather analysis business determine the extent 
of the drought that is being experienced.
  This is a map as of May 25 of this year. It is the most recent map. 
Though the map was made on June 4, it is valid for the period up 
through May 25.
  This shows that the blue, or turquoise areas on the map are those 
which are considered moist, by normal standards.
  The yellow areas--and you can see much of the Northeast is having a 
moist season so far this year--the yellow areas are normal.
  The tan areas are moderate.
  The reddish areas are severe drought.
  And then the purple areas are listed as extreme drought.
  You can see the very large area throughout the Southwest that is 
listed as experiencing extreme drought conditions under this map. Most 
of my State, most of Arizona, much of California, much of Nevada are 
listed in extreme drought conditions. Mr. President, this is not a 
modest problem; it is a very serious problem for the State.
  We have seen some measures taken to deal with this hardship, but they 
are not enough. The President has announced some actions, but I believe 
we must pursue all avenues available. For this reason, I continue to 
encourage the Senate to take up and to pass a bill that I introduced on 
May 13, S. 1743, the Temporary Emergency Livestock Feed Assistance Act 
of 1996. We requested the Secretary of Agriculture to give us his 
comments on that bill, and I have a letter from him, which I ask 
unanimous consent be printed in the Record following my remarks.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (See exhibit 1.)
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, let me read two or three sentences from 
that. The Secretary of Agriculture, in this letter dated the 12th of 
June, says:

       The Department of Agriculture supports the concept and 
     intent of the proposed legislation as a means to provide some 
     form of assistance to livestock producers who cannot receive 
     assistance under either crop insurance or the Noninsured Crop 
     Disaster Assistance Program, as the administration proposed 
     in legislation submitted to Congress last year in formulating 
     the 1996 farm bill.

  He goes on to say:

       The extension proposed in S. 1743 could be operated through 
     the current LFP policy and procedure with very limited 
     changes. Therefore, if the legislation were enacted, it could 
     be implemented in a very short timeframe.

  Under the bill, Mr. President, the producers who have suffered at 
least a 40-percent loss of feed production would be able to apply for 
assistance through their local farm service agency. The livestock 
eligible would be cattle, sheep and goats.
  The old program was funded through the Commodity Credit Corporation. 
This bill changes that funding mechanism. S. 1743 targets $18 million 
from the Cottonseed and Sunflower Seed Oil Export Assistance Program. 
If market conditions remain the same, we are informed that these funds 
will go unspent this year unless we use them for the purpose that we 
have designated in S. 1743.
  Mr. President, we now have 16 cosponsors for this legislation. It is 
a very impressive bipartisan group of cosponsors: Senators Daschle, 
Domenici, Baucus, Gramm, Dorgan, Grassley, Exon, Hatch, Harkin, Inhofe, 
Johnston, Kyl, Feinstein, Pressler, Hutchison, and Kassebaum are all 
cosponsors of the legislation with me. I urge other Senators to join us 
in this legislation.
  This bipartisan bill will give immediate relief to the livestock 
industry. I know there are some in this body who hesitate to resurrect 
a program that was eliminated in the recently enacted farm bill, but 
let me point out that S. 1743 addresses many of the reasons that the 
program was eliminated and corrects the problems.
  Several provisions have been placed into the bill to guard against 
some of the abuses that had been pointed out in the program previously. 
For example, a rancher must have owned or leased the livestock covered 
in our proposed legislation for at least 180 days. If the

[[Page S6268]]

rancher has not owned or leased the livestock for the required time, 
there are certain exceptions that the Secretary would have to 
approve. This will ensure that additional livestock are not purchased 
for the sole purpose of benefiting from this program.

  Also there is language that allows the Secretary to determine the 
quantities of forage sufficient to maintain livestock based on the 
normal carrying capacity of the land. The language is intended to 
discourage anyone from overstocking the land above the carrying 
capacity and receiving assistance for that effort.
  Further, S. 1743 would not revive the program indefinitely. This bill 
proposes to allow the program to exist only through 1996. That year, of 
course, is essentially half over. The practical effect of S. 1743 is 
that it would provide short-term assistance for the livestock industry 
until adequate rain does come.
  S. 1743 differs significantly from the livestock feed program in 
regard to how it is funded. We have identified $18 million that will go 
unspent this fiscal year. The old program was funded through the 
Commodity Credit Corporation. We do not upset any of the funding 
mechanisms created in the newly enacted farm bill. Instead we spend 
money that otherwise would be returned to the Treasury.
  As I have stated, Mr. President, the livestock industry in my State 
and in much of the Southwest needs immediate relief. Until the 
livestock industry receives some immediate assistance, I ask the Senate 
to continue moving ahead with Senate bill 1743. Given the choice of 
whether this $18 million is to be used for drought emergency or 
returned to the Treasury, I believe the choice is clear, given the 
crisis that we face.
  Mr. President, as I indicated a week or so ago speaking on the floor 
on this same subject, we cannot legislate rain. But we can legislate 
some measure of relief during this time of crisis. We should do so. I 
urge my colleagues to join me in doing so. Mr. President, I yield the 
floor.

                               Exhibit 1

                                        Department of Agriculture,


                                      Office of the Secretary,

                                    Washington, DC, June 12, 1996.
     Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
     U.S. Senate, Senate Hart Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Jeff: This is in response to your request for comments 
     regarding S. 1743, a bill ``To provide temporary emergency 
     livestock feed assistance for certain producers, and for 
     other purposes.''
       S. 1743, basically mirrors the Livestock Feed Program (LFP) 
     that was suspended, for crop years 1996 through 2002, by the 
     Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, 
     signed on April 4, 1996, with two exceptions: (1) eligible 
     livestock, which the proposed legislation limits to cattle, 
     sheep, and goats; and (2) funding. Funds for the expired 
     program originated in the Commodity Credit Corporation, 
     whereas the proposed legislation specifies that the Secretary 
     of Agriculture shall use not more than $18 million that 
     otherwise would have been made available to carry out the 
     cottonseed oil and sunflowerseed oil export assistance 
     programs established under section 301(b) of the Disaster 
     Assistance Act of 1988.
       The Department of Agriculture (USDA) supports the concept 
     and intent of the proposed legislation as a means to provide 
     some form of assistance to livestock producers who cannot 
     receive assistance under either crop insurance or the 
     Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), as the 
     Administration proposed in legislation submitted to Congress 
     last year in formulating the 1996 Farm Bill. The extension 
     proposed in S. 1743 could be operated through the current LFP 
     policy and procedure with very limited changes. Therefore, if 
     the legislation were enacted, it could be implemented in a 
     very short timeframe.
       The long-term Palmer Index, as of May 11, 1996, indicates 
     that extreme drought currently is occurring in parts of 
     Arizona, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, and Utah. The 
     Palmer Index also shows that severe drought is occurring in 
     parts of Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, 
     Texas, and Utah.
       USDA would support S. 1743 if it were modified so that 
     benefits under the proposed legislation would be made 
     available only to those producers who are not eligible to 
     receive assistance under NAP or crop insurance. If careful 
     consideration is not given to eligibility criteria, the $18 
     million funding provided for the legislation will be 
     inadequate. NAP assistance on privately-owned land is 
     available for seeded forage and for native forage. On Federal 
     or State-owned lands, NAP assistance is available only for 
     seeded forage. Vegetation occurring naturally without seeding 
     is considered native forage. Seeded forage is defined as 
     acreage which is mechanically seeded with grasses or other 
     vegetation at regular intervals, at least every 7 years, in 
     accordance with good farming practices.
       Because LFP benefits may fluctuate frequently during the 
     feeding period, it would be advisable to provide for a 30-day 
     sign-up period in order to make an early determination of 
     potential expenditures and to issue advance payments 
     accordingly.
       The requirements in section 6, of the proposed bill, Report 
     on Use of Disaster Reserve for Livestock Assistance, are 
     extraneous, and need not be included. the Administration is 
     quickly developing a mechanism for distributing the Disaster 
     Reserve stocks and will announce it very soon.
       The Office of Management and Budget advises that there is 
     no objection to the presentation of this report from the 
     standpoint of the Administration's program.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Dan Glickman,
                                                        Secretary.

  Mr. KENNEDY addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair recognizes the Senator from 
Massachusetts.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I understand that the leader has some 20 
minutes of time?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair advises the Senator from 
Massachusetts that is correct.
  Mr. KENNEDY. I yield myself 12 minutes of the leader's time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair recognizes the Senator from 
Massachusetts.
  Mr. KENNEDY. I thank you.

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