[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 139 (Tuesday, October 1, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1896]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      LEGISLATION EXTENDING CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM CONTRACTS

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                            HON. PAT ROBERTS

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 1, 1996

  Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. Speaker, today, I am introducing legislation to 
restore to the Secretary of Agriculture the optional authority to 
extend existing Conservation Reserve Program [CRP] contracts. This 
action is necessitated by a provision contained in the 1997 
agricultural appropriations law that rescinded that long-standing 
authority at a time when the Secretary is attempting to implement a 
revised CRP that currently does not have final regulations in place.
  Contracts covering 24 million acres, or two-thirds of the existing 
enrolled acres, are scheduled to expire next September and must be 
considered for re-enrollment before that time. Congress devoted 
considerable time and resources during the farm bill to insuring the 
continuation of the CRP with its important conservation and 
environmental benefits. The administration was tasked with proposing 
new regulations for the CRP by early June of this year to give farmers 
sufficient time to understand the revised program and make decisions on 
their participation.
  Unfortunately, USDA's proposed regulations did not appear until mid-
September. The proposed changes are so massive and so many factors are 
still unknown, it is unlikely that farmers will have the final details 
well into next year. If the proposed changes are contained in the final 
rules, it is clear that many weeks of intensive work by USDA will be 
needed to apply the general rules to each individual farmer's land 
before the producer will know whether he is eligible and whether he 
wants to make a bid to enter the program.
  It was the clear intent of Congress to give the producer the maximum 
flexibility in making the decision on whether or not to continue his 
land in the CRP. Farmers cannot sensibly make that decision until all 
the information is available to them. The slightest delay in USDA's 
schedule will create chaos on the farm with an arbitrary deadline 
forcing a decisions for which the producer has insufficient 
information.
  If this situation arises, which in the mind of this Member is a 
probability rather than a possibility, it is imperative that the 
Secretary of Agriculture retain the authority to extend existing 
contracts so that properly thoughtful decisions can be made that will 
affect farmers and our environment for a decade to come.
  By eliminating the limitation on the Secretary's authority contained 
in this year's agricultural appropriations law, this bill will insure 
that USDA has the flexibility to implement the Conservation Reserve 
Program successfully and avoid a train wreck next August.

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