[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 28 (Monday, March 16, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1990-S1991]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BAUCUS (for himself and Mr. Burns):
  S. 1762. A bill to amend the Agricultural Market Transition Act to 
authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to extend the term of marketing 
assistance loans; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry.


                 THE EMERGENCY MARKETING ASSISTANCE ACT

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Emergency 
Marketing Assistance Act of 1998. I am pleased to be joined in this 
effort by the rest of the Montana delegation--Senator Burns and 
Congressman Hill. The Emergency Marketing Assistance Act is the product 
of cooperation between our Montana delegation, local communities, and 
agricultural producers in our state.
  Farming is never easy. It is a challenge that requires work, 
knowledge, faith and courage. But this year has been a particularly 
difficult time for producers. A large number of wheat growers in our 
state and across America are facing a bleak market year.
  Many have not even sold their 1997 crop. Instead, they have taken out 
nine-month USDA Marketing Assistance Loans which will soon come due. 
But unless there is a dramatic upsurge in our current prices, they will 
be forced to sell at a low price, inadequate to cover their debts.
  Currently, the total volume of grain under loan in Montana is 43.5 
million bushels. This is not an unusual figure during normal marketing 
years when farmers know they'll get a fair price for their product.
  Two years ago we could get over five dollars a bushel for our wheat. 
But today the current price languishes under the three dollar mark. 
Couple that with our abnormally high shipping rates, and it is no 
wonder our farmers are reluctant to sell. They would a serious hit. And 
some might lose the farm.
  However, it is important to remember, Mr. President, this difficult 
situation is temporary. In time, prices will rebound and wheat 
producers will be able to sell their grain at a fair price. That is why 
we are asking the Secretary of Agriculture to extend these loans for up 
to six months. Our producers would be able to weather the storm of 
these dreadful prices.
  For many of our farmers, this is a make-it or break-it year. They 
have survived tough winters and dry summers. They compete with the 
monopolistic practices of the Canadian Wheat Board. They struggle to 
overcome the high cost of shipping. And they are completely shut out of 
China's market.
  But we expect them to somehow go into the field day after day, season 
after season, to make certain that we have an abundant supply of food 
at a fair price. A six-month marketing assistance loan extension is a 
partial solution to the problems our farmers are facing. And that is 
why I am speaking here today.
  We also need to take immediate action to ensure that this price 
depression does not happen again. As we give our producers this tool to 
stay on their farms, we must also work to improve markets and stimulate 
prices. I am constantly reminded that many of our producers got behind 
the Freedom to Farm bill with the express understanding that the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture would aggressively seek export markets.
  Clearly, we need to do a better job of moving our products, 
especially wheat. I believe that by using a combination of the Export 
Enhancement Program, food aid and credit programs available through the 
USDA, we can assist our farmers during this difficult period. If we do 
not take action now, the results will be disastrous in farm country.
  I would like to thank my Montana colleagues for their assistance in 
this endeavor. I also want to recognize the efforts of our producers 
back home who have worked hard to make ends meet this past winter and 
brought this idea forward. You do a good job, and we are pulling for 
you.
  Mr. President, I strongly encourage my fellow senators to join me in 
supporting this important effort.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1762

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF MARKETING ASSISTANCE LOANS.

       Section 133 of the Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 
     U.S.C. 7233) is amended by striking subsection (c) and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(c) Extension.--The Secretary may extend the term of a 
     marketing assistance loan made to producers on a farm for any 
     loan commodity for 1 6-month period.''.

  Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I rise today and join with my colleague 
from Montana, Senator Baucus, to introduce an amendment to the current 
farm program. The amendment will assist our farmers in Montana. I think 
we have sort of an isolated circumstance in Montana. But I think it 
will also help others, too, because of the depressed price in wheat.
  This bill is not a fix. It doesn't do everything maybe that we want 
to do. But it will assist many of our farmers in getting back in the 
fields this season, and it will also allow a little time to deal with 
some of the pressures that

[[Page S1991]]

we are experiencing along the Canadian border.
  As we enter a week commemorating agriculture and celebrate what 
agriculture provides for us, I am glad to come to the floor and help in 
the introduction of this bill.
  America and the general public need to learn more about this great 
industry. It is the largest industry in our country--and again, with 
insight into the role that agriculture plays in our everyday lives--not 
only from an economic standpoint, but at least three times a day for 
most of us, and some of us more, for the role that it also plays.
  Two years ago we passed the freedom-to-farm bill--the Federal 
Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act. We anticipated at that time 
that it would give us the flexibility on the farm to do some things 
that we want to do. That was only a year ago. Now, with that 
flexibility, of course, farmers operate on a big calendar called a 
year. Sometimes that flexibility takes a little bit longer than 
planned. We have some circumstances that are beyond the control of our 
grain farmers. Everything that we had hoped would occur has not 
happened. One is the Canadian situation. Prices have continued to drop, 
making it very difficult for our operators to meet their commitments on 
time.
  So this amendment would not give them anything extra. It will just 
give them a chance to make those payments in a timely manner.
  Today, Senator Baucus and I, with our colleague in the House, 
Representative Hill, are moving forward to correct a portion of that 
contract we made with our agricultural producers. We are seeking a 
minor adjustment in the law that passed Congress and was signed by this 
President. The portion that we seek to correct is the timeframe for 
repayment on marketing loans. We are not seeking a major change in that 
portion of the contract--just a minor adjustment. This adjustment will 
provide farmers with a slightly larger window in which to repay their 
marketing loans--an extension of only 6 months; nothing major; just 
enough for the producers to contract with purchasers to move their 
grain into the market.
  A large number of our producers have not yet priced their 1997 wheat 
crop--the one harvested last fall. Many have taken out loans with the 
Commodity Credit Corporation and USDA-sponsored programs to assist 
farmers with marketing their wheat. A large number of these loans are 
coming due in May and June of this year. With the world wheat market 
already being depressed due to additional grain on the domestic market, 
it will do nothing but really compound the whole problem. The farmer 
deserves just this little bit of assistance. They will provide us with 
a reliable, safe, and inexpensive food supply all around this country, 
and now I think they need just a little relief.
  This is a minor step that we are making today with the introduction 
of this bill. The legislation will help a little, but it will not solve 
the major problem that we face in agriculture. The plain and simple 
fact is we need to move our grain into world markets.
  Unfortunately, the Department of Agriculture seems determined not to 
assist our producers in this endeavor. In 1996 Congress made a contract 
with the farmer in exchange for reducing the amount of money they 
receive from the Government for their crops. We contracted with them to 
move grain into the market--namely, the world market.
  So the farmer in Montana and across the Nation accepted this 
contract. They have done their part. Now it is time for Congress and 
the Department of Agriculture and this administration to live up to 
their end of the deal.
  As a member of the Subcommittee on Agriculture Appropriations, I have 
made my thoughts known to the committee and to the administration. 
However, this past week, while I visited with the wheatgrowers in 
Montana, I learned one thing that would ease the burden. Today, we 
stand before the Senate, and I call for the administration to move at 
least 100 million tons of grain as soon as possible. This will not 
solve the problem we face on the farm. But it will ease the pressure 
and allow farmers to think about the future. Today they think only 
about the future and about how it would be like without the farm.
  So, I call on President Clinton, the Secretary of Agriculture 
Glickman, and the U.S. Trade Representative to make an effort to assist 
the man and woman on the ground, to do something to show that you are 
concerned about them.
  We had a situation last fall that was not the making of our 
producers. In the railroad industry, Houston was tied up so badly that 
it left us without any way to ship grain. We still received tons and 
tons of grain from Canada in this country. We have to deal with these 
measures.
  The legislation will allow us some time to do that and also will 
allow our farmers to get back in the fields. It is my hope that the 
legislation that we introduce today will assist in some little measure 
to give the farmer the hope to continue. I also hope that the 
administration will see their role in this and move forward in 
providing what they can to make life a little more bearable for our 
agricultural producers in our country.
  There is also another situation that was not created by us or the 
farmers; that is, we are not allowed to access about 11 percent of the 
world market due to embargoes--by governments and countries that 
probably have some problems in the area which the State Department 
usually handles. And, denied that market, there are other producers in 
other nations taking advantage of that. They get a premium for their 
grain and then dump the rest of theirs onto the world market for which 
we have to compete at a lower price. We have to address that problem 
also.
  Mr. President, I join with my colleague in introducing this 
legislation.
                                 ______