[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 36 (Thursday, March 26, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H1626]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  RESTORATION OF THE FARM CREDIT BILL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, several of my colleagues have introduced a 
bill called the Restoration of the Farm Credit bill. I want to report 
to the House today that the Senate, with their supplemental spending, 
also adopted that bill, understanding the emergency nature of farmers 
needing credit.
  In the 1996 farm bill meant that indeed credit had been denied to 
farmers who might have had a blemish on their record. For whatever 
cause, whether it is due to a disaster, whether it is due to a medical 
cause, whether it is due to foreclosure, whether it is due to 
discrimination, any of these reasons, if a farmer had had one blemish 
on his record, he was barred or she was barred from there on out to 
borrow any monies from the USDA, whether that is a guaranteed loan or 
direct loan. So what it meant was one strike and farmers had no 
recourse whatsoever.
  Mr. Speaker, one of the reasons small farmers are going out of 
business so fast is because they do not have access to credit. 
Certainly, when the United States Government is lending money to 
farmers, usually this is the last resort, the last opportunity farmers 
have is to go to their government to borrow money. So when the 
government says, no longer are we interested in small farmers and small 
ranchers, that means consumers and farmers, all who depend on having 
small farmers and ranchers participate in farming, are put at risk. It 
means the quality of food is at risk. It means the low food prices that 
we enjoy are at risk.
  So I am happy to say that the Senate, the other body, was able to see 
the wisdom of that. I hope, as we have the opportunity next week, that 
we will have the same opportunity to see the emergency nature of 
responding to the critical credit needs of small farmers and ranchers.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleagues to consider that when they have 
the opportunity.

                          ____________________