[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 84 (Wednesday, June 24, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H5273]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      A BREAKDOWN IN FARM COUNTRY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, when farmers break down in the 
field during harvest, they do not have the luxury of hauling their 
equipment to the shop to wait on time-consuming repairs. Instead, they 
uses the tools they have available at the time, a pliers, a hammer, 
baling wire, to get the equipment moving again and to get the crop in 
the bin.
  Mr. Speaker, it is harvest time in Kansas, and our markets are having 
a breakdown. Farmers in Kansas and across America are facing tough 
times. The wheat harvest is well underway, and while the yields have 
been satisfactory, farmers are facing the lowest prices in recent 
memory, due in large part to lagging exports of U.S. commodities.
  Projections by the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast 
agricultural exports declining $5 billion this year. This decline is 
having a serious impact on the bottom line for Kansas farm families. 
Current wheat prices are $1 lower than those received during the last 2 
years.
  One of our best chances to lift commodity prices and breathe life 
into the farm economy is through an aggressive export policy. The House 
of Representatives today made a significant move in that direction. 
Today we passed the agricultural appropriation bill for 1999. Under 
this legislation, the P.L. 480 Food for Peace Program is fully funded 
at over $1 billion.
  The Export Enhancement Program is fully funded at $550 million to 
help combat unfair export subsidies, and the General Sales Manager 
Program is funded at a level that makes available over $5 billion of 
credit guarantees for agricultural exports.
  U.S. farmers are clearly the most efficient and can compete with 
farmers anywhere in the world. They cannot, however, compete with the 
treasuries of the European Union and other subsidizing countries. U.S. 
farmers continue to lose markets and market share due to foreign 
subsidies and unfair trading practices by our competitors. Still, the 
Clinton administration has refused to use the tools we have available 
to combat these subsidies and gain negotiating strength to push for 
that level playing field in future trade negotiations.
  Today's action by Congress makes it clear, we are committed to an 
aggressive trade policy, committed to exports, and committed to 
American agriculture. Despite the current crisis, the administration 
has been reluctant to use the Export Enhancement Program for wheat or 
flour, citing criticism of the program, without offering alternatives 
or suggestions to make the program more effective.
  The fact is that EEP is one of the few export promotion programs that 
is authorized, funded, and GATT legal. If changes need to be made to 
the program to make it more effective, these steps can and should be 
taken by the administration.
  With the passage today of the agricultural appropriation bill, 
Congress, both the House and Senate, have acted to give USDA both the 
authority as well as the money to aggressively combat trade subsidies 
by our agriculture competitors.
  Mr. Speaker, there is a breakdown in farm country, and it is time for 
this administration to use the tools, be that the pliers or the hammer 
or the baling wire, whatever it takes. Those tools are available. They 
need to be used, and we need to get our farmers up and running.

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