[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 96 (Friday, July 17, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H5850]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1430
          INTRODUCTION OF THE FARM LIFE EXTENSION ACT OF 1998

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Thune) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. Speaker, today, earlier today, along with the 
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran) and the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. 
Lucas) I introduced legislation called the Flex Act, the Farm Life 
Extension Act of 1998.
  Many people across this country are becoming more and more aware of 
the very serious problem that we have in agriculture today. For those 
who do not live in farm States, I would urge them to take a look at 
some recent newspaper stories, like the one on the Sunday New York 
Times front page which talks about the need for assistance for South 
Dakota and other agricultural producers across this country. And, if 
one looks and drives across any of those States today, you will see a 
lot of for sale signs, you will see a lot of auctions, because there 
are a lot of people who are going out of business, and in fact, if you 
will listen very closely, you will hear a lot of tales about the slow 
death, the last gasping breath, of agriculture as prices continue to 
plummet and producers are asked more and more to realize their incomes 
from the marketplace. And when asking them to do that with the 1996 
farm bill, the Freedom to Farm Act, we indicated to them that we would 
be more aggressive in seeking export markets and opportunities for 
their agricultural commodities, and in fact we have not followed 
through on that end of the deal, and today I want to call on the 
administration to further use the tools that have been provided, the 
Export Enhancement Program that has been authorized and funded by the 
Congress to help our agricultural producers compete on a level playing 
field with those other producers around the world.
  And, in fact, the American farmer can compete with anyone, but the 
American farmer cannot compete on a level playing field with taxpayers 
in places like Germany and France and other countries around the world 
that subsidize their farm economies. We have to be more aggressive in 
terms of seeking market opportunities for our agricultural producers. 
That is a long term issue, and if we are going to see prices stabilize 
in the long run and to increase the prices that our producers derive 
they marketplace, we have to realize that 96 percent of the world's 
population in fact lives outside the United States, and that is where 
the future markets for agriculture are.
  At the same time we have a more immediate problem in agriculture 
today. We have a cash flow problem. Because prices are so low, we have 
farmers who are in a world of hurt across this country. It is probably 
more pronounced in my part of the world, up in the northern plain 
States, but it is starting to creep out into the other States across 
this country, and I think one of the things that we are finding is 
that, if the agricultural sector of our economy is weak, our country is 
weak, and we have to have a healthy agricultural economy in order to 
have a strong America.
  And so today, in introducing this legislation, we have sought to 
bring some badly needed capital, some cash flow assistance, to farmers 
across this country. Very simply what it does is takes the existing 
payments that they would already receive under the Freedom to Farm Act 
and allow them to take them in one lump sum today, and in so doing it 
gives them additional flexibility, allows them to make a management and 
a business decision about whether or not to accelerate and receive 
those payments today, perhaps pay down debt, perhaps even get out of 
the business, if that is their choice, but at least allows them to 
better manage the resources that we have provided under the farm policy 
in this country for the next 5 years. And our bill is a way of doing 
that.
  In fact, we have come up with a mechanism whereby that can be 
financed. If, in fact, you put the 5-year payments, bring them back to 
net present value today and allow the farmers to accept that, you have 
an appropriation problem up front, you do not effect budget authority. 
But to address that what we have done is borrowed on a concept that was 
used in the State of South Dakota with the conservation reserve 
program, and that is to allow Farmer Mac in this case to bond and to 
take the proceeds from those bonds to purchase the contracts and then, 
as those contracts come due, purchase the contracts from the farmers, 
get the cash out there, and then as those contracts come due, USDA 
would reimburse Farmer Mac and thereby eliminate the immediate need for 
up-front assistance for appropriations.
  And that is basically the way that this bill works and the concept 
that is embodied in it, and it is something again that I hope we can 
use and implement that will bring additional cash flow relief to a lot 
of agricultural producers in this country.
  And just earlier today we announced, along with the Speaker and the 
chairman of the agricultural committee, Mr. Bob Smith, a short-term 
assistance which would advance the payment that they will receive, the 
'99 Freedom to Farm payment, to October 1 this year, $5.5 billion going 
out to agricultural producers this year rather than next, giving them 
again the immediate cash flow assistance that they need to make those 
payments that are due at the bank and other places.
  And I appreciate very much the leadership of our committee and the 
leadership of this House have taken to address this serious problem in 
rural America, and so I credit the leadership and look forward to 
working with them to enact not only that bill, but the Flex Act of 
1998.

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