[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 124 (Thursday, September 17, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H7928]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          THE AMERICAN FARMER

  (Mr. CHAMBLISS asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Speaker, my friend the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. 
Roemer) has been a class act ever since I have known him. He has once 
again shown that this morning.
  Mr. Speaker, it should be no secret to the Members of this body that 
the American farmer produces the best food and fiber products in the 
world, but what is a secret to many inside Washington's Beltway is the 
crisis gripping America's rural economies. The deteriorating state of 
America's farm economy is a national priority and must be addressed. 
Yet the Clinton administration and particularly USDA only offer up 
inflammatory rhetoric instead of a substantive emergency aid plan.
  In Georgia alone, this year's crop losses from forces of nature 
approach $767 million. The story is the same all across rural America. 
Our farmers need strong leadership, not partisan politics as usual.
  I implore the Clinton administration once again to quit playing 
partisan politics with America's family farmers and to start making 
meaningful and appropriate decisions at the Department of Agriculture. 
Let us move on policies to help the American family farmer survive.

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