[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 135 (Thursday, October 1, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H9213]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H9213]]
           THE PROBLEMS FACING MICHIGAN FARMERS AND RANCHERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Smith) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise to address the assembly 
today on the subject of the problems facing Michigan farmers and 
ranchers. The conference report on the 1999 Agriculture Appropriations 
Act helps some of these farmers in facing what is a very, serious 
problem in this Nation.
  What we are faced with is a transition of our farmers and ranchers 
into a new Federal market-oriented, freedom to farm, public policy. 
That means that subsidies in place for the last 65 years are being 
phased out.
  The problem is, Mr. Speaker, that this year in particular farmers are 
facing a combination of disease, bad weather, a loss of our markets, 
especially in Asia, and extremely low commodity prices. Farmers are 
going out of business. Bankruptcies are being advertised throughout the 
United States as farmers have hit disastrous situations where they feel 
that they and their families and their kids can no longer survive on 
that particular farm operation. Often a farm operation that was run by 
their parents, their grandparents, their great-grandparents can no 
longer provide a living.
  The 1999 appropriations bills deal with some of these problems but 
not all of the problems. As we phase out and demand that our farmers in 
this country go into a market-oriented system, other countries remain 
steadfast in being very protective to make sure that the farmers and 
ranchers in their countries can remain on the farm; that their country 
maintains the farming base in their country, the ability to grow food 
and fiber in that country so that they have assurance that their 
country will never have to be dependent on other countries for their 
food.
  Our farmers and ranchers in this country not only are facing a 
smaller market, facing disease and bad weather and the resulting low 
commodity prices, but are facing an administration which is threatening 
to impose very restrictive regulations on our farmers that other 
farmers in other countries do not have to abide by or pay for.
  For example if one looks at the Food Quality Protection Act an effort 
of this body, this Congress, to do away with the old Delaney clause, 
now we see regulations that are being developed by this administration 
that suggest that we should do away with herbicides and insecticides 
because they might have some compounded dangerous effect and be 
carcinogenic if individuals were to eat pounds or tons of these 
pesticides.
  Now, here is the problem that this country faces: if we impose these 
kind of nonscientific global warming, air quality, water quality, 
herbicide, insecticide regulations on our farmers, and farmers in other 
countries do not have to abide with those same provisions, that means 
our farmers are paying huge increased costs. That means by limiting our 
farmers' ability to farm the same efficient manner as farmers in other 
nations are farming, it puts our farmers at a competitive disadvantage.
  We have to be very, very careful, Mr. Speaker, that we do not force 
some of our farmers and ranchers out of business because of this 
mandated inefficiency. Our consumers in this country may have to be 
dependent on the fruits and vegetables and food products that would be 
imported from other countries. Right now we enjoy the lowest cost, 
highest quality food of anyplace in the world. That is because our 
farmers and ranchers are extremely efficient and our system of 
distribution is very good in terms of providing good services to the 
consumers.
  While the rest of the economy is generally strong, Mr. Speaker, 
farmers in our country are facing one of the most difficult years in a 
long time. The disaster money that is provided in the 1999 
appropriation bill will be available to agricultural producers 
regardless of the type of crop that they produce and is a modest effort 
to help. While this will not fully reimburse producers for the extreme 
losses that they are suffering this year, it will help. But in the long 
run we have to face up to the question of whether or not we are going 
to allow our farmers and our ranchers to go out of business. That would 
mean that our consumers are going to become more and more dependent on 
imported products. Mr. Speaker, if we want to protect this country's 
ability to produce high quality, low cost food, we can not force our 
farmers out of business.

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