[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 10, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1432-S1433]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 8--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT 
 ASSISTANCE SHOULD BE PROVIDED TO PORK PRODUCERS TO ALLEVIATE ECONOMIC 
                   CONDITIONS FACED BY THE PRODUCERS

  Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself and Mr. Kerrey) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, 
Nutrition, and Forestry:

                             S. Con. Res. 8

       Whereas the price for domestic live hogs has declined by 72 
     percent since July 1997;
       Whereas on December 12, 1998, the price of domestic live 
     hogs decreased to below $10 per hundredweight for the first 
     time since 1955;
       Whereas pork producers are losing between $55 and $70 on 
     each hog the producers sell;
       Whereas, adjusted for inflation, prices paid to pork 
     producers for live hogs have not been this low since the 
     Great Depression;
       Whereas based on estimates made by the Secretary of 
     Agriculture, pork producers are losing approximately 
     $144,000,000 in equity per week and lost more than 
     $2,500,000,000 in equity during 1998;
       Whereas low prices for hogs are threatening the livelihood 
     of tens of thousands of farm families and the very existence 
     of suppliers, equipment dealers, and main street businesses 
     in rural communities across the United States;
       Whereas the domestic demand for pork increased by up to 7.1 
     percent during 1998 despite average retail prices for pork 
     remaining roughly the same;
       Whereas despite the loss of markets in Asia and Russia, 
     pork exports from the United States during 1998 increased by 
     28 percent;
       Whereas a primary cause of these increased pork exports is 
     increased pork supply intensified by an increase of pork 
     imports from Canada and a reduction in domestic slaughter 
     capacity for hogs;
       Whereas the slaughter plant bottleneck for hogs has been 
     exacerbated by approximately 100,000 Canadian hogs being 
     trucked to the United States for slaughter each week; and
       Whereas a 37 percent increase in the number of Canadian 
     hogs being exported to the United States for slaughter has 
     caused the number of live hogs to exceed the 383,000 daily 
     slaughter capacity of United States plants, depriving 
     domestic pork producers of all leverage in bargaining for a 
     fair price: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring),

     SECTION 1. NEED FOR ASSISTANCE FOR PORK PRODUCERS.

       It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the President and the Secretary of Agriculture are 
     commended on their efforts to assist pork producers in 
     alleviating economic conditions faced by the producers; and
       (2) additional assistance needs to be provided to pork 
     producers to alleviate the economic conditions.

     SEC. 2. FORMS OF ASSISTANCE FOR PORK PRODUCERS.

       To alleviate the economic conditions that are faced by pork 
     producers, it is the sense of Congress that the President 
     should--
       (1) immediately request an emergency supplemental 
     appropriation to provide funds for providing--
       (A) guarantees of farm ownership loans under subtitle A of 
     the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 
     1922 et seq.), and operating loans under subtitle B of that 
     Act (7 U.S.C. 1941 et seq.), made to pork producers; and
       (B) assistance to pork producers under the interest rate 
     reduction program established under section 351 of the 
     Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1999) 
     and other provisions of that Act that authorize the Secretary 
     of Agriculture to reduce or subsidize the interest rate paid 
     by pork producers;
       (2) prepare and submit to Congress a report that analyzes 
     the feasibility and cost of implementing, not later than 30 
     days after enactment, a program to provide disaster 
     assistance to pork producers, including assistance in the 
     form of--
       (A) economic assistance;
       (B) an expanded loan and debt restructuring program; and
       (C) compensation for lost markets as a result of increased 
     pork imports;

[[Page S1433]]

       (3) continue to facilitate the donation and distribution of 
     pork and pork products for humanitarian purposes;
       (4) work with the Canadian Government to address the many 
     problems that contribute to the increased export of pork and 
     pork products into the United States;
       (5) take appropriate steps to encourage increased use and 
     expansion of the domestic slaughter capacity for hogs;
       (6) direct the Secretary of Agriculture, the Attorney 
     General, and the Secretary of Commerce to investigate 
     noncompetitive and antitrust practices in the pork industry;
       (7) direct the Secretary of Agriculture to improve price 
     reporting in the domestic livestock industry to ensure fair, 
     open, and competitive markets; and
       (8) immediately implement the loan guarantee paperwork 
     reduction regulation of the Secretary of Agriculture that 
     will allow pork producers and lenders to use existing lender 
     documents, rather than creating new documents, when applying 
     for loan guarantees under the Consolidated Farm and Rural 
     Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1921 et seq.).

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