[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 16, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H1305]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




H.R. 473--PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO FARMERS FOR CROP DISEASES AND VIRUSES

  Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. Mr. Speaker, I recently introduced H.R. 473, to 
ensure that farmers who suffer crop losses due to plant viruses and 
plant diseases are eligible for crop insurance and noninsured crop 
assistance programs and that agricultural producers who suffer such 
losses are eligible for emergency loans.
  Pandemics of plant viruses and diseases regularly destroy the crops 
of entire farms and often the crops of entire geographic areas. A 
single plant virus or disease outbreak can send farms into bankruptcy 
and farmers are left without any means of recovering. Agriculture 
producers can qualify for emergency loans when adverse weather 
conditions and other natural phenomena have caused severe physical crop 
property damage or production losses, however, under current law, crop 
viruses and diseases are not considered ``natural disasters'' and thus 
are not eligible for these types of loans.
  For example, in Hawaii, the State recently ordered the eradication of 
all banana plants on the entire island of Kauai and in a 10 square-mile 
area on the Big Island in an effort to eradicate the banana ``bunchy 
top'' virus. A court order required compliance of all who did not 
cooperate and farmers were ordered to destroy their entire farm and 
livelihood without any compensation. These farmers do not qualify for 
emergency loans or disaster assistance and many were left with no other 
option but to sell their farms.
  The survival of our Nation's farmers is largely dependent upon the 
unpredictable temper of mother nature. We provide our farmers with 
assistance when adversely affected by severe weather but that is not 
enough. Emergency loans and disaster assistance must be made available 
to farmers for crops suffering from calamitous plant viruses and 
diseases.
  H.R. 473 would enable farmers to qualify for crop insurance programs, 
noninsured assistance programs, and low-interest emergency loans, when 
devastated by crop losses due to plant viruses and diseases.
  I invite my colleagues to cosponsor this worthy legislation and I 
urge immediate consideration of H.R. 473 in the House.

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