[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 129 (Wednesday, September 29, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H8997-H8998]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  STATE OF THE FARM ECONOMY IN AMERICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Nethercutt) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NETHERCUTT. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to talk for a few 
minutes today about the state of the farm economy in America. I have 
listened with interest over the last hour or so to a number of Members 
come to the floor and speak passionately about the problems that exist 
in our agriculture sector of our economy across this Nation.
  I am proud to hail from the east side of the State of Washington, a 
location which grows abundant crops, lots of grains, wheat, oats, peas 
and lentils and other commodities, most of which are exported overseas. 
When the farm bill policy of our country was adopted back in 1996, it 
was met, I think, with general acceptance in my part of the country, 
that this is a good policy change for our farmers, that they would farm 
for the market and not just for the Government, and the continual 
subsidies that had been in existence for many, many years under long-
term farm policy in this country would see a change.
  There would be a reduction over a period of time in the subsidies 
that had been provided, a marked transition payment assistance program 
that ultimately would get our farmers into a world market condition 
where the market would meet the needs, the income needs, of the farmer 
and not to have the farmer necessarily turn to the Government 
repeatedly year after year.
  This was a good change. I think it was a positive change. For those 
of us in Congress who feel that the free market is the best way to go, 
a free market economy is the best, it in many respects caused some 
problems for our farmers because while on the one hand the Federal 
Government would say we are going to adopt a free market economy in 
agriculture, but yet we are not going to provide markets overseas for 
our farmers to market to, which brings me to the point that I want to 
make this evening:
  That is that in order for our farmers to survive, those in eastern 
Washington as well as other parts of the country, we must have open 
markets. Currently our country has a policy of putting embargoes on 
countries with whom we disagree government to government. I happen to 
be proudly a member of the Committee on Appropriations, the 
Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug 
Administration, and Related Agencies, which now has before it an issue 
regarding sanctions relief as part of the evolving policy to assist our 
farmers across this country.
  I think our policy as a general proposition ought to be that we lift 
sanctions on food and medicine to countries around the world, not 
providing assistance government to government, but providing assistance 
to the people of the countries with whom we disagree and their 
leadership with whom we disagree, providing assistance to those 
countries in a market-oriented system that allows them to buy our farm 
products, to purchase them, not to give them, not for us to assist 
terrorist governments. That is not the intent of anybody in my judgment 
who supports lifting of sanctions, but to provide assistance to 
American farmers who are shut out of markets around the world that 
other countries are not shut out of.
  So what happens is that a farmer, the government of Australia or 
Canada or the European Union has the ability to go into markets that we 
are frozen out of, American farmers are frozen out of, and underbid 
prices to sell products, commodities, to those countries; and then in 
those countries with which they can compete with us, they will undercut 
us even more. They will raise the prices in the sanctioned countries to 
get the sale, they will lower the prices in the competing countries in 
order to beat us out of a sale.

                              {time}  1315

  Iran is a prime example. I disagree absolutely with the government of 
Iran and their policies of terrorism around the world and oppression, 
but they are buying wheat from Canada, Australia, and the European 
Union. Americans are getting nothing from nor realizing any sales to 
this country.
  So my argument is that before the Committee on Appropriations, 
Subcommittee on Agriculture, we have the issue of sanctions relief. I 
think we ought to have sanctions relief in this bill. It is an 
opportunity for us to say we are not going to use food and medicine as 
a weapon of foreign policy.
  Iran cannot shoot grain back at us, but they can sure buy our grain 
and help our agriculture community in eastern Washington and around the 
country that want to sell to this country.
  I know there is a problem with Cuba, and I understand that issue. And 
I am willing as one Member of the House to address that issue and 
discuss it and try to come to some reasonable solution about it, given 
the political consequences of some Members of the

[[Page H8998]]

House. But I think as a general proposition, Mr. Speaker, we ought to 
raise sanctions, lift them, so that our agriculture community can 
survive in a free market system in the years ahead.

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