[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 90 (Tuesday, June 26, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S6924]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CONRAD (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Baucus, Mr. 
        Daschle, Mr. Murkowski, Mrs. Lincoln, and Mr. Kerry):
  S. 1100. A bill to amend the Trade Act of 1974 to provide trade 
adjustment assistance to farmers; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation to 
bring fairness to farmers in an important element of our trade policy. 
I am very pleased to be joined in this effort by the ranking member of 
the Finance Committee, Senator Grassley, who has been a true champion 
of this effort over the past several years.
  The legislation we are introducing today would amend the Trade Act of 
1974 to make farmers eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance, TAA, so 
that they can get assistance similar to that provided to workers in 
other industries who suffer economic injury as a result of increased 
imports.
  When imports cause layoffs in manufacturing industries, workers 
become eligible for TAA. Under TAA, a portion of the income these 
workers lose is restored to them in the form of extended unemployment 
insurance benefits while they adjust to import competition and seek 
other employment. When imports of agricultural commodities increase, 
though, farmers do not lose their jobs. Instead, the increased imports 
drive down the prices farmers receive for the crops they have grown. 
This drop in prices can have an impact that is every bit as devastating 
to the income of a family farmer as a layoff is to a manufacturing 
worker. In fact, it can be even more devastating. In many cases, the 
check that farmers get for all the hard work of growing crops or 
livestock for the year may not only leave the farmer with no net 
income, it may not even cover all the input costs associated with 
producing the commodity, leaving the farmer with thousands of dollars 
in losses. But, because job loss is a requirement for getting cash 
assistance under TAA, farmers generally don't get benefits from TAA 
when imports cause their income to plummet.
  Trade is very important to our overall economy, and trade is 
especially important to our agricultural economy. For example, we 
export over half the wheat grown in the United States. That is why, 
historically, agriculture has been among the leading supporters of 
trade liberalization. However, today many farmers believe their incomes 
are hurt by free trade, and they have nowhere to turn for assistance 
when this happens.
  Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers can not only provide badly 
needed cash assistance to the devastated agricultural economy, it can 
re-ignite support for trade among many family farmers. By giving 
farmers some protection against precipitous income losses from imports, 
this legislation will strengthen support for trade agreements.
  The Conrad-Grassley TAA for Farmers Act would assist farmers who lose 
income because of imports. Farmers would get a payment to compensate 
them for some, but not all, of the income they lose if increased 
imports affect commodity prices.
  The eligibility criteria are designed to be analogous to those that 
apply currently to manufacturing workers. First, just as the Secretary 
of Labor now decides whether there has been economic injury to workers 
in a given manufacturing firm by determining whether production has 
declined and significant layoffs have occurred, the Secretary of 
Agriculture would decide whether there has been economic injury to 
producers of a commodity by determining if the price of the commodity 
had dropped more than 20 percent compared to the average price in the 
previous five years. Second, just as the Secretary of Labor determines 
whether imports ``contributed importantly'' to the layoffs, the 
Secretary of Agriculture would determine whether imports ``contributed 
importantly'' to the commodity price drop.
  In order to be eligible for benefits under this program, individual 
farmers would have to demonstrate that their net farm income had 
declined from the previous year, and farmers would need to meet with 
the USDA's extension service to plan how to adjust to the import 
competition. This adjustment could take the form of improving the 
efficiency of the operation or switching to different crops.
  Farmers who are eligible for benefits under the program would receive 
a cash assistance payment equal to half the difference between the 
national average price for the year (as determined by USDA) and 80 
percent of the average price in the previous 5 years (the price trigger 
level), multiplied by the number of units the farmer had produced, up 
to a maximum of $10,000 per year.
  In most years, the program would have a modest cost, as few 
commodities, if any, would be eligible. But in a year when surging 
imports cause prices to drop precipitously, this program would offer a 
cash lifeline to give farmers the opportunity to adjust to this import 
competition. This legislation sends a strong signal to farmers that 
they will not be left behind in our trade policy, that agriculture must 
be a priority.
  We need to be sure that we don't leave American farmers behind. I 
hope my colleagues will join me in supporting American family farmers 
as they compete in the global market place.
                                 ______