[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 137 (Friday, October 12, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1855-E1856]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       FARM SECURITY ACT OF 2001

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. TODD TIAHRT

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 5, 2001

  Mr. TIAHRT. Mr. Speaker, I offer my thanks and congratulations to the 
Chairman of the Agriculture Committee, Mr. Combest, and the Ranking 
Members, Mr. Stenholm, for crafting this bipartisan legislation, which 
I am pleased to support. The bill before us is the result of more than 
two years of hard work by the Agriculture Committee and I believe the 
efforts of the Committee are reflected in this Farm Bill.
  This legislation comes at a time of historically low commodity prices 
and high costs for farmers and ranchers. This has resulted in 
drastically lower production. Last year in my state of Kansas, wheat 
production was only 80

[[Page E1856]]

percent of the previous year's crop. While this was still good enough 
to enable Kansas to lead the nation in wheat production, it resulted in 
a production value decrease of nearly $30 million from the previous 
year. Corn production was down by 4 million bushels from 1999, and 
sorghum grain production was down 27 percent, though I am pleased to 
report to my colleagues that Kansas did retain its position as the 
number one sorghum grain production state in the nation.
  The difficulties facing the farmers and ranchers of Kansas did not 
stop there. Soybean production was down nearly 40 percent and was at 
its lowest level in five years. And hay production was down 13 percent 
from 1999. Mr. Speaker, these facts strongly suggest the need for a 
farm policy which continues current successful agricultural programs 
and offers a balanced approach for addressing issues of important to 
those Americans who produce crops and livestock. It is time for 
Congress to step forward and demonstrate our commitment to the men and 
women who feed our Nation.
  There are numerous reasons why I will vote for the Farm Security Act 
of 2001. I support this legislation because it offers essential income 
support to farmers and ranchers, thus guaranteeing a safe, affordable, 
and dependable food supply for the United States and many parts of the 
world. The American people are truly a blessed and fortunate people 
considering that we spend only 11 cents of every dollar we earn on 
food. In other nations that figure may be as high as fifty cents on the 
dollar.
  It is not just the worker on the farm or ranch who will feel the 
benefits of this Farm Bill. This legislation provides much-needed 
resources to the agricultural economy, which will guarantee the 
continued viability of the food and fiber sector where nearly one-fifth 
of America's civilian workforce is employed. Mr. Speaker, by supporting 
production on our farms and ranches, we are ensuring that domestic 
agriculture remains robust and the job market in America's food and 
fiber industry is strong.
  I heard from many of my constituents back in Kansas regarding the 
need for additional conservation in this year's Farm Bill. I am pleased 
to tell them that we have considerably increased funding for 
conservation programs. This legislation contains an average of $1.285 
billion per year for Environmental Quality Incentives Programs, plus an 
additional fund of $60 million per year to address water issues. The 
bill added 5.7 million acres to the Conservation Reserve Program, which 
is 2.8 million acres above the currently authorized acreage. It adds 
1.5 million new acres to the Wetlands Reserve Program. It authorizes 
$25 million for the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, an amount that 
increase to $50 million by the year 2011. Finally, our conservation 
efforts are augmented by the implementation of the Grasslands Reserve 
Program which allows up to 2 million acres to be preserved as 
grasslands. Mr. Speaker, through the Farm Security Act, our commitment 
to conservation is stronger than ever.
  This legislation also reflects America's commitment to the less 
fortunate in our society who need a helping hand. Through the efforts 
of the Ag Committee, we have simplified the federal food stamp program 
to guarantee that needy families throughout our nation have better 
access to America's food supply. The Farm Security Act accomplished 
this through making needed improvements in food assistance programs by 
giving states greater flexibility, doing away with unnecessary barriers 
to participation, and increasing assistance to working families, or 
those individuals known as the ``working poor.'' Under this plan, 
individual states will be able to provide six months of transitional 
food stamp benefits for families leaving the Temporary Assistance for 
Needy Families program. It includes incentives for states to improve 
quality control systems and the Emergency Food Assistance Program will 
receive an additional $40 million for commodity purchases.
  Under this year's Farm Bill, our willingness to help others is not 
confined to our own borders. This legislation provides increased funds 
to transport U.S. producers' surplus commodities to the world's 
developing nations. It also increases the cap on funds used to provide 
food assistance on a grant basis or on credit terms to struggling 
countries. Additionally, funding for the Foreign Market Development 
Program is increased by $7 million per year over its current level. 
This program is an effective approach to acquiring new foreign 
customers for American producers and new markets for American crops and 
livestock. Recent Department of Agriculture figures indicate that in 
1980, the United States held a 24 percent share of world agricultural 
markets. Now, that figure has dropped to nearly 18 percent. I believe 
this bill improves the ability of our producers to compete.
  The Farm Security Act of 2001 is a fair and balanced bill which 
enjoys the support of agriculture and conservation groups. It addresses 
critical farm program needs and also makes significant improvements to 
America's conservation, rural development, export promotion, nutrition 
and research programs. It fully complies with the budget approved by 
Congress earlier this year and meets our WTO obligations. I commend the 
Chairman and the Committee for their work on this Farm Bill and I 
strongly encourage my colleagues to vote for it.

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