[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 125 (Monday, September 30, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1701-E1702]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO THE COLORADO GENERAL ASSEMBLY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB SCHAFFER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 26, 2002

  Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the efforts of 
the Colorado General Assembly concerning federal assistance for crop 
and livestock producers due to drought devastation. Joint Resolution 
02S-1005, passed by Colorado's General Assembly, urges the U.S. 
Congress to adopt measures to allow producers of agricultural 
commodities to receive short-term assistance in coping with and 
responding to the drought conditions. I commend the work of the 
Colorado General Assembly for its strong efforts toward the betterment 
of the state and well being of the people of the great state of 
Colorado.
  I hereby submit for the Record Colorado House Joint Resolution 02S-
1005:

                    House Joint Resolution 02S-1005

       By Representative(s) Coleman, Miller, Boyd, Dean, Groff, 
     Grossman, Hefley, Hodge, Jahn, Jameson, Lee, Mace, Marshall, 
     Ragsdale, Romanoff, Sanchez, Stafford, Tapia, Tochtrop, 
     Veiga, Vigil, and Williams S.; also Senator(s) Entz, Hillman, 
     Isgar, Matsunaka, and Taylor.


 Concerning federal assistance for crop and livestock producers due to 
                          drought devastation

       Whereas, Snowpack levels and precipitation from rainfall 
     have been far below normal for many western states, including 
     Colorado; and
       Whereas, Facing one of the most severe droughts in the 
     state's history, all Colorado counties have been designated 
     disaster areas, as dry conditions have greatly reduced the 
     ability of farmers and ranchers to produce their commodities 
     and to provide related services; and
       Whereas, The lack of moisture will drastically decrease the 
     harvest of many Colorado crops, such as wheat which is 
     expected to yield a crop that is 25-40 percent of a normal 
     yield; and
       Whereas, Irrigated farms on average have received only 15 
     percent of the water they normally use for crop production; 
     and
       Whereas, In addition to making it more difficult to raise 
     crops, the extreme dryness also carries with it several 
     secondary concerns, such as the loss of top soil, soil 
     erosion, and an increased possibility of insect infestation; 
     and
       Whereas, The suffering state of agriculture directly 
     impacts the prospects of raising livestock, by way of low-
     yielding feeder crops, limited harvest foliage and forage, 
     and the increasing price of hay and other feed; and
       Whereas, Livestock auction barns in the west are extending 
     their sale hours to accommodate the large numbers of 
     livestock being sold because ranchers cannot afford to feed 
     their herds; and
       Whereas, There is no insurance available for suffering 
     livestock producers; and
       Whereas, Livestock and crop prices alike have been low 
     since 1997, giving producers very little financial cushion 
     for hard times; and
       Whereas, The financial impact caused by the drought could 
     be devastating to Colorado's agricultural community, but also 
     will have an overall effect on the economy of the entire 
     state; and
       Whereas, An allocation of nearly $2.5 billion for disaster 
     assistance was originally included in the federal ``Farm 
     Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002'', commonly known 
     as the ``2002 Farm Bill'', but this allocation was removed 
     during conference committee deliberations on the bill; and
       Whereas, Members of Congress subsequently tried to make 
     disaster assistance moneys available by including an 
     allocation in another bill, but unfortunately, this attempt 
     failed as well; now, therefore,
       Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the 
     Sixty-third General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the 
     Senate concurring herein:
       That we, the members of the General Assembly, strongly urge 
     the United States Congress:
       (1) To examine and adopt measures to allow producers of 
     agricultural commodities to receive short-term assistance in 
     coping with and responding to the drought conditions, such as 
     the following:
       (a) Implementing tax code modifications that enable 
     producers who are forced to sell livestock during periods of 
     drought to receive additional time to reinvest the sale 
     proceeds before having to pay capital gains tax on the 
     earnings, thus allowing the producer to wait until the 
     drought conditions have subsided before reinvesting;
       (b) Providing crop and livestock producers with direct 
     emergency assistance to be delivered through existing Farm 
     Service Agency channels;
       (2) To reexamine how drought relief assistance is provided 
     and consider elevating the manner in which it is provided to 
     place drought assistance on the same level of assistance that 
     is provided to other natural disasters such as wildfires, 
     hurricanes, and floods; and
       (3) To examine the feasibility of prioritizing water 
     allocations.

[[Page E1702]]

       Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint 
     Resolution be sent to the President of the United States, the 
     Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Minority 
     Leader of the United States Senate, the Majority Leader of 
     the United States House of Representatives, the Minority 
     Leader of the United States House of Representatives, and to 
     each member of the Colorado Congressional Delegation.
     Doug Dean
       Speaker of the House of Representatives.
     Ed Perlmutter,
       President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
     Judith Rodrigue,
       Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives.
     Karen Goldman,
       Secretary of the Senate.

       

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