[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18608]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                           AGRICULTURE CRISIS

  (Mr. EWING asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. EWING. Mr. Speaker, there is an ag crisis. The cause is excessive 
world production and lost markets that we counted on. The result has 
been reduced exports and disastrously low commodity prices.
  Can the great economic engine of America continue to move on and up 
with the enormous agricultural engine pulling the other way? I doubt 
it.
  On this issue, Congress has acted and must act again. We have done 
things to open new markets: The NTR vote this week, anti-embargo 
legislation which we passed in this House, unilateral sanction reform, 
tax reform, capital gains, estate tax, which are good for our farmers.
  But when we come back from the recess, we are going to have to take 
up, if we have not already passed, the crop insurance reform bill, and 
we are going to have to deal with emergency lost market payments and 
adequate financing for our American farmers. Let us not forget this 
enormous part of our agricultural economy.

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