[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19457]
[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, unfortunately, American agriculture is in a 
crisis, bad weather, terribly low commodity prices caused from lost 
markets, markets closed to our farmers, and excessive world production.
  This has caused real financial stress, and it is serious. We could 
lose 10 to 20 percent of our family farms. The ability to produce a 
safe and sufficient food supply is necessary for a stable society.
  What must this Congress do? We must pass the Improved Crop Insurance 
bill, which allows higher leverage of coverage for our farmers. That is 
not all. We must open market. We must make available necessary credit 
resources. We must improve the tax program for our farmers' inheritance 
tax and capital gains. We must reform our regulatory system which is 
such a burden to our family farmers.
  Let us show our American farmers that we care and that we care about 
agriculture.

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