[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4706]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1600

                        SUPPORT AMERICAN FARMERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, as we proceed with our work on Budget 
2000, I want to take this occasion to pose the following question: Are 
we doing everything we need to do to support our American farmers? That 
is a question we all need to seriously think about.
  In 1998, the agriculture sector of the economy suffered through one 
of the worst years in American history. Drought and other weather 
conditions, coupled with extremely low prices, significantly affected 
many producers in my home State, Texas. Farm and ranch production 
values declined more than $2.4 billion from 1997 in Texas. The 
resulting loss in agribusiness income is an $8 billion blow to the 
State's overall economy, mostly to the small rural communities like I 
represent in the 15th Congressional District.
  Nationally, from 1996 to 1997, net farm income dropped 6.8 percent 
from $53.4 billion to $49.8 billion. Economists forecast a 15.7 percent 
drop from $197 billion to only $42 billion in 1998. To say the least, 
these declines are dramatic.
  While weather conditions will hopefully improve, the current price 
situation for crops and livestock remains bleak. Virtually every 
commodity has continuing low prices, with little prospect for 
improvement.
  When the Congress passed the 1996 Federal Agriculture Improvement and 
Reform Act, certain other issues were to be addressed. Those included: 
Passage of fast track negotiating authority, relief of government 
regulatory burdens, and the repeal of capital gains taxes and death 
taxes. In the 3 years since the passage of the FAIR Act, those promises 
have not been kept. I mention all of this because I feel it is 
important to constantly be mindful of how vital agriculture is to our 
country. When disasters occur, yes, action is taken to respond to them, 
but what we saw last year was too little, too late. That is not a 
philosophy to which I subscribe.
  Mr. Speaker, much more needs to be done for America's farmers, and 
the time to do it is now, as we are now working on the budget. Let us 
help provide a safe and secure future for our farmers. Agriculture is a 
vital part of our economic fiber in our country, and the men and women 
who comprise America's farming community are important to our Nation's 
character. It is our responsibility to make sure that they survive and 
that they have an opportunity to prosper. Let us provide an environment 
in which they can.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to close my remarks by tossing out two 
thoughts for consideration. They evidence why we absolutely need to do 
the right thing. In the next 30 years, the world's population will 
increase by 2.5 billion and the demand for food will double. Who is 
going to feed them? Everybody eats.

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