[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 6213-6214]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              AGRICULTURE

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I will take a moment to talk a little bit 
about agriculture.
  As the President knows, agriculture is a most important element in 
Wyoming's economy and to Wyoming's culture. During this past week, I 
had a chance to visit with many people in Wyoming who are very 
concerned about agriculture and agricultural markets or the lack 
thereof. So I want to talk a little bit about my vision of the things 
we are doing and can be doing in Congress with respect to agriculture 
in this country.
  Certainly our purpose ought to be to strengthen markets so the price 
for agricultural products is enhanced and so family farmers and family 
ranchers are able to make a reasonable return on their investment and 
on their time.
  We have had a tough year in agriculture, in crops, and in livestock, 
and many of us have been working for some time to find some of the 
things that are appropriate for the Government to do to strengthen the 
agricultural sector.
  One of them, of course, is trade and the idea of reducing the 
unilateral sanctions we have had in place around the world. Many times 
in the past, countries such as Pakistan, when they set off the bomb and 
so on, we immediately then did not trade with them. We have changed 
some of those unilateral sanctions. They are not useful for any other 
reason than to penalize our own markets.
  We are pushing for stronger enforcement of trade agreements, 
particularly in NAFTA, for example, where we need to make sure that 
they are being administered properly, that goods are not being dumped, 
that goods are not coming in from another country through, in this 
case, the member of NAFTA that benefited from that, and working to 
reduce unfair trade barriers which have existed and continue to exist 
around the world in interesting places, such as the European Union, 
where the President has just been. These are the kinds of things that 
seem to me to be totally unfair, where we open our markets to others 
and, in return, we have market barriers.
  I am very pleased with what is happening with regard to the 
negotiations with China. I am not pleased with all

[[Page 6214]]

the things that happen in China, of course, but in terms of the WTO 
negotiations, we find, for example, that we are going to make some 
arrangements to reduce the 40-percent to probably 10-percent tariff on 
our meat. That will be a very good forward move.
  I am hopeful we can find a way to get the largest potential customer 
in the world into the WTO so that not only will it open markets but we 
do not have to deal unilaterally with someone; if we have an agreement, 
then there is the World Trade Organization to enforce those agreements.
  We are talking about the tax relief for agriculture. We had income 
averaging last year, which is very good because the income of the 
farmers and ranchers varies very much. We have a proposition to have 
farm accounts which allow farmers to put the money into sort of an IRA 
for a period of time and draw it out before they pay taxes on it so 
that they tend to level out in income.
  Estate tax relief: I hope that is one of the things we talk about 
when we deal with the tax reform--estate tax relief. Currently 
legislation is there to do that.
  Meat labeling: I think we need to have, as we have proposed it here--
and will again--meat labeling so that we know what the products are and 
so buyers, when they go to the grocery store, can determine whether the 
product is domestic. They need to have an opportunity to do that.
  Also, grading: USDA grades are for domestic products, and will be 
used that way. Again, current legislation is pending.
  One of the problems of the livestock industry has been, allegedly--
and I agree with it--the concentration of packers. We have the latest 
figures, and I heard that about four packers kill about 87 percent of 
the product, which would cause you to think that there may be some 
legislation on pricing. And we need to do that.
  We met with the Attorney General and asked that we, again, take a 
look at the potential of monopoly activities that may be there and do 
something about the concentration of packers. If they find again that 
there is nothing illegal being done, as they have in the past, it seems 
to me that we ought to take a look at the underlying legislation, the 
Packers and Stockyards Act, to see if, in fact, that needs to be 
changed. We need to have more competition. Things like owning the 
cattle, for example, and then using their own cattle instead of going 
into the market, which can manipulate the price--that fact, that there 
is buying without reporting the market price. That is something we need 
to do.
  We are trying to change the inspections for interstate shipment of 
meat so that State inspections will suffice. We think that will help 
the market a great deal.
  Certainly, in the crop area we need to look at NAFTA to make sure 
that there is not dumping of wheat and other products in this country. 
We need to take a look at the Crop Insurance Program, which I think has 
not worked that satisfactorily, to move the Freedom to Farm, and some 
of the things that are included in that.
  Mr. President, I just think that there are a number of things that 
need to be done. We have some unique issues, of course, in the West 
where in a great many of our States--in my State of Wyoming 50 percent, 
and in the case of Nevada, 87 percent--the land belongs to the Federal 
Government. Much of the land is grazed. Livestock grazes on much of the 
land. We need to make that accessible so we can have multiple use of 
those renewable resources. We need to do something about the permit 
program so that they are not difficult. It isn't necessary, in my view, 
to have an environmental impact statement on every unchanged renewal of 
the grazing permits.
  So these are some of the changes that need to be done. I don't think 
agriculture is looking for subsidies, or looking for a farm program. 
But they are looking for an opportunity to have the markets--an 
opportunity to go into the marketplace and get prices that are, in 
fact, reflective of the costs that go into the product.
  This is a basic industry to our country. There will be changes made, 
of course, as time goes by. There have been tremendous changes in 
agriculture over the last 50 years. The family farmers are getting 
larger. They are more mechanized and more efficient. They are also much 
more expensive. And much more investment is required. When you have a 
great deal of investment, of course, when you have several years of bad 
prices, it makes it very, very difficult, which also leads to the need 
probably for some additional lending capacity and some additional 
assistance in lending because of the 2 years that we have had.
  So, Mr. President, I hope that as we come back in after this recess 
people will be more aware of the difficulty in agriculture, and that we 
can address ourselves to the many opportunities that we have to 
strengthen those markets and to provide more healthy and vigorous 
agriculture.
  I thank you, Mr. President, for the time.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, are we still in morning business?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. We are.

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