[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
[October 13, 1994]
[Pages 1741-1742]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 1741]]


Statement on Signing the Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of 
Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994
October 13, 1994

    Today I have signed into law H.R. 4217, the Federal Crop Insurance 
Reform and Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994. As the 
name implies, this Act has two purposes. The first is to reform Federal 
crop insurance and the second is to reorganize the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA).
    H.R. 4217 provides the Secretary of Agriculture with the critically 
needed authority to reorganize USDA so that the Department can meet the 
challenges of the 21st century. It will be the most ambitious 
reorganization proposal ever undertaken by the Department. Guided by the 
principles articulated in the Vice President's National Performance 
Review, this legislation grants the Secretary authority to pursue more 
efficiently the goals of improving the prospects for farmers, enhancing 
the quality of life in rural America, better ensuring food safety, 
strengthening conservation efforts, and improving nutritional programs.
    The Secretary will reorganize USDA around six basic missions, 
improve the Department's accountability and service to customers, reform 
its field structure, and reduce personnel and costs. Indeed, during 
1994-1999, USDA will save $2.4 billion in personnel costs and about $1.3 
billion in other costs. The end result will be a more streamlined and 
responsive Department.
    This Act also reforms Federal crop insurance to address the 
frustrations of farmers with the inadequacies of the current system. 
Many farmers have not participated in the program and others have found 
that their losses for prevented planting were not covered. Those who 
relied on ad hoc disaster assistance did not know until weeks or months 
after their loss whether such assistance would be provided, leaving many 
fearful of losing their farms and livelihood.
    The need for reform became apparent during last year's devastating 
flood in the Midwest and drought in the Southeast. Out of that 
experience, the Administration made a commitment to reform the current 
program, and began consultations with Members of the Congress, farmers, 
insurance providers, lenders, and others on developing a legislative 
proposal.
    The Administration proposal was included in the 1995 Budget 
submitted to the Congress last February. The Administration and many 
Members of the Congress have spent several long months fine-tuning this 
proposal so that it would meet budget-scoring requirements and other 
considerations.
    This Act is substantially similar to the Administration proposal. It 
provides for a minimal level of catastrophic coverage for most crops, 
greater incentives for producers to buy additional coverage, payment 
assistance for other crops where insurance is not available, and reforms 
to the disaster payment system that should greatly reduce the incidence 
of fraud. It requires producers who participate in USDA's farm income 
support and credit programs to sign-up for catastrophic coverage on 
their insurable crops, and eliminates the use of emergency legislation 
for agricultural crop disaster assistance. Producers will be able to 
obtain catastrophic insurance coverage for a nominal processing fee. 
Yet, taxpayers will save money compared to the current approach of 
enacting ad hoc disaster assistance year after year.
    I want to thank Secretary Espy for the tremendous and tireless work 
he and his staff have put into developing a reorganization plan that 
will make USDA more farmer-friendly, improve customer service, and save 
taxpayer money. I also wish to thank the chair and ranking member of the 
Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Senators 
Patrick Leahy and Richard Lugar, and the chair and ranking member of the 
House Committee on Agriculture, Representative ``Kika'' de la Garza and 
Pat Roberts, as well as Representative Charles Stenholm, for their 
leadership in guiding the bill through to passage.
    The Administration is committed to reinventing the Federal 
Government, so that it works better and costs less for all Americans. By 
authorizing the reinvention of USDA, this Act sets the standard for the 
rest of the Federal Government to follow and is a victory for American 
taxpayers.

                                                      William J. Clinton

[[Page 1742]]

The White House,
October 13, 1994.

Note: H.R. 4217, approved October 13, was assigned Public Law No. 103-
354.