[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
[April 30, 1996]
[Page 671]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Prior to a Meeting on Assistance for Cattle Producers and an 
Exchange With Reporters
April 30, 1996

    The President. Ladies and gentlemen, first let me--I want to thank 
this bipartisan congressional delegation from cattle-producing States 
for coming in. Cattle producers, by numbers, represent the largest 
single segment of America's agricultural economy. Cattle prices are at a 
10-year low, and feed prices are at--are or have been recently at an 
all-time high. And we want to discuss some potential recommendations for 
action the Secretary of Agriculture might take, using traditional means 
at his disposal to help to deal with this situation and help these 
producers through this difficult time.
    I want to thank the Members of Congress who requested this meeting 
and who brought this matter to our attention, and I'm looking forward to 
the meeting.
    Q. How much traditional beef are you going to buy, Mr. President?
    The President. The Secretary of Agriculture will have an 
announcement later, once we have time to talk through our options here.
    Q. Can you act quickly?
    Q. Will you call up the conservation reserve for more grazing 
nationwide?
    The President. Well, we will issue an announcement after the 
meeting; the Secretary of Agriculture will.
    Yes, we're going to act quickly. We won't fool around with it.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 5:43 p.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White 
House, prior to a meeting with congressional leaders. A tape was not 
available for verification of the content of these remarks.