    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [June 20, 2000]
    [Pages 1192-1193]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Signing the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000
    June 20, 2000

        Today I have signed into law H.R. 2559, the ``Agricultural Risk
    Protection Act of 2000,'' which authorizes permanent reforms to the crop
    insurance program, provides temporary farm income assistance in FY 2000,
    and provides funding and authorities for other agricultural and
    nutrition programs for FY 2001.
        I support the reform of the crop insurance program that is included
    in this bill, because it is generally consistent with principles my
    Administration has advocated over the last 2 years. I have heard many
    farmers say that the crop insurance program was simply not a good value
    for them, providing too little coverage for too much money. My FY 2001
    budget proposal and this bill directly address that problem by making
    higher insurance coverage more affordable, which should also mitigate
    the need for ad hoc crop loss disaster assistance such as we have seen
    for the last 3 years. The reforms in this bill will put risk management
    where it belongs: in the hands of producers. The bill will also expand
    coverage to more crops and provide incentives for new insurance product
    development, which will extend risk management to more producers and
    foster innovation in the risk management marketplace.
        The bill includes a number of other provisions that I also support.
    The bill expands research authorities and funding for biomass and
    bioproducts, including next-generation ethanol, which will benefit
    producers by increasing the demand

    [[Page 1193]]

    for agricultural products, and will diversify rural economies while
    cleaning our air and fighting global warming. The bill also provides
    income assistance to producers of a number of different crops, such as
    fruit and vegetable growers, and producers whose crop and pasture land
    has been flooded. In addition, the bill includes important reforms I
    requested to the Child and Adult Care Food Program and allows the use of
    school lunch application data to identify more children eligible for
    Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
        However, I am signing H.R. 2559 with reservations because its income
    assistance component is not targeted, is counter-cyclical, and does not
    require recipients to enroll in crop insurance. If there was any doubt
    that the 1996 Farm Bill failed to provide an adequate farm safety net,
    it should be dispelled by this bill that provides significant
    supplemental farm income assistance for the third year in a row.
        As I said when I signed the 1996 bill, the fixed Agricultural
    Marketing Transition Act (AMTA) payments simply do not adjust to changes
    in crop prices or revenues, and the prolonged financial stress in the
    farm sector has required the Congress to repeatedly step in on an ad hoc
    basis to supplement farm bill assistance. To respond to the needs of
    producers suffering from continuing low crop prices and inadequate farm
    bill assistance, and to provide a sensible approach for the
    reauthorization of the farm bill in 2002, I proposed counter-cyclical
    farm income assistance in my FY 2001 Budget, which would provide higher
    payments on those crops with the most depressed prices and revenues. I
    am disappointed that the Congress did not adopt this proposal, and
    instead chose again simply to double the AMTA payments without regard to
    the hardships facing individual producers this year. Payments in this
    bill will be based on what producers grew prior to 1996, not what they
    are growing now, and some payment recipients may not even be growing
    covered crops anymore, having switched to other commodities or livestock
    production. We need to move beyond this kind of untargeted, patchwork
    fix to secure a stronger, more reliable farm safety net that provides
    dependable assistance to family farmers based on their current farm
    income.
        Another crucial component of my farm safety net proposal is to
    significantly increase funds for conservation programs, such as the
    Conservation and Wetlands Reserve Programs, and a new Conservation
    Security Program. These programs can boost farm income to a wide range
    of producers, while providing environmental benefits for all Americans.
    I am disappointed that virtually no funds were included for these
    programs, and I will continue to seek substantially increased funding
    for them this year. Additionally, we want to work with the Congress to
    prevent an unintended sequester.
        This bill's farm income assistance will help many producers get
    through what is shaping up to be another tough year, and the crop
    insurance reforms should enhance producers' ability to survive natural
    disasters for years to come. But I would hope that the experience of the
    last 3 years has taught those who shape farm policy on Capitol Hill--as
    farm families across the country have learned first-hand the hard way--
    that we need to build a stronger, better farm safety net on which
    American producers, their families, and communities can depend.

                                                          William J. Clinton

     The White House,

     June 20, 2000.

      Note:  H.R. 2559, approved June 20, was assigned Public Law No. 106-
    224.