[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 29 (Monday, July 20, 1998)]
[Pages 1389-1390]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Letter to Congressional Leaders on Financial Assistance for Farmers

July 15, 1998

Dear Mr. Leader:

    I am very concerned about the financial stress facing farmers and 
ranchers in many regions of the country. Natural disasters, combined 
with a downturn in crop prices and farm income, expected by the 
Department of Agriculture (USDA) to remain weak for some time, cause me 
to question again the adequacy of the safety net provided by the 1996 
farm bill. In some areas of the U.S., as many as five consecutive years 
of weather

[[Page 1390]]

and disease-related disasters have demonstrated weaknesses in the risk 
protection available through crop insurance.
    During the debate on the 1996 farm bill, I encouraged Congress to 
maintain a sufficient farm safety net, and since its enactment my 
Administration has repeated that call, proposing measures to buttress 
the safety net that are consistent with the market-oriented policy of 
the 1996 farm bill. The 1994 Crop Insurance Reform Act established a 
policy of improving the crop insurance program in order to remove the 
need for ad hoc disaster payments. This commitment to crop insurance as 
the preferred means of managing crop loss risks was reaffirmed in the 
1996 farm bill. Farmers have responded to this policy by maintaining 
their enrollment in crop insurance at very high levels, especially in 
the Northern Plains states.
    Therefore, I am instructing the Secretary of Agriculture to redouble 
his efforts to augment the current crop insurance program to more 
adequately meet farmers' needs to protect against farm income losses. In 
the interim, to respond to the current unusual situations, I urge the 
Congress to take emergency action to address specific stresses now 
afflicting sectors of the farm economy.
    I agree with the intent of Senator Conrad's amendment and recommend 
that funding to address these problems be designated as emergency 
spending. A supplemental crop insurance program for farmers who 
experience repeated crop losses, a compensation program for farmers and 
ranchers whose productive land continues to be under water, and extended 
authority for the livestock disaster program are examples of the type of 
emergency actions that could help farmers and ranchers.
    It is also crucial that the Congress provide the level of funding 
proposed in my FY 1999 budget in the regular appropriations bills and 
that the Congress pass the full IMF package to support the efforts of 
American farmers.
    I am confident that you and your colleagues share my concern for 
American farmers and ranchers who are experiencing financial stress from 
natural disasters and low prices, exacerbated by the global downturn in 
agricultural trade, and I encourage the Congress to take emergency 
action quickly.
    Sincerely,
                                            William J. Clinton

Note: Identical letters were sent to Thomas A. Daschle, Senate minority 
leader, and Richard A. Gephardt, minority leader, House of 
Representatives. An original was not available for verification of the 
content of this letter.