C2-Lancaater Fanning, Saturday, February 26, 2000
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) -
Chairmen of key congressional
committees disagree on whether
farm policy should be overhauled,
but some lawmakers predict at
least some tinkering with the
market-oriented policies that
became law in 1996.
“I think there’s enough desire on
the part of my farm-state col
leagues to make changes," said
Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., a
member of the House Appropria
tions agriculture subcommittee.
She applauded Agriculture
Committee Chairman Larry Corn
best, R-Texas, for scheduling hear
ings on farm policy from February
through March in Washington and
seven to 12 regions nationwide.
Shrinking export markets have
sort prices for wheat, com, soy
beans and other crops plummeting,
and the Agriculture Department
forecast for 2000 is bleak, too.
Farm income is predicted to drop
$7.6 billion next year to $40.4 bil
lion, unless Congress takes the
unlikely step because it is an
election year of another
multibillion-dollar bailout.
“We’re looking at the third year
in a row of a disastrous ag situa
tion," Combcst said in a recent
interview. “We’ve got to look at
this. Something is not working."
Agriculture Secretary Dan
Glickman agreed, saying Congress
has lurched from one patchwork
emergency bill to the next. His
comments came in October on the
heels of an $8.7 billion emergency
aid package.
“And we shouldn’t wait until the
expiration of the farm bill in
2002," Glickman said. “The fact
is, with two years of emergency
payments to farmers. Congress has
already seriously amended the
farm bill. What is needed now is a
thought-out, well-balanced farm
bill that we can work on if we
address it early in the year
before we are looking again at
emergency farm legislation.”
Trouble is, there’s not much
consensus in Congress or among
the major farm interest groups on
what should be done.
Combcst Senate counterpart.
Agriculture Committee Chairman
Dick Lugar, R-IncL, has no plans
for hearings because he believes
there is no need to change farm
policy. Several farm-state Demo
crats, meanwhile, will be pushing
to boost U.S. farm subsidies as a
tool in trade negotiations with the
Europeans.
Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said
change in farm policy, even before
Farm Policy To Be Issue For 2000
the current law expires in 2002, is
inevitable. Citing statements by
Glickman and by President Clin
ton and Vice President A 1 Gore,
Roberts said the question is not
whether Freedom to Farm will be
rewritten, but when and how.
Roberts, who as House Agricul
ture Committee chairman was
chief author .of the 1996 reforms,
argues it is disingenuous to blame
the farm bill for a failing safety net
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when its components a crop
insurance overhaul, aggressive
trade policies and regulatory and
tax reforms were never put in
place.
Not only the administration but
GOP leaders in Congress have fail
ed, he said. This year, Roberts
plans to introduce his own package
that incorporates those elements as
an alternative to rewriting farm
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“It’s like Freedom to Farm was
the horse you wanted to ride in die
Derby, but you hobbled him first
there's no jockey, no saddle and
all (he rest,” he said “We said
these component parts had to be
part of the policy or this wouldn’t
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priorities in a new round of global
bade talks is to get the European
Union to lower its farm subsidies.
EU farm supports are worth $324
per acre, compared with $34 for
the United States, according to the
Agriculture Department Canada
and Australia are even lower.
Combcst said his House panel
also will consider proposals for
bolstering U.S. export programs to
counter European crop subsidies.
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