Conrad Questions Ag Secretary Veneman's Asking Canadian Counterpart to Come to Washington and Lobby Against Farm Bill Conrad Calls on President to Renounce Veneman's Request February 15, 2002 Washington, DC - Senator Kent Conrad today took to the Senate floor to express his astonishment and disappointment over a Canadian newspaper's report that U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman asked her Canadian counterpart, Lyle Vanclief, to come to Washington and lobby the Congress against the farm bill. Conrad called on the President to renounce the reported request. "Mr. President, we now have the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States asking the official of a foreign government to come to Washington to lobby the United States Congress against a farm bill designed to help American farmers. What is she thinking?" said Conrad on the floor of the Senate. Conrad was referring to an article that appeared in yesterday's Western Producer, a Canadian newspaper, that reported that the Canadian Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief, during a phone call with Veneman, was invited to come to Washington and help lobby Congress against the farm bill. Mr. Vanclief's press aide, Donald Boulanger is quoted in the article as saying, "She told Lyle to put pressure on Congress...She said their political system is different from ours because the Congress has so much power. She said 'Lyle, you have to help me lobby Congress.'" In a statement made by Mr. Vanclief on February 8th of this year, he complained that if the farm bill in the U.S. Congress went through and became law, "...American farmers will simply farm the mail box rather than the market, overproducing crops just to receive a government check." "I call on the President today to send a very clear message to his Secretary of Agriculture that she cannot be pursuing foreign government officials to lobby this Congress," said Conrad. "Has she forgotten what side she's on? She's in the cabinet of the President of the United States, not in the cabinet of the Government of Canada." Conrad sent a letter today to the President calling on him to renounce this request by Secretary Veneman to Mr. Vanclief. The letter and the article accompany this release.