FARM SECURITY ACT OF 2001 -- (Extensions of Remarks - October 12, 2001)

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SPEECH OF HON. TODD TIAHRT

OF KANSAS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Friday, October 5, 2001

Mr. TIAHRT. Mr. Speaker, I offer my thanks and congratulations to the Chairman of the Agriculture Committee, Mr. COMBEST, and the Ranking Members, Mr. STENHOLM, for crafting this bipartisan legislation, which I am pleased to support. The bill before us is the result of more than two years of hard work by the Agriculture Committee and I believe the efforts of the Committee are reflected in this Farm Bill.

This legislation comes at a time of historically low commodity prices and high costs for farmers and ranchers. This has resulted in drastically lower production. Last year in my state of Kansas, wheat production was only 80
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percent of the previous year's crop. While this was still good enough to enable Kansas to lead the nation in wheat production, it resulted in a production value decrease of nearly $30 million from the previous year. Corn production was down by 4 million bushels from 1999, and sorghum grain production was down 27 percent, though I am pleased to report to my colleagues that Kansas did retain its position as the number one sorghum grain production state in the nation.

The difficulties facing the farmers and ranchers of Kansas did not stop there. Soybean production was down nearly 40 percent and was at its lowest level in five years. And hay production was down 13 percent from 1999. Mr. Speaker, these facts strongly suggest the need for a farm policy which continues current successful agricultural programs and offers a balanced approach for addressing issues of important to those Americans who produce crops and livestock. It is time for Congress to step forward and demonstrate our commitment to the men and women who feed our Nation.

There are numerous reasons why I will vote for the Farm Security Act of 2001. I support this legislation because it offers essential income support to farmers and ranchers, thus guaranteeing a safe, affordable, and dependable food supply for the United States and many parts of the world. The American people are truly a blessed and fortunate people considering that we spend only 11 cents of every dollar we earn on food. In other nations that figure may be as high as fifty cents on the dollar.

It is not just the worker on the farm or ranch who will feel the benefits of this Farm Bill. This legislation provides much-needed resources to the agricultural economy, which will guarantee the continued viability of the food and fiber sector where nearly one-fifth of America's civilian workforce is employed. Mr. Speaker, by supporting production on our farms and ranches, we are ensuring that domestic agriculture remains robust and the job market in America's food and fiber industry is strong.

I heard from many of my constituents back in Kansas regarding the need for additional conservation in this year's Farm Bill. I am pleased to tell them that we have considerably increased funding for conservation programs. This legislation contains an average of $1.285 billion per year for Environmental Quality Incentives Programs, plus an additional fund of $60 million per year to address water issues. The bill added 5.7 million acres to the Conservation Reserve Program, which is 2.8 million acres above the currently authorized acreage. It adds 1.5 million new acres to the Wetlands Reserve Program. It authorizes $25 million for the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, an amount that increase to $50 million by the year 2011. Finally, our conservation efforts are augmented by the implementation of the Grasslands Reserve Program which allows up to 2 million acres to be preserved as grasslands. Mr. Speaker, through the Farm Security Act, our commitment to conservation is stronger than ever.

This legislation also reflects America's commitment to the less fortunate in our society who need a helping hand. Through the efforts of the Ag Committee, we have simplified the federal food stamp program to guarantee that needy families throughout our nation have better access to America's food supply. The Farm Security Act accomplished this through making needed improvements in food assistance programs by giving states greater flexibility, doing away with unnecessary barriers to participation, and increasing assistance to working families, or those individuals known as the ``working poor.'' Under this plan, individual states will be able to provide six months of transitional food stamp benefits for families leaving the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. It includes incentives for states to improve quality control systems and the Emergency Food Assistance Program will receive an additional $40 million for commodity purchases.

Under this year's Farm Bill, our willingness to help others is not confined to our own borders. This legislation provides increased funds to transport U.S. producers' surplus commodities to the world's developing nations. It also increases the cap on funds used to provide food assistance on a grant basis or on credit terms to struggling countries. Additionally, funding for the Foreign Market Development Program is increased by $7 million per year over its current level. This program is an effective approach to acquiring new foreign customers for American producers and new markets for American crops and livestock. Recent Department of Agriculture figures indicate that in 1980, the United States held a 24 percent share of world agricultural markets. Now, that figure has dropped to nearly 18 percent. I believe this bill improves the ability of our producers to compete.

The Farm Security Act of 2001 is a fair and balanced bill which enjoys the support of agriculture and conservation groups. It addresses critical farm program needs and also makes significant improvements to America's conservation, rural development, export promotion, nutrition and research programs. It fully complies with the budget approved by Congress earlier this year and meets our WTO obligations. I commend the Chairman and the Committee for their work on this Farm Bill and I strongly encourage my colleagues to vote for it.
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