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>
> Release No. 0048.02
>
> of
>
> **SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE ANN M. VENEMAN'S REMARKS TO**
>
> **ANNUAL MEETING OF THE NATIONAL COTTON COUNCIL**
>
> **DALLAS, TEXAS**
>
> **FEBRUARY 11, 2002**
>
> **\[Applause.\]**
>
> MR. James Echols: Before beginning our business session, I would like
> to welcome our first special guest speaker. Last January, Ann Veneman
> was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate and sworn in as the 27th
> Secretary of Agriculture.
>
> During her Senate confirmation hearings she repeated President Bush\'s
> belief that the spirit of the American farmer is emblematic of the
> spirit of America, signifying the values of hard work, self reliance
> and entrepreneurship.
>
> Secretary Veneman brings a wealth of knowledge and understanding of
> agricultural policies and issues. She was USDA Deputy Secretary from
> 1991 to 1993, and Deputy Under Secretary for Agriculture for
> International Affairs and Commodity Programs from 1989 to 1991. From
> 1995 to 1999 she served as Secretary of the California Department of
> Food and Agriculture, where she managed the agricultural programs and
> services for the nation\'s largest agricultural producing state.
>
> Secretary Veneman, an attorney, was raised on a peach farm in Modesto,
> California. She holds a bachelor\'s degree from the University of
> California at Davis, a master\'s degree from the University of
> California at Berkeley, and a juris doctorate degree from the
> University of California, Hastings College of Law.
>
> Please join me in welcoming Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman.
>
> **\[Applause.\]**
>
> **SECRETARY VENEMAN**:
>
> "Well, thank you very much for that warm welcome, and thanks to all of
> you for your graciousness in having me here today. I want to thank
> Gaylon Booker and the National Cotton Council and all the board
> members and particularly recognize John Maguire, who does such a great
> job for all of you in D.C.
>
> "I also want to congratulate your leadership class. I know you all
> have been working with younger people to make sure that you have
> leaders for tomorrow, something we\'re also doing in our Department.
>
> "I also want to congratulate today the newly appointed and reappointed
> members of the Cotton Board, which we are announcing today, and if you
> would like to see the press release, you can get on our website and
> take a look at it, but we are making that announcement today as well.
>
> -more-
>
> -2-
>
> "And I know that Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson\'s going to be here
> later, and we\'d like to particularly recognize her, not only for her
> tremendous representation of this state in the United States Senate,
> but also for her leadership in the area of homeland security, which
> has been a priority for the President, and it\'s certainly been a
> priority in our own Department.
>
> "I was talking with some of you earlier today, and they were telling
> me that they\'ve heard some comments from those attending the
> convention that they were really excited that finally there\'s a
> member of the President\'s Cabinet, a Secretary, who exudes charm,
> magnetism, and is helping to bridge the gender gap. I knew immediately
> that they were talking about Don Rumsfeld.
>
> **\[Laughter.\]**
>
> "Recently there was a dinner in Washington. There\'s a thing called
> the Alfalfa Club, and I haven\'t quite figured out the reason for the
> club other than they have dinner once a year with members of the
> Senate and Presidents and all kinds of people. And so it\'s tradition
> for the President of the United States to come to this dinner and
> speak, and I know it\'s not the President\'s favorite dinner because
> he has to stay out too late. But he gave a terrific speech, and he
> talked a little about Secretary Rumsfeld in his remarks that night,
> and he said\--he said, \"The Secretary has become my administration\'s
> sex symbol, our version of Paula Zahn. He\'s become such a pin-up guy
> for older women, that I\'ve got a new name for him, Rumstud.
>
> **\[Laughter.\]**
>
> "Then he went on to say, \"I saw him earlier tonight, and saw this
> woman walking up with stars in her eyes, and you know, I just had to
> go up to her and pull her away and say, \"Mother, control yourself.\"
> \[Laughter.\]
>
> "Seriously, it is a great honor to serve in this President\'s Cabinet.
> It is a terrific Cabinet. It is a group of people that works well
> together and one that I am very, very proud to be a part of, and I\'m
> very proud to serve this President, who I think is doing a tremendous
> job.
>
> **\[Applause.\]**
>
> "This is my third trip already to Texas since I became Secretary.
> Actually, it\'s my second in 10 days. I was here last summer for the
> annual conference that was hosted by Chairman Combest and Congressman
> Stenholm. Not only did we talk about farm policy in the conference,
> but we then went from there to our Farm Service Agency office in
> Lubbock, and released the first supplemental payments to farmers from
> the bill last summer in record time. It was just the day after the
> President signed the bill into law.
>
> "And when I was here 10 days ago I was with Susan Combs, who\'s the
> terrific Ag Commissioner from this State. She hosted me in San Angelo,
> Texas, where we had the opportunity to tour cattle operations and
> cotton ginning operations, meet with cotton farmers, as well as see a
> lamb processing facility.
>
> "The most important thing we did, and what I enjoy doing as I go
> around the country, is to get out and visit with farmers and ranchers,
> to hear about their concerns, to listen to the ideas, the viewpoints,
> the innovations and what is truly happening on the ground in the farm
> sector.
>
> -more-
>
> -3-
>
> "I\'ve had, as I\'ve traveled around the country, the opportunity to
> talk with many in the cotton industry, and I certainly understand and
> share your concerns about the state of the cotton economy today. With
> the 2001 crop over\--up over 16 percent, mill consumption is forecast
> down 11 percent and even with exports of nearly 10 million bales
> forecast, the highest in 50 years, ending stocks are still projected
> to increase 45 percent.
>
> "We also understand the vital links between the cotton growers and the
> textile sector. Two weeks ago Don Evans, our Commerce Secretary, also
> from Texas and a tremendous person; I really enjoy serving with
> him\--Evans announced a textile working group that will study ways to
> assure that America can compete in world markets. So you\'re going to
> see that group looking at such areas as trade compliance and
> enforcement and export expansion for textiles and apparel.
>
> "As we look at the tough issues that are facing growers today and the
> opportunities that lie ahead, it is important to understand those
> concerns so our farm economy continues to grow and prosper.
>
> "America\'s farmers and ranchers are an integral part of our nation\'s
> economy. More people need to understand that our food and fiber sector
> accounts for nearly \$1.3 trillion in gross domestic products.
>
> "Let\'s talk about agriculture and jobs. The farm economy supports
> nearly 24 million jobs. Yes, that\'s 24 million jobs. So the policies
> we make in Washington have to be done right or we put those jobs and
> the livelihood of farmers and ranchers at risk. Cotton producers are
> literally the fabric of America and the world as well, and so I say
> thank you for all your hard work and dedication.
>
> "The President sends his best to all of you for a successful
> convention. In fact, just last Friday I had the opportunity to spend
> some time with him on Air Force One, where we were on our way to the
> Cattlemen\'s Convention where he gave an agricultural address to the
> group. And we had several members of the Senate along on this trip, as
> well as Chairman Combest, and we had a chance on the plane to talk
> about what the President wants to see in terms of Ag policy, and he
> set forth those principles as he talked with the cattlemen last
> Friday.
>
> "We are hopeful that a bipartisan consensus in the Senate can be
> reached on a new farm bill as quickly as possible, and we\'re going to
> work hard to get a good farm bill from the conference. We\'re looking
> forward to working with Chairman Combest and the House and Senate
> conferees to reach a good bipartisan agreement.
>
> "The President has been very clear for some time on what kind of farm
> policy he would like to see when the farm bill reaches his desk, and
> he reiterated those principles last Friday. His vision for a new farm
> bill is to assist all of agriculture in a direction that is right for
> America\'s farming sector. First the President wants to see a farm
> policy that is generous in appropriations but affordable. In the
> President\'s budget, which we released just a week ago, on last
> Monday, we agreed to the \$73.5 billion in additional baseline
> spending over the next decade for farm programs. This figure is the
> one that was agreed to by both the House and the Senate last year, and
> the budget shows that the administration will honor this agreement.
>
> -more-
>
> -4-
>
> "But we also have to be careful with that money. Some in the Senate
> have proposed to front-load the dollars in the next few years, leaving
> farmers shortchanged down the road by as much as \$10 billion. That
> will only hurt farmers in the long run. The \$73.5 billion should be
> spent relatively evenly over the next decade, or as the President said
> on Friday, to put it bluntly, what we don\'t want to do is
> over-promise to farmers and under-perform.
>
> "A good farm bill must provide a safety net for farmers without
> encouraging over-production which thereby depresses prices. If we set
> loan rates too high, it could reverse their intended impact and make
> an already difficult situation even worse.
>
> "The administration supports farm policies that will strengthen the
> farm economy over the long term. Programs that are market oriented and
> encourage independence, but don\'t hurt producers. The president also
> wants a farm bill that supports international trade.
>
> "Now, some people these days find this unsettling, but agriculture in
> this country is so dependent on trade today. You look at the cotton
> sector. We export nearly 50 percent of our cotton, and this year that
> number is expected to exceed 50 percent. We need to grow those markets
> by eliminating unfair trade practices and tear down the walls that
> keep our products out of other countries. And we\'ve seen some major
> successes in the last year. We saw the accession of China into the WTO
> which should provide very good benefits for our cotton, but we know
> that the Chinese have not been quick to implement their obligations
> under this agreement, and we\'re working very hard to make sure that
> they do implement it as quickly as possible.
>
> "We also launched a new round of trade negotiations in Doha, a great
> success to get a trade negotiation off the ground after the failure in
> Seattle a couple of years back.
>
> "We also need to think of trade from a different side and start asking
> ourselves what we stand to lose without export markets. What would
> happen with our agriculture industry and our cotton industry if we
> turned inward and begin to lose market share?
>
> "The President likes to say as well that our farmers are the best in
> the world at what they do. We are the most innovative, technologically
> advanced, and we grow cotton and other agriculture products better
> than anyone else. So if that\'s the case, it\'s only logical that we
> seek new marketing opportunities around the world to sell
> American-grown products.
>
> "Now, this brings me to another topic, and that is trade promotion
> authority, or what was referred to in past years as \"fast track.\"
> The President needs it. It is a very important tool for us to move
> forward in opening new markets abroad. The administration has a record
> of protecting agriculture at the negotiating table. We did it in Doha
> as we launched the new WTO round, and this President is firmly
> committed to making sure that agriculture remains the cornerstone of
> U.S. trade policy.
>
> -more-
>
> -5-
>
> "We all know that farming is a difficult business that presents many
> risks, and that\'s why the President wants to make sure that the farm
> bill establishes farm savings accounts that help farmers and ranchers
> manage risks. These farm savings accounts would work something like a
> special 401(K) for agriculture producers. They\'re a good idea. They
> make a lot of sense. It\'s an additional tool that farmers could use
> to help manage the risky business of farming.
>
> "A good farm bill will also offer incentives for good conservation
> practices. We all know that farmers are the best stewards of the land.
>
> **\[Applause.\].**
>
> "And we\'ve seen firsthand\--and in fact, I saw firsthand when I was
> here just a few days ago\--some of the ways that cotton growers are
> enhancing the environment by reducing the use of chemicals. I\'ve
> talked to farmers who have participated here in Texas in the Boll
> Weevil Eradication Program, and they told me how much their chemical
> use and therefore input costs were decreasing because of the success
> of this federal/state partnership. And I\'ve talked to other farmers
> here in Texas who are using BT cotton and talking about the reduced
> use of chemicals. So certainly cotton growers are doing their part to
> improve and enhance the environment.
>
> "In a new farm bill we should do more to help you with your ingenuity,
> with the management of your land. Good conservation policies help
> growers make better decisions, and we want to strengthen the programs
> that help working farmlands in this farm bill.
>
> "This is what the President has outlined in relation to a new farm
> bill. We support this vision wholeheartedly. It\'s what we\'ve been
> talking about for some time, and it\'s what we believe will help
> American farmers and ranchers in the new century.
>
> "Now, some say that agreeing to a farm bill is the hard part. That\'s
> true in many cases, but I can tell you also that when it comes to the
> U.S. Department of Agriculture, implementing the new farm bill is a
> challenge in and of itself. And that\'s why at USDA we are already
> working on our implementation plans. We want to make sure that we can
> implement a new farm bill quickly once the President signs it.
>
> "About a week or two ago I visited USDA employees in Georgia and
> talked about this very issue, and tomorrow I\'m going to go to Kansas
> City, which is our largest office of USDA employees outside
> Washington. Many of these employees are responsible for implementing a
> new farm bill and getting payments out, and they will have a huge
> responsibility, and we\'re going to talk about that tomorrow. So
> moving this process ahead is a very big priority for us at USDA.
>
> "Finally, before I leave the topic of the farm bill, I do want to
> recognize something I\'ve heard a lot about already this morning, and
> that is the concerns that I know you all have about the
> Dorgan-Grassley Amendment that was passed last week\--and now there is
> a big difference between the House and the Senate bills on this issue,
> so it is sure to be a major area of negotiation in the conference on
> the bill.
>
> "Before I conclude today there are a couple of other topics I\'d like
> to raise, the issues of technology and also of homeland security.
>
> -more-
>
> -6-
>
> We need to be clear what forces are driving change so that we can
> develop policies and programs that are responsive and appropriate not
> only to current conditions, but also to the challenges that lie ahead.
> As I mentioned during my trip to Texas, I had the opportunity to meet
> with some cotton farmers. While we know that in recent years times
> have been tough, we heard success stories that are helping cotton
> farmers, particularly here in Texas\--those issues I talked about
> earlier with the boll weevil eradication and some of the other new
> technologies with the biotech crop.
>
> "There are also some exciting partnerships between the public/private
> sectors that I think are worth reiterating. Many of you are familiar
> with our Ag 2020 project in which USDA and NASA have teamed up with
> cotton growers and the Cotton Council. This project, Ag 2020, brings
> farmers and ranchers and researchers together to find innovative ways
> to use precision technologies to help lower production costs, improve
> yields, protect the environment, and reduce economic risk. And the
> results are validated with on-farm trials. It\'s pretty amazing stuff.
> It\'s like taking advantage of such technologies as hyper-spectral
> imaging to assist farmers in deciding when and where to apply
> chemicals and pesticides, and to make\--and in making predictions of
> yields and quality.
>
> "And I particularly want to recognize the efforts of two people in
> particular, John Kenneth Hood, who\'s here from Mississippi, and Ted
> Sheely from California, both of whom have been active participants in
> this very exciting program.
>
> "On the issue of homeland security, as I said before, this has been a
> major topic, as you heard in the State of the Union address. It\'s a
> major priority for the President, but it\'s a major priority for the
> U.S. Department of Agriculture as well. We need to do everything that
> we can to protect our food and agricultural sector not only from
> unintentional threats, but now also from intentional threats to our
> food supply, and we\'ve been working very hard on this at USDA.
>
> "We\'re working with Governor Ridge and the Office of Homeland
> Security. We\'re working with our states and our other federal agency
> partners, and the industry, to make sure that we do everything we can
> to protect our agriculture industry.
>
> "Just last week in his annual budget President Bush requested more
> than \$146 million in new spending for homeland security protections
> through USDA programs. Also in early January the President approved an
> additional \$328 million in spending for USDA to continue to
> strengthen our homeland security programs. This was appropriated
> through the Defense Supplemental Appropriations Act. So as I said,
> this does continue to be a high priority.
>
> "This weekend I attended the opening ceremony for the Olympic Games.
> It was truly an incredible experience to see all the athletes
> representing so many countries, so many cultures, see them all
> together, young and old, a melting pot of diversity together,
> celebrating peace; to see our President sitting with the athletes,
> celebrating their achievements and even talking on a cell phone with
> their parents and their friends. These are the values that our great
> country is all about. The most moving moment for me was watching a
> tattered flag being carefully carried into the arena, the flag which
> was flying over the World Trade Center on September 11th. I\'m sure
> that like me, many of those who stood in that arena and applauded or
> those of you who watched from home, felt their eyes moisten with
> tears.
>
> -more-
>
> -7-
>
> "Today, February 11th, just 5 months later to the day, no one would
> ever wish the evil that was done on September 11th. Yet after America
> was attacked, it was as if our entire country looked in a mirror and
> saw our better selves. We are reminded that we are citizens with
> obligations to each other, to our nation and to history. By working
> together there is no challenge that together we cannot overcome.
>
> "I want to thank all of you for what you do for our great nation.
> Thanks again. God bless you and God bless America".
>
> **\[Applause.\]**

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