We delivered on a multibillion dollar emergency assistance package in the fall, but the very fact that we needed such a bill for the second year in a row shows that the 1996 farm bill is not living up to its promise. It is time to move beyond damage control to a policy that helps farmers prepare for disasters and downturns and gives them the tools they need to thrive. This plan allows us to help farmers, even as we protect our natural resources on behalf of all Americans. In February, the administration will offer more farm policy proposals, including a targeted, counter cyclical income assistance program. Throughout the year, I will be working closely with both parties in Congress to further repair the holes in the farm bill, especially the hole that exists where there was once a strong farm safety net.
Global trade remains one of the keys to boosting farm incomes.
In 1999, despite continuing recession in many of our key foreign markets, we used the tools at our disposal to create export opportunities. We shipped eight million metric tons of food aid overseas, nearly five times the 1998 level. Also, President Clinton relaxed restrictions on the export of food to Iran, Libya and the Sudan. I am very optimistic about the agreement we reached in November that moves China one step closer to membership in the World Trade Organization. With the world's largest nation agreeing to play by the rules of international trade, American farmers could eventually increase their exports by nearly a billion dollars a year.