The Glacier reporter., 1963-08-15
Your Congressman
jim BATTIN
REPORTS FROM WASHINGTON

} Last week / and l'ineteen 9th
Sr Republican CongresSnel from
wheat areas urged in a letter to
President Kennedy that he sup
port a bipartisan effort i'll Con-
gress for new wheat legislation.
The wheat bills introduced by
myself and other Republicans
call for a volunteer land retire
ment program that would raise
farm income, reduce government
held stocks of surplus grain and
cut government costs.
The letter reminded the Presi-
dent that the choices offered
wheat producers for 1864 in the
May referendum were unaccept-
able as indicated by the vote of a
majority against the strict con-
troll certificate plan. Nonethe-
less, wheat farmers were left
with a program they had reject
ed twelve times in previous ref
erendums and were denied the
opportunity of choosing between
reasonable alternatives. With
complete justification, W h e a
farmers now look to the Admin
iStration and both parties in
Congress for positive action.
II seems to me that our agri-
cultural and foreign aid pro-
grams are too much concerned
with supporting the economies OF
all other people and nations OF
the world regardless of the con
sequences of this policy to our
own farmers, rancherS, labor and
industry.
Under present agricultural
policy, the farmer is compenSat
ed for taking his land out of pro
duction to make room for more
foreign imports and this in face
of domestic surpluses of many
of the imports. Of course, the
Trade Expansion Act provide:
redress to those put out of busi
ness and out of jobs by import:
payments out of the Treasury
But the trend continues toward
more and more imports of the
food for our tables and the fibel
for our clothes which means the
displacement of more and more
acres.
Last year we imported the
equivalent of 2 and "a million
head of 1000 pound beeve
while we exported $4,000 head
This was II per cent of tota
domestic production and an ir
crease from 8 per cent the yea
before. The Department of Ayr
culture estimates that 54.5 mi
lion acres would have been re
quired to produce the importe,
beef and II million acres t
have produced the beef we eS
ported or a net loss of 52.8 mi
lion acres for which the Treasur
(taxpayers) must pay to comper
safe for beef imports alone.
Cattle raiSers in the State o
Montana marketed a total o
944, 900 head of cattle and calve
last year. Cattle and beef in
ports for 1862 were about thre
times that amount.
Yet the Department of Agr
culture in reporting on my bill
to increase duties on importe
beef and cattle says Amy nor
negotiated duty increase woul
be contradictory to the preSen
US. liberal trade policy .
and the Department of Stat
said in their report, THE Trad
Expansion Act of 1862 expresse
the intention of the Unite
States to take a bold step in rt
ducing barriers to the expansion
of international trade =" anc
therefore, enactment of my prt
posed legislation would be il
consistent with the declaratio
of US. initiative.
The European Common MAJ
ket, however, had no compun'
tions about an almost 200 pc
cent increase in duties on in
ported US. poultry when thei
domestic poultry raisers con
planned.
So while the Agriculture an
State Departments pursue thei
liberal and bold trade policie
II wonder if farmers, rancher
and other taxpayers who bea
the brunt of this boldness an
generosity would not prefer
little more realism and rec