Date: 1981-10-02
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman. this Is a very momentus occasion for us here in the Congress. for the Committee on Agriculture and the House of Representives. and indeed. for the American people as we discuss H.R. 3603. the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981. I support. with amendments that will be offered later. this legislation because we need in the interest of the entire Nation and Indeed of the world stability in the agricultural sector. Just this morning In one of the newspapers in this Capitol I read a report from Lester Brown. one of the renowned researchers and experts in the field of world food resources. where he stated that the population of the world. which will increase around the turn of the century to over 4 billion people. could not be sustained materially in the manner In which It is not being sustained nutritionally. unless we have more productivity. and that perhaps that productivity is indeed limited due to the lack of fertile lands or arable lands and that the bulk of them are now under production. Second. let me say that there are some Members in this House who oppose either parts of this legislation or the whole. I could not fathom anybody opposing this legislation for one simple reasonless than 3 percent of the population of the United States provides all of the food and fiber for the entire population of the United States and enough to export to bring precious Income back to our countrythat 225plus million people are fed by less than 3 million. Further. and I think this is worthwhile for all of those who may listen or may read the recordit should be noted that the people In the United States. of course. there are always exceptionsevery rule. has an exceptionand someone might -quote us the exception. but in general the people of the United States today are the best fed people in the world. In the history of the world. And they buy the best quality food In the world. in the history of the world. for the smallest part of their disposable income. It takes less of their Income to buy the food which they need to sustain themselves than In any other country In the world. in the history of the world. to get the food that they need. There will always. of course. be the exception. The American housewife. or homemaker can get meat. for example. if she wants beef. If she wants mutton. if she wants ham. shecp. goat. poultry. whatever she wants. she can get. whole or frozen. or fresh. or cut up. All you have to do Is to go to the supermarkets and to the grocery stores and it is there. available. for a lower price. a lower part of disposable Income. than for all of the people In the rest of the world. The housewife can get the fruits. the vegetables. and of course in this legislation we do not deal with fruits and vegetables. but our farmers still produce those items. the best quality for the American people. Now. why the need for the legislation? Because sources or Items or factors beyond the control of the farmer have forced his cost of production to the limitmany times beyond what he sells his product for. the cost of fuel. the imposition by the Government of restrictions or limitations. what kind of pesticides. what kind of insecticides. how mlich he has to pay his farmworkers. Not that he begrudges thisand indeed the farmwvorker probably Is the lowest paid of all of the workers of Americabut yet that farmworkers contribute more. I say respectfully. than any other worker in America because he works for less. unfortunately. but helps provide the food that Is necjessary to sustain this great Nation and our people. Because of these deficiencies. Government has to intervene. and we have this program which Is meager assistance at best. a safety net. if one calls it thatand we are not speaking here of a hammock someone can go out and take a siesta on. we are speaking of a safety net that you see In the circus. the last thing that will break your fall before you fall to the ground and break all the bones in your body. as you see with the aerialists in the circus. This Is what we are trying to do for the American farmer. There are American farms collapsing by the day. There are American dairymen shutting down their operations. There are young people closing down their farms. and I listened to Lester Brown saying we will not be able to feed all the people in the world. So this is a very small modest effort to assist that productivity and meet our responsibility as a Congress and a Nation and as a people to that less than 3 percent who provide the food and fiber for all of us. There are various and sundry parts of this bill which I would not detail to the Members. but rather will be available to read in the RECORD. But I say very respectfully that the line should be forming behind us to support us. to provide this very. very modest assistance to those who provide the food and fiber. Now. the Members will hear later aljout othe. amendments. The bill that passed the committee is beyond the budget resolution. but we have a consensus amendment from the comimittee. and outside the committee. that wvill be offered by the gentleman from Iowa . that will bring our bill In line or below the budget imposed upon us by the Budget Committee. We will bring our bill below the budget for fiscal year 1982 as instructed by the committee. So. I would hope that the Members who are not here would read the RECOIW. For when we resume our deliberations next week. those who oppose sections of this bill should realize again that it may be popular to say. well. it will increase the price of sugar. it wvill increase the price of wheat for bread. it will increase the price to the consumer out there in the marketplace. It may wellIn very. very small areas. but it is either that or. like In many other countries in the wvorld that we have been reading of lately. getting In line and waiting at the grocery store only not to have food available. We really do not know what it is not to have it available. I daresay all of us here had lunch. No one told us how much we could order for that lunch. No one told us wvhat the ration would be. That Is what we are trying to continue and to do so we have to offer a very modest fornm of legislative or Government assistance to those who put that food on our table. to those who put that food on our table for the lowest amount of disposable income than for any other people in the worldin the history of the world. Mr. Chairman. I would add that we need an effective Government farm program because American agriculture is in deep economic trouble today. Without our action to continue a fair safety net farm support program. that trouble will get worse. And that would be the worst kind of bad news for American consumers. Depression In agriculture can weaken the ability of American farmers to provide us all with ample supplies of food and fiber at reasonable prices. The fact that farmers are in trouble today Is no news to those of us who follow agriculture closely. But for those who do not. let me recall for you the report issued by the Department of Agriculture just a few days ago. That report said prices paid to farmers fell 2.2 percent in September. That decline left the farmers purchasing power at the lowest level since April 1933. According to the report. farm prices were down to just 59 percent of parity in September. the lowest since April 1933. when the figure was 54 percent. Just 1 year ago. farm prices were at 68 percent of parity compared with the 59 percent we got last month. Looking ahead. we do not see much official optimism. h 6879 Octobcr 2. 1981 An Agriculture Department expert was quoted Thursday as predicing some continued weakness In prices this month unless there is an unexpected surge In exports or a sudden turn for the worse In harvest prospects. Government analysts have predicted that net farm income for 1981. which Was formerly expected to show some improvement. may be down around last years very poor level. InI fact. if we consider cash income without Inventory changes. 1981 could be even worse than the very bad year we had in 1980. Many of my colleagues may have noted the feature story on this issue in Thursdays Wall Street Journal. That story pointed out that inflation. high interest rates. and even the strength of the dollar overseas are combining with a growing grain surplus to batter the farm economy. The story points out that wheat prices are down 7 percent from a year ago. corn down 23 percent. and soybeans off 19 percent. The story adds that In this farm recession. unlike some of those In the past. we have some new problems. Producers generally. unlike situations in that past. cannot recoup their present losses on crops from offsetting profits on livestock. This time. livestock prices are so weak that there is only marginal profit In pork and continued losses in cattle. the Journal says. This account also underlines the tremendous squeeze farmers face because of continued high interest rates. One Iowa farmer reports that a fewv years ago. his interest cost on money borrowed to finance a steer was about $21. Today. the interest on that one feeder Is about $120about the cost of feeding the steer. The Journal story quotes one private economist as saying that: Unless some unforeseen event rescues farmers In the near future. many will be pushed over the brink and into depression. Secretary Block. In recent testimony before a subcommittee of the Joint Economic Committee. had this to say: The farm balance sheet for this year is equally bleak. Farm asset values are up 8.4 percent. But farm liabilities are up some 14.7 percent from last year. due primarily to the Increasing cost of borrowing financing for land purchases and operations. Also. the Secretary said he thinks hardly any farmers can make money when they pay 20 percent Interest rates. The Secretary Is perfectly right. and this Is part of our problem. Mr. Chairman. I do not know how accurate the forecasts are. but I am convinced that farmers are facing a really critical period over the next few years. That is why we mustfor the protection of the entire Nationmaintain a farm program which gives producers at least a fighting chance to win their way back to a sound economy. We understand the budget problems facing all legislation in this Congress. We understand fully that agriculture Is going to absoi b its share of the cuts which must bc made to rebuild the Nations economy. But we must also understand that If we permit agriculture to continue sliding into depression. farmers will not be the only victims. In the long run. a depressed agriculture is the worst kind of bad news for consumers. because a depressed agriculture loses the ability to give consumers what they need mostan ample and stable- food and fiber supply at reasonable prices. I will not take your time to describ.e in detail the provisions of H.R. 3603. I will Include for the record a summary of those provisions. Suffice it to say here that it revises and extends for another 4 years price support and related programs for most of the major farm commodities. It likewise extends the export assistance provisions of Public Law 480. It reauthorizes and places caps on appropriations for the food stamp program for 4 more years. and provides the tools to conduict. that program in a manner which keeps hunger from the needy and eliminates the greedy. It improves and renews provisions relating to agricultural research. extension. and teaching. And in no small measure it comes to grips with threats to one of the most precious elements of our national heritagefertile. productive agricultural landwhich is increasingly endangered by erosion and conversion to a host of nonagricultural uses. Hl.R. 3603 is by no means a fat or flabby bill. Its provisions reflect the best judgment of the Agriculture Committee as to the minimal levels of protection necessary to permit American agriculture to continue the role it has so admirably filled in supplying adequate quantities of food and fiber at reasonable cost to the consumers of the Nation while at the same time meeting the heavy demands of the world for agricultural commodities. Many of the provisions represent the only real safety net for farmers who are caught In the Increasingly severe squeeze bietween declining prices and everincreasing costs. It is true. however. that the bill as reported will. for fiscal year 1982. result in costs exceeding the limits prescribed In the first concurrent budget resolution. However. amendments will be offered by a member of the committee to bring Its costs within those limits. They will deal with the dairy price support provisions and several other sections of the bill. I would pause to point out that the Agriculture Committee has been one of the most diligent committees of the Congress in practicing budgetary restraint. For example. last spring it reported out one of the first significant mea sures adopted by this session of the Congress to reduce Federal expenditures by eliminating a scheduled increase In dairy support levels. This action was estimated to have saved a total of $246 million In outlays In fiscal years 1981 and 1982. The committee performed in a similar fashion. Mr. Chairman. during the reconciliation process. Measures agreed to In conference with our Senate counterparts resulted In savings of a total of $2.7 billion over and above those called for by the reconciliation provisions of the first budget resolution. In this regard. I will offer amendments to H.R. 3603 which will delete provisions already disposed of by the Reconciliation Act or other legislation. We assure you that we fully Intend. again to take the responsible course during the consideration of H.R. 3603. But we do not Intend to deprive Amerclan farmers of the minimal protection they need to permit them to survive the vagarics over wvhich they have no controlthe weather. disaster. Inflation. and crushing interest. rates. And we miust act to preserve the very basis for our botjntythe land. With the amendments I have referred to. the bill constitutes a responsible and costeffective approach to maintaining a viable agriculture in the national Interest. and insuring that hunger will not stalk the needy of our land. It is a bill that merits the support of the farmer as well as the consumer. And I urge my colleagues to give it that support.