Date: 1987-02-24
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. House Joint Resolution 3 expresses the sense of Congress that the State agricultural experiment station research system should continue to be supported and that the 100th anniversary of the enactment of the Hatch Act of 1887 should be commemorated on March 2. 1987. It also authorizes and requests the President to issue a proclamation commemorating the enactment of the Hatch Act of 1887 and its role in establishing our Nations system of State agricultural experiment stations. Mr. Speaker. enactment of the Hatch Act of 1887 was a true milestone in the development of modem agriculture. The act placed a national imprimatur on efforts by agricultural scientists at land grant institutions to improve agriculture in the United States through study and experimentation. The legislation established a State agricultural experiment station in each State in affiliation with its landgrant college and established a national policy of Federal support for the experiment stations by granting each stationannual funding for scientific experiments. At the time the Hatch legislation was considered. the bills sponsor. Congressman William Henry Hatch of Missouri. chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture. and others were aware that experiment stations had been in operation in Europe for over 30 years. In fact. stations had already been established in the United States. the earliest in California and Connecticut in 1875. Between 1875 and 1887. 13 States followed the leadership of these two States and created experimental stations. State funding of agricultural research at these stations permitted only limited research by parttime scientists and the result of their ongoing research generally were not transmitted to other agricultural States. The Federal funding provided to each State under the Hatch Act greatly increased the resources available to experiment stations. In addition. the act gave franking privileges to the stations so they could more readily share information and results of their experiments with other States. The Hatch Act further provided for an Office of Experiment Stations to represent the Commissioner of Agriculture. This office also collected and diffused information on the work of the various experiment stations. In sum. the Hatch Act of 1887 started a unique cooperative liaison between the Federal Government and the States that is continuing today100 years later. Funding provided under the act. together with that provided by the States and private industry. has allowed State agricultural experiment stations to provide about 60 percent of the publicly supported agricultural research in this country. responding to local. State. national. and international needs. and has resulted in exceptional accomplishments. For example. agricultural experiment station scientists created hybrid corn that increased yields tremendously. They have developed effective controls for hog cholera. which in the past destroyed millions of pounds of pork each year. and curbs for the wheat rust epidemics that threatened to wipe out entire wheat crops. They devised new ways to irrigate dry parts of the United States for larger. more economical supplies of food and fiber. Experiment station scientists discovered the important roles of the minor elementszinc. copper. cobalt. and molybdenumin plant and animal nutrition. Their work has provided effective means of protecting plants from enemies such as weeds. fungi. viruses. and insects. These scientists discovered dicumarol to dissolve blood clots in humans and streptomycin to treat tuberculosis and other diseases. and their experimentation led to our current understanding of the significance of amino acids in our diets. There have also been more recent examples of accomplishments by the State agricultural experiment stations: Blotechnological research pertaining to use of bovine growth hormone to enhance milk production. the development of synthetic vaccines such as for foot and mouth disease. research on plant tissue culture for production horticulture. the production of various reproductive hormones for use in cattle. and the development of commercial applications for embryo transfer techniques. Mr. Speaker. the contribution of agricultural research to agricultural productivity in terms of return on investment has been widely studied. The calculated returns that represent the average annual rate of return per dollar invested are high. generally in the range of 30 percent. to 100 percent. This is well above the 10- to 15percent return that private industry considers adequate to attract investment. Clearly. the Hatch Act of 1887 has had an invaluable positive effect on agriculture in the United States. The act has brought into focus the importance of agriculture to our growing Nation and provided a foundation of public support for agricultural research that has been. in turn. a major factor in the expansion of this countrys largest economic sector. the food and agriculture industry. It is appropriate that recognition be given to the 100th anniversary of the Hatch Act of Further. I note both the agricultrual experiment stations outstanding record of success in their mission and the need for new advances in agricultural and nutrition science to help improve the quality of life for the people of the United States. Given their track record. the State agricultural experiment stations should be encouraged to continue their work to advance agricultural and nutrition science. Thus. it also is important for Congress to take this occasion to reaffirm the need for continued Federal support of the State agricultural experiment station research system. Mr. Speaker. I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution to recognize the 100th anniversary of the enactment of the Hatch Act of 1887. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.