Date: 1983-09-15
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. the bill which the House Is passing today House Joint Resolution 311. is very timely. The legislation proclaims March 20. 1984. as National Agriculture Day for next year. continuing a tradition of annual celebrations of this event. As chairman of the Agriculture Committee I have sponsored House Joint Resolution 311 with the Honorable EDWARD R. MADIGAN Of Illinois. the ranking minority member of the Committee and 234 other Members of the House. There have been few periods In the past when the contributions of American agriculture to our national needs have been more sharply deftied. Consider this. Mr. Speaker. Many of our farming areas this summer have been devastated by the worst drought in nearly 50 years. That drought struck at a time when the planted acreage of some of our major crops had been sharply reduced by a Government surpluscontrol program. As a result. this years corn crop has been cut by nearly 50 percent from last years level. Under these circumstances. you might think that the consumers of this country were facing a crisis. In other countries. or at earlier times. a drought of the kind we have suffered might have meant dramatic shortages of food. We might have had to worry about not having enough for our people to eat. We might be facing food rationing. or widespread hunger. But that is not happening In the United States today. If there are lines at food stores. they are checkout lines of people who can still get the worlds most varied and nutritious diet at very reasonable prices. Our agriculture is so powerful. In other words. that Americans will be fully protected in spite of the damage done by the drought. Certainly. the drought losses will have some impact on consumers. Prices of some crops. including corn and soybeans. are up. This will put heavy pressure on our livestock producers. many of whom are losing money. and the result will be some deSepteiiber Y5. 1993 clitoe in livestock supplies next year. Retail food prices In 1984 will rise by a little more than we had expected. but the Increase will still be moderate by any reasonable standards. The point that I hope all Americans will see is not so much the fact that we will have a moderate increase In some food prices next year. The Important fact Is that the comparatively small impact we expect is something of a minor miracle when you look at the circumstances. If American agriculture had not been as powerful and productive as it is. the 1983 drought could have been a catastrophe for- our country. I realize it is hard to dramatize something that did not happen. but I wish all our people could understand and appreciate how well the agricultural industry has served us. That Industry is the largest in our Nation. When you consider the farmers and ranchers and their workers. plus all the people who work in farm supply. processing. transporting. and retailing industries. you are talking about more than 20 million jobs. That is another point we should stress. Agriculture includes our farmers. but it also includes millions of other Amen.cans. and they too have a stake in the observance of National Agriculture Day. Farm and city people together have been celebrating National Agriculture Day with a variety of events for more than 10 years. Since 1981. the celebrations have been carried out with the added support of laws enacted annually by the Congress and proclamations issued under those laws by the President. Mr. Speaker. these last few years have been a rough economic time for many of our farmers and ranchers. They have gone through an economic wringer of great severity. and al* though the drought has raised prices of some commodities. we would be making a great mistake if we assumed that all farmers have suddenly solved all their financial problems. For many producers. Including many in our vital livestock industries. there are still deep and Ferious problems which must be solved. Thats another reason to celebrate National Agriculture Day. If agriculIure is going to perform for our country in thle future as it has in the past. it will have to be a healthy agriculture. Every citizen of this country has a direct. personal stake in the preservation of a healthy agriculture. In the past. it has given us all a steadily rising standard of living at reasonable cost. it has strengthened the Nations ecopmy by providing exports which allowk us to pay for imported commodities. it has made the difference between life and death for hungry people in many developing nations around the world. and it has done all these things in a way which has led too many of us to take agricultures achievements for granted. The sum of these facts Is that American agricultureis basic to the welfare of us a11. We should do what we can to see that all Americans understand this. so they can understand and support efforts to keep agriculture healthy. I believe passage of House Joint Resolution 311 will be a worthwhile step in this direction.e The joint resolution was ordered to be engrossed and read aL third time. was read the third time. and passed. and a motion to reconsider was laid on the table.