Bill Clinton: “As I explained in my letter to the Committee dated April 16, 2003, without our help in funding the Tree Assistance…”

“As I explained in my letter to the Committee dated April 16, 2003, without our help in funding the Tree Assistance Program (TAP), most, if not all cherry growers will not be able to afford the costs of replanting on top of the estimated 20 percent annual income loss they will incur over the next 7 to 10 years while new cherry trees mature to regular production capacity. Wayne County farmers cannot bear this and neither can the economy of New York, a State that ranks second only to Michigan in tart cherry production. I respectfully ask that you recede to the House on this measure in conference.”