Dirk Kempthorne: “I rise today to delcare my support for the fiscal year 1999 Agriculture appropriations bill. American agriculture is in…”

“I rise today to delcare my support for the fiscal year 1999 Agriculture appropriations bill. American agriculture is in a state of emergency. No one who has read a commodity report in the last few months would disagree. Wheat and barley prices are at record lows as are prices for other important Idaho agricultural products. In August, I talked to growers all over Idaho who are on the verge of bankruptcy, they tell me they are in trouble. This appropriations bill will help farmers get back on their feet. The bill provides funding for a wide range of USDA programs, including agricultural research, export initiatives, foreign market development, nutrition programs and other department operations. Much-needed short term relief is also provided--$1.5 billion in one-time payments to assist producers who have been hit by crop losses in 1998, an additional $675 million to provide assistance to farmers who have suffered multi-year crop losses, $175 million for livestock feed assistance in a cost-share program available to ranchers who lost their 1998 feed supplies to disaster, and $1.65 billion for increased AMTA (Agriculture Market Transition Act) payments. In a time when its farmers are experiencing severe economic hardship, Idaho is one of the big winners in the process.…”