Dick Lugar: “it is a privilege to bring before the Senate H.R. 2854, the Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act. The farm…”

“it is a privilege to bring before the Senate H.R. 2854, the Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act. The farm bill that we are to pass after this debate will make the most sweeping changes in agricultural policy since the days of the New Deal. These changes begin a new era in which markets rather than Government will dominate farm decisions. H.R. 2854 offers farmers more freedom to plant crops without Government constraint than they have had in decades. This legislation turns farm programs from an uncontrollable entitlement to a system of fixed and declining income-support payments. From now on, the Federal Government will stop trying to control how much food, feed, and fiber our Nation produces. Instead, we will trust the market for the first time in a long while to direct those signals. Farmers during this time will not be left unprotected in a sometimes unforgiving world marketplace. H.R. 2854 provides new protection against export embargoes, ensuring that the United States will be a reliable supplier of agricultural products. The bill also strengthens our successful export credit programs, placing new emphasis on high-value exports that now constitute more than half of our overseas sales. Back at home in this country, where resource conservation is increasingly important not only to producers but to all citizens, this bill offers new incentives to manage natural resources wisely.”