Gilbert Gutknecht: “Today we are going to have a debate about farm policy. Many of the people who are going to get involved in the debate…”

“Today we are going to have a debate about farm policy. Many of the people who are going to get involved in the debate have not been involved in the hearings and listening sessions we have had around the world in the last couple of years. Let me compare what is happening to American farmers to what is happening in the world market. Many people are saying, why do we subsidize agriculture here in the United States? The truth of the matter is, most farmers do not like subsidies, either. They want to make their living from the market; but it is not a level playing field, Mr. Chairman. We need to understand that. The latest numbers that we have here in the United States, we subsidize agriculture to the tune of about $43 an acre. In Europe, they subsidize agriculture $342 an acre. That is not a level playing field. Our trade negotiators in the last round of the Uruguay trade talks agreed to limit the United States' export enhancement funding to about $200 million. In Europe, it is $6.5 billion. That is not a level playing field. In the area of currency, right now we are at a disadvantage to the Canadians of about 23 percent; the Brazilian real, it is 55 percent. If there were a level playing field out there, we probably would not need to do as much as we are doing. This bill is about predictability.”