Eva M. Clayton: “when the history of this century is written, it is my hope that the year 1997 will be recorded as significant in the…”

“when the history of this century is written, it is my hope that the year 1997 will be recorded as significant in the effort to change the course and the culture of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Known as the People's Department, USDA was established when President Lincoln signed the law on May 15, 1862. It is ironic that the very Department created by the President who signed the Emancipation Proclamation today faces widespread and documented charges of unfair and unequal treatment to socially disadvantaged and minority farmers. Farmers and ranchers are invaluable resources to all of us. The farmers and ranchers of America, including minority and limited resource producers through their labor sustain each and every one of us and maintain the lifeblood of our Nation and the world. These people do not discriminate. Their products are for all of us. Therefore, it is important that we do all within our power to ensure that each and every producer is able to farm without the additional burden of institutional discrimination rearing its ugly head. It greatly concerns me, Mr. Speaker, that in my home State of North Carolina there has been a 64-percent decline in minority farmers just over the last 15 years, from 6,996 farms in 1978 to 2,498 farms in 1992.”