Kent Conrad: “As the original sponsor of the provision that authorized the program in the Rural Development Partnership Act of 1989, I…”

“As the original sponsor of the provision that authorized the program in the Rural Development Partnership Act of 1989, I commend the Senator from Oregon in his efforts to not only further define the statute, but also to clarify the effective date of eligibility for applicants for fiscal year 1996 funding. It is my understanding that the definitional clarification offered by the Senator to the 1996 farm bill will not significantly increase the number of eligible applicants for the program. In that regard, I am providing for the Record a letter from America's Public Television Stations [APTS] which provides a list of those public television systems that, given the amended statutory criteria, would be eligible for the program.”