USDANEWS VOLUME 56 NO. 2 - FEBRUARY 1997

EDITOR'S NOTE: What follows are excerpts of remarks by Secretary Dan Glickman from his presentation, at a USDA press conference on February 6, of USDA's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 1998. Additional remarks from his presentation can be found in the lead article of this issue concerning USDA's proposed FY98 budget:

...We're here today to talk about where the rubber hits the road: How we protect our priorities and get to a credible balanced budget.

...Philosophically, you'll find throughout this budget a fundamental shift in the role of government. We can no longer be expected to do everything. It costs too much, and more often than not, it's overly bureaucratic.

That's why with the new [Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points inspection system] rule, there's less government micro-management. But in exchange for greater flexibility, we ask for greater responsibility.

...not all the numbers go down in this budget...There's a reason: (1) There are priority areas--like socially disadvantaged farmers, like the safety net, like hunger--where we simply need to do more, and (2) We've done enough belt-tightening that we can shift more resources to priority programs while holding the line on our overall budget.

That's a significant accomplishment, given that 75 percent of our funds are tied up in mandatory spending--most of it in programs where demand is increasing. Welfare reform and the farm bill helped keep those numbers in check, [and] so has our reorganization.

But the bottom line is: We're getting record levels of resources out of 'the bureaucracy' and to the people and communities who need them most.

...we need to balance the budget the right way...by looking a few years down the road--as this budget does to 2002...by setting core priorities--including protecting America's farmers...and standing firm on tough choices. There can be no ducking.

This is not an easy budget. But the easy path isn't going to get us where we need to go as a nation. We have an historic opportunity to get America's fiscal house in order. This plan will get us there and protect our priorities. I'm ready...to fight for it. ¤

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