Release No. 0255.98
Remarks
                               of 
                     Secretary Dan Glickman
           Agriculture Research Bill Signing Ceremony
                The White House -- June 23, 1998

     "Good morning. I'd like to welcome everyone to the White House,
particularly our honored guests from the Congress and from the anti-hunger and
agricultural communities.

     "Today, we celebrate a long, proud, bipartisan legacy that has spanned
more than 30 years. It is a legacy that unites the producers and consumers of
America's food. It is a legacy kept alive today by all of you who have fought so
hard -- together -- for America's farmers and ranchers, and for those among us
who are hungry. I want to thank you all for holding this historic coalition
together. And, I want to thank President Clinton for playing such a critical
role in keeping this legislative package together.
 
     "Mr. President, I can't tell you how helpful it has been for me, for U.S.
agriculture, and for all rural Americans, to have one of our own in the White
House. You are a son of Hope, Arkansas ... Last I checked, the population there
was 9,768. You spent time on a farm as a boy. And, as much as I worry that we as
a nation too often take a  Star-Trek' view of our food supply, where a computer
magically gives us whatever food we want, I know that you and I will never
forget that agriculture is hard, risky work, and that our farmers and ranchers
need and deserve the support of our nation as they work to feed a growing world
in a sustainable way.                                                            
            
     "I am proud of the strong, bipartisan support for our farmers and ranchers
that this bill represents. Cutting-edge research is critical to U.S.
agriculture's success. And, as we've become a more urban society, agricultural
research is a good part of the reason that we are able to produce affordable and
safe food for ourselves and the world.  

     "I also want to recognize the strong commitment this bill makes to
President Clinton's Fund for Rural America. Through rural development and
research efforts, this Fund is helping rural farm communities compete in a new
world. And, it is my sincere hope that as Congress moves through the
appropriations process, we will see this same bipartisan majority in action.
Rural America may only be 20% of our people, but it deserves 100% of our
support, as communities make the transition to a global marketplace. 

     "And, finally, Mr. President, as someone who has devoted decades of my
life to fighting hunger in America, I want to personally thank you for taking a
strong stand on behalf of our nation's legal immigrants.  Thanks to your
unwavering support, and a determined bipartisan effort in the Congress, we
celebrate today not just an important victory in the war on hunger, but a
victory for the moral fabric of our nation. This is not a nation that turns its
back on the hungry. And, I want to thank the many grass-roots anti-hunger groups
who helped make sure we did not.

     "By standing up together for America's farmers and ranchers, and
recognizing the importance of their work to all of us ... by standing up
together for those who are hungry ... we have stood up together for some of the
most enduring values of our nation. I'd like to thank you all for standing up
and being counted. 

     "Now, I'd like to introduce a true leader in American agriculture, someone
who can tell us why today's actions are so important, and why it's so important
that our nation stand by its farmers and ranchers. Bob Carlson raises bison and
small grains on his farm in Glenburn, North Dakota. He is also the President of
the North Dakota Farm Bureau -- Bob?

                                 
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