Statemenet of Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman on President's Signing the
Emergency Farm Financial Relief Act Washington, D.C. -- August 12, 1998
                                                               
                                           Release No.  0332.98

Statement
                              of 
                                
   Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman on President's Signing 
            the Emergency Farm Financial Relief Act
              Washington, D.C. -- August 12, 1998

     "Today, President Clinton signed the Emergency Farm Financial Relief Act
which allows America's farmers to receive their entire year's worth of Farm
Bill payments -- worth more than $5 billion -- in one early lump sum. 

     "While this will help ease the current cash-flow problems, this bill
merely gives family farms a  stay of execution.' It does not address the
underlying causes of today's hardship -- weak Asian export markets, strong
world crop production, and a U.S. farm policy that cannot cope with a string
of natural disasters. 

     "In short, this bill is a balm not a cure. To get at the root causes of
agriculture's pain, Congress must take a series of actions: 

     Congress should support the International Monetary Fund's efforts to
     reinvigorate Asian economies.  

     Congress also needs to pass a substantial disaster assistance package to
     help farmers recover from repeated or severe crop losses. 

     Congress should reinstate a permanent emergency livestock program, and
     we must adjust crop insurance so it can function in regions that face
     back-to-back disasters. 

     And, Congress must reverse its  one-strike' rule that says any farmer
     who restructured a debt can never get another USDA farm loan. 

     "Given the difficulties facing family farmers in the Northern Plains and
the South, we need to recognize that while this Farm Bill works well when
things go well. It does not work well when farmers need government's help the
most.
     "I've asked my staff to prepare a set of administrative changes --
changes USDA can make without Congressional approval -- to strengthen crop
insurance. And, I hope to have ready for the President's 1999 budget a
legislative package that stitches a strong farm safety net for the future. 

     "Until then, and as we advance these payments to our farmers, we should
not to be seduced by the false notion of a quick fix to today's farm economy.
We need to move forward on many fronts to ensure family farmers and ranchers
have a strong, secure future on the land." 

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