Statement by Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman on Senate Passage of
Emergency and Disaster Relief for American Farmers
                                                               
                                            Release No. 0413.99

Statement
                               by
             Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman
on Senate Passage of Emergency and Disaster Relief for American Farmers
                                
                        October 13, 1999
                                
                                
"While I am pleased that Congress finally passed an emergency farm bill and I
will reluctantly support it, I am very concerned about several provisions.  
                                
"I will make sure that we at USDA work as hard and diligently as we can to get
these funds to America's farmers and ranchers as quickly as possible. 
However, despite my urging, Congress insisted on making some of these programs
unnecessarily complicated.  That means we will not be able to get some of
        these payments out as quickly as I would like.  
                                
"I believe strongly that the income loss payments and payment mechanism should
be based on this year's production, not a formula reflecting production a
decade ago.  As I have said repeatedly, the bill will allow some producers to
receive multiple payments for different crops on the same acreage, or on crops
                 they are no longer planting.  
                                
"I also remain concerned that Congress may not have allocated sufficient funds
to help cover the losses caused by this year's severe drought in the Northeast
and Mid-Atlantic regions, recent severe damage from Hurricane Floyd, and other
                      natural disasters.  
                                
"This is the second year in a row that Congress was compelled to provide
emergency relief for farmers and ranchers.  This is a stark admission that our
basic farm policy under the 1996 farm bill is not working.  I look forward to
working with Congress to bring about the fundamental changes necessary to
assist our farmers and ranchers in difficult times like these and to assure
                   their long-term survival."
                                
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