Balanced the Budget -- The 1997 Balanced Budget Act led to the first balanced budget in nearly 30 years. Agriculture did its part for budgetary discipline, including the passage of Freedom to Farm and the $500 million in savings we found in crop insurance this year. However, for the first time there was federal spending restraint across the board. In the long-term, this reduced government spending helps keep the economy sound and interest costs low. In the short-term, having a surplus has made it possible to respond to the crisis, both economic and weather related, that farmers and ranchers are facing this year.

Disaster/Market Loss Assistance – Obtained $6 billion package including disaster assistance ($2.575 billion) and market loss assistance ($3.057 billion) for farmers and ranchers experiencing hardship due to adverse weather and failure of the Clinton Administration to protect and maintain export markets.

Taxpayer Relief – The best long-term safety net we can provide farmers and ranchers is fair tax policy. To that end, the Republican Congress has:

- reduced the top capital gains tax rate from 28% to 20%

- provided for $1.3 million exclusion per person ($2.6 million per couple) from death taxes for family farms

- made income averaging for farm income permanent

- provided phased-in increase of the health insurance deduction for the self-employed, rising from 45% this year, 60% in 1999, 70% in 2002 & 100% in 2003.

- created exemption from the AMT for deferred payment contracts

- extended tax deferral for sales of livestock because of drought

- instituted five year net operating loss carryback

- clarified that farmers will be taxed on AMTA payments in the year received instead of year eligible to received

Agricultural Research – Congress reformed and reauthorized existing agricultural research programs and provided an additional $600 million in competitive agricultural research & extension grants. This legislation will help ensure the scientific base of support necessary for a successful future for farmers. This funding supports research into food safety, new & alternative commodity uses, precision agriculture, farm profitability and agricultural biotechnology.

Minority Farmers Legislation -- Developed a legislative response to assist minority farmers in their appeal of discrimination complaints at the USDA. This will authorize farmers who have alleged discrimination at the hands of USDA but have been barred by a statute of limitations to either take their complaints to federal court or resolve the complaint within the dispute resolution procedures at USDA. Though this legislative remedy is included in the FY99 Agricultural Appropriations bill, H.R. 4101, which was vetoed by President Clinton, it will be included in the final Omnibus Appropriations Bill.

Farm Financial Relief – To aid hard-pressed farmers, passed legislation to allow farmers to receive, at their option, all of the $5.5 billion in FY99 Freedom to Farm payments at any time after October 1, 1998. This option will help farmers cope with the cash shortage many are now experiencing due to low prices.

Saved Crop Insurance – Made $500 million available to stabilize and preserve the crop insurance program for the future. Crop insurance is the primary tool available to farmers to address disaster- and weather-related losses. Without this action, the crop insurance program would have ceased to exist. Now, we will be able to reform and improve crop insurance when the 106^th Congress convenes.

Air Quality Standards – Enacted legislation to correct the Clinton Administration’s unrealistic air quality standards for particulate matter and ozone. Without this legislation, states would have been forced by the EPA to impose highly restrictive and costly requirements on farmers. Producers would have had to meet these arbitrary standards regardless of progress made to monitor or comply with previous mandates.

Mandatory Livestock Price Reporting -- Congress has required a year-long investigation of the nation’s livestock packing industry, including mandatory price reporting, by USDA’s Grain Inspection & Packers and Stockyards Administration. Under the provision, packers will be required to report all live purchase and product sale prices for cattle and sheep. The investigation is designed to improve the understanding of producer price discovery.

Food Safety – Established National Food Safety Information Center, an institute coordinated through the National Agricultural Library of the Agricultural Research Service to collect, manage and disseminate information regarding the production, processing, distribution and handling of safe food. Additionally, provided $76 million in new funding for enhancing food safety research, surveillance, education and inspection. These new funds direct Federal efforts towards new and emerging threats to food safety.

Forest Health – Held 8 oversight hearings covering forest health conditions in every region of the country and introduced H.R. 2515 the Forest Recovery and Protection Act of 1997, much of which is included in the FY99 Interior Appropriations Bill, including:

- authorized to use Roads and Trails Fund for forest health projects

- additional funding to treat the 40 million acres at risk of catastrophic wildfire

- report to Congress on use of additional funding.

Stayed the Course – Kept the structure of Freedom to Farm in place. Lead defeat of numerous amendments (sugar, MAP, peanuts, tobacco, etc…), during consideration of the annual Agriculture Appropriations measures, that would seek to undermine support of agriculture.

Agriculture Credit -- Refined certain provisions of the 1996 Farm Bill to assure continued access for truly creditworthy farmers and ranchers seeking USDA loans. These provisions:

- restore eligibility for guaranteed and emergency loans for borrowers with past debt relief

- increase the limits for guaranteed farm ownership and guaranteed operating loans to a combined limit of $700,000 to allow expanded financing for today's high costs in agriculture

- codified the current regulations concerning the collateral requirements for emergency loans which allow for "ability to repay" to be considered as a criteria

- eliminate provision from which disallows a producer who accepts a CAT or NAP payment from eligibility for emergency loans

- requires USDA to give borrowers at least one year notice before the provision which establishes term limits for direct and guaranteed loans limits will affect them

- eliminate the borrower training requirement for guaranteed loans

- requires USDA to give borrowers at least one year notice before a shared appreciation agreements comes due.

IMF Funding – The Omnibus Appropriations Bill included $18 billion to fulfill our obligation to the International Monetary Fund. The importance of agricultural trade in the Asia/Pacific region is best seen by looking at U.S. exports to Japan. In 1997, Japan imported $15 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products. That is approximately 26% of all U.S. agriculture exports for 1997. The entire Asia/Pacific region accounted for $27 billion worth of U.S. agricultural exports, fully 47% of all U.S. agricultural exports. This explains the reason why the Asia/Pacific region is so important to U.S. farmers and ranchers.

Forest Inventory and Analysis – Improved the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program to provide better and more timely information on growth, harvest, mortality and forest health trends to private land-owners throughout the country. Increased the funding for FIA in the Interior Appropriations Bill.

Trade Sanctions – Passed legislation to reverse Clinton Administrations decision to impose export ban on wheat and other agricultural commodities to India and Pakistan. Pakistan responded immediately by purchasing 300,000 tons of U.S. wheat under the USDA credit guarantee program.

Methyl Bromide Fix – Secured legislative language harmonizing the Clean Air Act with the Montreal Protocol. Methyl bromide phase-out will be extended through 2005, and quarantine & pre-shipment uses will be permanently exempted. This, coupled with emergency exemption authority for soil fumigation, will provide our fruit and vegetable producers a tool critical for supplying the domestic market and maintaining foreign markets.

Forest Service Fiscal and Financial Accountability – Held 4 hearings on Forest Service Financial Accountability and introduced H.R. 4149, the Forest Service Cost Reduction and Fiscal Accountability Act, most of which is included in the FY99 Interior Appropriations Bill, including:

- a uniform definition of overhead to be applied agency-wide

- 20% cap on overhead charged to the six off-budget funds administered by the USFS

- a 10% reduction in the overhead charged for road construction

- mandatory disclosure of anticipated overhead for all programs in each budget request

- mandatory reports to Congress on how the agency will account for overhead in its general ledger.

Stopped Prisoner Food Stamps – Secured passage of legislation requiring states to use systems established with the Social Security Administration to make sure that persons in prison are not receiving food stamp benefits. This action was taken based on an investigation by the General Accounting Office that found that large numbers of persons in prison are receiving food stamps as if they were a part of family receiving benefits.

Normal Trade Relations with China – On July 22, 1998, approved this status for China. U.S. agriculture exports to China were $2 billion last year, a significant increase over 1993 exports of less than $500 million. China represents an agriculture market that is vital to the success of U.S. farmers and ranchers.

Ethanol Tax Credit Extension – The highway reauthorization bill extends the tax credits for ethanol through 2007. The bill gives benefits totaling 54 cents per gallon, making ethanol-blended fuels attractive to use and helping farmers.

Stopped Food Stamps to Dead People – We passed legislation to require the States and the Federal government to cooperate in order to ensure that deceased individuals are purged from Food Stamp rolls. The CBO estimates that it will save American taxpayers $17 million and allow states to administer their programs more efficiently. Eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in welfare programs allows us to protect the taxpayer and target resources to truly needy people.