With American agricultural producers facing another year in crisis, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest (R-TX) yesterday introduced legislation (H.R. 2395) which would allow farmers to elect to receive all their Agricultural Marketing Transition (AMTA) payments at the beginning of each fiscal year rather than the current biannual payment system. "American farmers are facing another ... Read more »
Today, 40 Members of the House of Representatives joined Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest in writing a letter to President Clinton requesting that he recommend to Congress a concrete program to address the financial crisis facing American farmers and ranchers for the second consecutive year. In 1998, when agricultural producers were in the throes of the worst farm economy in recent mem... Read more »
Today the House Committee on Agriculture approved H.R. 1402 by a vote of 32-15 sending to the Full House legislation requiring the Secretary of Agriculture to implement the Class I milk price structure known as Option 1-A as part of the reform of Federal Milk Marketing Orders. "There is no doubt that dairy reform is a contentious issue on which virtually every region in the United States has a dif... Read more »
Today the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock and Horticulture, led by Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA) reviewed H.R. 1402, legislation to require the Secretary of Agriculture to implement the Class I milk price structure known as Option 1-A as part of the reform of Federal Milk Marketing Orders. "Most importantly, I want to know what this legislation means for the long-term viability and co... Read more »
At a hearing today to review the agenda for upcoming World Trade Organization (WTO) talks, Committee members criticized U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman for categorizing supplemental Agricultural Marketing Transition (AMTA) Payments as "trade distorting payments", as Chairman Larry Combest (R-TX) immediately sent a formal request to the Secretary urging him to change the classification f... Read more »
At a hearing today of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry, Members led by Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) reviewed legislation requiring the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish an electronic filing and retrieval system, giving farmers the ability to communicate with USDA through the Internet. "This bill is about access, it's about ... Read more »
Members of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture questioned USDA Secretary Dan Glickman on whether his proposed change to a national uniform LDP rate will do more harm than good, if enacted. Producers' management decisions have included the possibility of collecting Loan Deficiency Payments (LDPs), which are now adjusted to cost factors at the local level and vary from county-to-county. Wednesda... Read more »
To give producers a full understanding of a nationally uniform LDP rate under consideration by USDA Secretary Dan Glickman, the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture will hold a hearing on Wednesday, June 16. Secretary Glickman today accepted the invitation of Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest (R-TX) for the USDA Secretary to testify at the hearing to explain proposed changes in the Loan ... Read more »
At a hearing today of the House Agriculture Committee, Members led by Chairman Larry Combest (R-TX) urged the Clinton Administration to move quickly on its policy of removing agricultural products from unilateral sanctions and to expand this policy to allow credit guarantees and other export assistance. "The use of economic sanctions is a subject that has captured the attention of all of us who a... Read more »
At a hearing today of the Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Resource Conservation and Credit, Members led by Chairman Bill Barrett (R-NE) reviewed the possible effects that electric deregulation as proposed by the Clinton Administration will have on rural areas. "It's quite possible that electric restructuring in some form could have a positive effect on utilities and some of ... Read more »
