Press Releases
President Signs Emergency Farm Aid BillChairman Combest Urges Speedy Delivery of Assistance
Washington, DC,
October 22, 1999
After a nine-day delay, President Clinton today signed the agriculture appropriations bill (H.R. 1906) which contains $8.7 billion in emergency farm aid for income and disaster assistance and is designed to expedite delivery of the funds to producers. "I'm glad the president signed this important bill, though I don't understand why he delayed for so long," said House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest (R-TX). "If he had signed it earlier, farmers could be getting their checks in the coming week." In addition to emergency aid, the bill allows producers to collect their anticipated yearly transition payment immediately, in essence doubling the amount of cash infusion into rural areas at a time when severe weather has destroyed harvests and poor market prices have severely diminished the value of crops that do survive. "While it won't solve all the problems facing American producers, this assistance will allow them to make it through this harvest and plant next year," Combest said. "With the House passage and progress of expanded crop insurance legislation and my agenda for reviewing farm policy early next year, we will also be laying the groundwork for addressing the future needs of farmers and ranchers." The emergency assistance within H.R. 1906 (FY 2000 Agriculture Appropriations) includes: ### |