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“START HELPING OUR FARMERS” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H8079 on Sept. 18, 1998.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
START HELPING OUR FARMERS
(Mr. NETHERCUTT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. NETHERCUTT. Mr. Speaker, ``if American agriculture does not grow, it dies.'' Those are the words of the current Secretary of Agriculture.
I represent a district with some of the richest farmland in America, the 5th district of Washington State. I know firsthand that the growth of world markets for Washington wheat and other commodities is essential to the survival of our farmers.
Secretary Glickman's words do not match the actions or, better said, the inactions of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Our government has failed miserably to aggressively address the increasingly aggressive trade policies of competing nations which are glad to help their farmers capture markets abroad. Yet our government does not use the tools Congress made available to this administration to allow our farmers to compete against other governments who help their farmers.
This administration cuts agriculture research funding, opposes free market farmer assistance, will not use the export enhancement program, resist tax relief for farmers, and slashes the Foreign Market Development Program.
Mr. Secretary, please start helping our farmers.
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