Text: HCR00122 Text: HCR00124 Text: HCR00100 - HCR00199 Text: HCR Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN 1 1 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. __ 1 2 BY MUNDIE 1 3 A House Concurrent Resolution requesting that the President 1 4 of the United States, the United States Secretary of 1 5 Agriculture, and the United States Congress 1 6 immediately take all actions necessary to reevaluate 1 7 and amend the 1996 "Freedom to Farm Bill" in order to 1 8 preserve family farms. 1 9 WHEREAS, family farm agriculture traditionally has 1 10 been the foundation of this nation's economic 1 11 prosperity, providing the basis for a system of 1 12 production unmatched in the world for its abundant and 1 13 efficient production of food, feed grains, and animal 1 14 products, and contributing billions of dollars in 1 15 revenue each year to the nation's economy from export 1 16 sales; and 1 17 WHEREAS, in 1996 Congress enacted the Federal 1 18 Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act (FAIR), 1 19 commonly referred to as the "Freedom to Farm Bill", 1 20 contained in Pub. L. No. 104-127 and Pub. L. No. 104- 1 21 180; and 1 22 WHEREAS, the effect of the 1996 Federal 1 23 Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act, has been to 1 24 unfairly prevent American producers from competing in 1 25 a global market against foreign competitors supported 1 26 by their governments; and 1 27 WHEREAS, since the passage of the federal 1 28 legislation, farmers have suffered from crisis 1 29 conditions caused by disasterously low prices and 1 30 devastating swings in market prices for commodities, 2 1 including livestock, that has at times plummeted to 2 2 below Depression-Era levels; and 2 3 WHEREAS, since the passage of the "Freedom to Farm 2 4 Bill", agricultural production contracting, 2 5 integration of production and processing, and mergers 2 6 and consolidation of agribusinesses have increased, 2 7 thereby exacerbating the desperate financial 2 8 conditions faced by family farmers by limiting their 2 9 opportunities to market agricultural commodities; and 2 10 WHEREAS, for families who have farmed land for 2 11 generations, the "Freedom To Farm Bill" has come to 2 12 mean the freedom to leave their farms or face economic 2 13 ruin; and 2 14 WHEREAS, 385 delegates from across the United 2 15 States attending the American Farm Bureau's 81st 2 16 annual convention in January 2000, called for the 2 17 implementation of a countercyclical income support 2 18 policy to supplement farm program payments, based on 2 19 revenue history that would provide farmers formal 2 20 income support during severe economic times, and 2 21 called for a complete re-examination of the current 2 22 farm law to ensure that adequate financial support is 2 23 available for all farmers; and 2 24 WHEREAS, the Honorable Congressman Charles 2 25 Stenholm, Ranking Minority Member of the House of 2 26 Representatives' Committee on Agriculture and 2 27 recipient of the American Farm Bureau's "Golden Plow" 2 28 award has stressed that American agriculture cannot 2 29 wait until 2002, when the federal legislation expires, 2 30 in order to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with American 3 1 producers in developing risk management strategies; 3 2 and 3 3 WHEREAS, the House of Representatives' Agriculture 3 4 Committee is considering proposals to create a farm 3 5 safety net in order to protect producers against price 3 6 or income loss, as well as production loss; NOW 3 7 THEREFORE, 3 8 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THE 3 9 SENATE CONCURRING, That the President of the United 3 10 States, the United States Secretary of Agriculture, 3 11 and the United States Congress immediately take all 3 12 actions necessary to reevaluate and amend the Federal 3 13 Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act in order to 3 14 address critical issues facing agriculture and to 3 15 preserve family farms; and 3 16 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the United States 3 17 Senate's Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee 3 18 and the United States House of Representatives' 3 19 Agriculture Committee work toward immediately passing 3 20 legislation that creates a farm safety net for 3 21 agricultural producers facing desperate financial 3 22 hardship, including a countercyclical income support 3 23 policy as supported by the American Farm Bureau; and 3 24 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this 3 25 Resolution be sent by the Chief Clerk of the House of 3 26 Representatives to the President of the United States; 3 27 the United States Secretary of Agriculture; the 3 28 President of the Senate of the United States; the 3 29 United States Attorney General; the Speaker of the 3 30 House of Representatives of the United States; the 4 1 Chairperson and Ranking Member of the United States 4 2 Senate's Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 4 3 Forestry; the Chairperson and Ranking Member of the 4 4 United States House of Representatives' Committee on 4 5 Agriculture; and members of Iowa's congressional 4 6 delegation. 4 7 LSB 6300HH 78 4 8 da/cls/14.1
Text: HCR00122 Text: HCR00124 Text: HCR00100 - HCR00199 Text: HCR Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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