Lugar Looks for Another Bailout Next Year

October 20, 1999

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN) believes that more farm assistance may be debated next year if low prices continue for the major commodities.

Unless commodity prices rebound, says Lugar, "the thought will be, `are you going to stand by while farms go out of business?' My guess is that the response of Republicans and Democrats will be, `no, we're not going to stand by.'"

President Clinton is expected to sign the agricultural appropriations bill that includes an $8.7 billion package of emergency farm assistance, the second such aid bill in as many years. With the additional aid, direct payments to farmers should reach a record $21 billion this year.

In earlier remarks to a luncheon audience, Lugar (R-IN) held out hope for a compromise on crop insurance legislation and discouraged talk of re-writing the 1996 "freedom to farm" law at a luncheon speech today.

Lugar, who has been a frequent critic of federally subsidized crop insurance, said staff negotiations were continuing Tuesday on legislation dealing with risk management. He said crop insurance is "an important part" of risk management, but only a part.

Lugar said that "conceivably" a compromise bill could give farmers a choice between the higher subsidy levels in legislation sponsored by Sens. Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Bob Kerrey (D-NE), and the cash payments for a variety of risk management options in a bill Lugar introduced.

Separately, Lugar seemed to downplay the prospects of making significant changes in the freedom to farm law. He said the bill's "basics" -- planting flexibility and full production -- should remain intact, though he did not explicitly defend the fixed payments that are a third fundamental feature of the 1996 law. He said he expected Congress to keep the freedom to farm law and replace it with new legislation in 2002 as scheduled.