Bush Proposes, Democrats Scoff

September 3, 1999

Texas Gov. George W. Bush has called for emergency assistance for farmers, a reform of crop insurance, strong trade efforts and tax changes to strengthen family farms. If he cares so much about farmers, the Democrats respond, he should urge Congress to pass the $7.4 billion relief package pending in the Senate's agricultural appropriations bill that's about to go to a conference committee.

Bush called for more crop land to be insured, a reform of the crop insurance premium structure and development of new methods of risk management. The United States has only 4% of the world's population, so the farmer's "greatest challenge" is to develop markets to feed the other 96%, he says. Trade barriers have been built by foreign governments and are "tolerated" by the Clinton Administration. Bush supports ethanol production and tax-deferred savings accounts for farmers to use when prices and low and incomes shrink.

He pledged strong relations with the European Union but would fight the EU on its resistance to imports of biotech crops. The governor noted that China agreed to reduce tariffs and lifts its limit on corn imports from 250,000 tons to 7.2 million. "Bringing China within the rules of the world trading system is in China's own interest," he says. More importantly it is in ours, because America's best export is freedom."

Bush also calls for direct payments to shore up sagging farm incomes, because farmers are "in crisis today" from "every kind of adversity, from bad weather to closed markets."

Democratic National Committee National Chair Joe Andrew says it was "bad enough" that Bush "was silent a month ago while Republicans diluted the Democrats' (emergency) farm bill. Now Congress is delaying action -- a delay farmers cannot afford." The Senate approved $7.4 billion in aid, rejecting a Democratic package of almost $11 billion.

"George Bush and Republicans in Congress talk about helping farmers when in reality they are slashing funding for key agricultural programs," Andrew continues. The Republicans' tax plan "would end programs which guarantee billions of dollars of farm exports each year, just to pay for a tax cut for the GOP's richest supporters."

An Office of Management and Budget report claims the tax plan would eliminate $19.3 billion from crop insurance and USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation.

For more information on Bush's statement and the Democratic response, see "specials" at the top of the main page of this web site.