House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest (R-TX) has told Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman to cut lose almost $500 million for farm loan guarantees.  Congress will shore up the shifted funds with the $1.1 billion for loan guarantees in the supplemental appropriations bill, Combest adds.

Combest told Glickman to manage the loan accounts by immediately repooling unused funds or shifting from reserved accounts that otherwise are lying idle or only slowly being expended.

"Mr. Secretary, you plainly have the authority, and in my mind an obligation, to utilize these resources to meet the most pressing needs facing our farmers," Combest said in a May 11 letter to Glickman.  "If, as you suggest, those funds could meet just two weeks of demand, then think how many people you can help.  Congress will pass the supplemental appropriations providing more than a billion dollars in new loan obligations.  This will replenish any account that has been used to meet the most pressing needs."

Combest says USDA's Farm Service Agency reports $514.2 million available in loan accounts, much of which could be temporarily shifted so producers could obtain loans for the current crop season, he adds.