As farm state natives, Bill Clinton and Al Gore
appreciate how much American farmers have done for
their country. The commitment and sacrifice of
those who feed the United States and much of the
world must not go unnoticed. A Clinton/Gore
Administration will create an agriculture policy
that both recognizes the small-family producers who
have done so much to make America great and treats
consumers and taxpayers fairly.
Bill Clinton and Al Gore understand that
guaranteeing an adequate quality food supply is an
important strategic goal of the United States. Our
current farm programs, properly managed, can
achieve reasonable prices for producers and
guarantee a safe and stable food and fiber supply
for consumers. Bill Clinton and Al Gore believe
that American farmers are the most competitive and
efficient farmers in the world. A Clinton/Gore
Administration will help them stay that way.
THE CLINTON/GORE PLAN
Trade
Protecting our environment
Expand food aid
Research, development and new ideas
A department for agriculture
Trade
* Work hard to open new markets for American
agricultural products, particularly in Eastern
Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent
States.
* Support full use of federal export tools like
the Export Enhancement Program (EEP) to expand
trade and enter new markets.
* Act swiftly to level the playing field in
international trade when foreign competitors
use export subsidies to gain an unfair
advantage over American farmers -- instead of
sitting idly by as the Bush Administration has
done.
* Remove unfair trade barriers through tough
negotiation with our trading partners to pry
open closed markets, including the support of
reciprocal retaliation against the European
Community unless the E.C. removes its ban on
U.S. pork.
Protecting our environment
* Include farmers in the national debate on
environmental policy -- because farmers and
ranchers are among the best stewards of the
land; they pay taxes and bank notes on their
land and they ought to have a say in what is
done with it.
* Ensure that environmental decisions are based
on sound scientific data, not politics, and
that Americas farmers do not carry the costs
of environmental protection alone.
Expand food aid
* Expand food aid overseas to assist emerging
democracies and developing nations.
* Increase funding for the Food for Peace
program.
Research, development, and new ideas
* Provide American leadership in world
agriculture through modernization and
development of current farm programs, and
expansion of agriculture research and
development.
* Bring existing farm programs into the
communications age by equipping federal
agriculture offices with the most modern
communications and computer equipment
available.
* Consolidate forms and processes to cut down on
wasted time and delays.
* Utilize federal research funds to improve
cooperation among farmers and between states
in the same region.
A department for agriculture
* Give American farmers a friend and advocate at
the USDA by appointing a Secretary of
Agriculture who is respected by American
farmers and who will work tirelessly on their
behalf. The USDA must be a department for
agriculture, not an annex to the Office of
Management and Budget or the State Department.
THE RECORD
* Bill Clinton made numerous trade missions to
Europe and Japan to negotiate open markets for
Arkansas products.
* Created the Division of Agriculture
Development to work closely with farmers and
relay their concerns to the Governors office.
* Developed the Farm Mediation Program to assist
farmers and lenders in finding solutions to
debt payment problems.
* Created the Arkansas Linked Deposit Program,
which provides a new source of agricultural
and small business loans by allowing up to $50
million of state funds in lending institutions
to be loaned at lower-than-market rates.
* Aggressively addressed brucellosis, resulting
in a reduction by herd count of over 92% from
1983 to 1991, moving Arkansas from Class C to
Class A.
* Established the Small Business Revolving Loan
Fund to provide loans to small and minority
businesses primarily in rural areas.
* Established the Revolving Loan Fund for
Expansion of Fruit and Vegetable Cooperatives
to provide loans in rural areas to assist
agricultural co-ops in marketing their
produce.
* Implemented the Beginning Farmer Loan Program,
a tax-exempt bond program that assists farmers
in acquiring agricultural land at low interest
rates by enabling lending institutions,
individuals, partnerships and corporations to
receive tax-exempt interest for direct loans
or contract sales made to new farmers.
* Led a bipartisan effort to strengthen farm
finance through measures designed to refinance
the debts of productive farms as a meber of
the National Governors Association (NGA)
Agriculture Committee.
* Served on the NGA Task Force on Rural
Development, which issued strong, practical
recommendations to revitalize rural
communities.
* Senator Gore grew up on a farm in Carthage,
Tennessee, and now owns a farm in Carthage.
* Consistently supported the family farmer and
helped protect basic farm income.
* Fought for an Agriculture program that helps
agriculture producers move toward a profitable
and sustainable production system.
* Fought to provide adequate funding for
conservation programs requiring the nation's
farmers to meet numerous standards for
protection of soil and water resources.
* Cosponsored a 1987 act to reform and improve
the Farm Credit System.
* Led efforts to provide disaster relief to
farmers suffering from drought and flooding.
* Aggressively insisted that U.S. negotiators
focus on trade fairness and opening new
markets for American agricultural products.
* Coauthored legislation to reduce access
charges for residential and small business
telephone rate payers and increase support for
rural companies.
