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            CLINTON/GORE ON AGRICULTURE



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.
