President Clinton Signs Historic Farm Bill
Under the watchful eyes of Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, President Clinton on Thursday
April 4, 1996 reluctantly signed into law historic farm legislation that breaks the link
between crop prices and government subsidies.
While the law stops many government controls on farmers, President Clinton said
it "fails to provide an adequate safety net for family farmers."
The law ends government-guaranteed prices for corn, other feed grains, cotton, rice
and wheat. Farmers will now receive payments that decline over seven
years and an immediate end to most planting controls. The payments total $36
billion over seven years and account for most of the funds in the $47 billion law.
The Administration had opposed the bill because it gives farmers windfall payments during
times of high market prices, during which normally the subsidies would have been much less.
The reverse side is that when the guaranteed payments end, farmers will have little protection
during market collapses.
President Clinton has stated that he would propose legislation next year to restore some
of the safety net for farmers. At any rate, Congress will have a chance to change the law when it ends in seven years.
The President quietly signed the bill without using his power of veto once the bill included
money for conservation and environmental protection. Also included is a guarantee that food stamps and
other nutrition programs will continue and that monies had been allocated for rural development and
research. The administration also supported the provisions giving farms and growers more flexibility to plant what they want.
The law also ends the special tax on dairy producers and phases out the government support for
butter, powdered milk and cheese over four years. The department is required by the new law to
merge 33 regional diary price-setting agreements into between 10 and 14.
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