THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, and welcome to Washington's grand old
building, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building -- or, as we now
call it, the Ike. (Laughter.)
Today's event is being broadcast by Farm Radio to farmers and
ranchers all across our country. Hardworking farmers and ranchers,
whether they be from Texas or Maine, from Mississippi or California,
are up early and are working hard. And this morning I want to talk
about the tremendous contributions that they make, that our farm and
ranch families make to America, the support they deserve, and why I am
pleased to sign the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002.
I want to thank the members of Congress who are here -- Senator
Harkin, Congressman Combest, the leaders in both the House and the
Senate. I appreciate you all coming. And when I sign this bill, I'd
like for you all to come up here and watch me sign it.
I appreciate Secretary Ann Veneman, who is here. I want to thank
her for her hard work, and her staff for their hard work as well.
And I want to thank the members of the farm and agricultural groups
who represent the people who work the land. I want to thank you all
for your efforts and for your concern.
American farm and ranch families embody some of the best values of
our nation: hard work and risk-taking, love of the land and love of
our country. Farming is the first industry of America -- the
industry that feeds us, the industry that clothes us, and the industry
that increasingly provides more of our energy. The success of
America's farmers and ranchers is essential to the success of the
American economy.
I was honored to be the governor of the second-biggest farm state
in the union. I understand how hard farmers have to work to make a
living. I know they face tough challenges.
I recently spent some time with some of my neighbors at the coffee
shop in Crawford, Texas. I know how hard many struggle. Their
livelihood depends on things they cannot control: the weather, crop
disease, uncertain pricing.
They need a farm bill that provides support and help when times are
tough. And that is why I'm signing this bill today.
This bill is generous, and will provide a safety net for farmers.
And it will do so without encouraging overproduction and depressing
prices. It will allow farmers and ranchers to plan and operate based
on market realities, not government dictates.
In the past, loan rates and minimum price farmers and ranchers
received for some of their commodities were set too high. This
practice made the problem worse by encouraging surplus production,
thereby forcing prices lower. This bill better balances loan rates,
and better matches them to market prices.
It reduces government interference in the market, and in farmers'
and ranchers' planting decisions. The farm bill supports our
commitment to open trade, and complies with our obligations to the
World Trade Organization.
Americans cannot eat all that America's farmers and ranchers
produce. And therefore, it makes sense to sell more food abroad.
Today, 25 percent of U.S. farm income is generated by exports, which
means that access to foreign markets is crucial to the livelihood of
our farmers and ranchers.
Let me put it as plainly as I can: we want to be selling our beef
and our corn and our beans to people around the world who need to eat.
My administration is working hard to open up markets. I told the
people, I said if you give me a chance to be the President, we're not
going to treat our agriculture industry as a secondary citizen when it
comes to opening up markets. And I mean that. I understand how
important the farm economy is to the future of our country.
To help, this new law helps keep our international trade
commitments. And that's important for America to understand. And
because I believe the best way to help our farmers and ranchers is
trade, I need trade promotion authority, particularly from the Senate.
The House has passed it; I need it from the Senate. Soon. (Laughter
and applause.)
This bill offers incentives for good conservation practices on
working lands. For farmers and ranchers, for people who make a living
on the land, every day is Earth Day. There's no better stewards of the
land than people who rely on the productivity of the land. And we can
work with our farmers and ranchers to help improve the environment.
To help them live up to the newer and higher environmental
standards, this bill expands the ECP program, which provides financial
assistance to our farmers and ranchers to encourage sound
conservation. And the bill will greatly enhance the abilities of our
farmers and ranchers to protect wetlands, water quality, and wildlife
habitat, and that's important.
This bill breaks a bad fiscal habit. In the past, Congress would
pass a multi-year farm bill, and then every year after continue to pass
supplemental bills. These unpredictable supplemental payments made it
difficult for Congress to live within its budget. It also created
uncertainty for farmers and ranchers, and their creditors. This bill
is generous enough, the bill I'm going to sign is generous enough to
eliminate the need for supplemental support later this year and in the
future, and therefore adds the kind of reliability that farmers and
ranchers need.
This bill is also a compassionate bill. This law means that legal
immigrants can now receive help and food stamps after being here for
five years. It means that you can have an elderly farm worker,
somebody here legally in America who's worked hard to make a living and
who falls on hard times, that person can receive help from a
compassionate government.
It means that you can have a head of a family who's been working
hard, been here for five years, been a part of our economy, been
legally working. And that person falls on hard times, our government
should help them with food stamps. And this bill allows that to
happen.
It's not a perfect bill, I know that. But you know, no bill ever
is. There's no such thing as a perfect bill -- otherwise I'd get to
write every one of them. (Laughter.)
You know, for example, I thought it was important to have what they
call Farm Savings Accounts to help farmers and ranchers manage the many
risks they face. I thought that should be an important part of the
bill. It didn't happen; I'm going to continue to work for it, work
with the members here on it.
I also believe strongly there's more that we should do for our farm
community. You know, one of the best things we have done for ranchers
and farmers is to eliminate the death tax. It's a really important
part of making sure that farms and ranches stay in our families. The
death tax needs to be -- the repeal of the death tax needs to be made
permanent. That happened in the House; I hope it happens in the Senate
soon. It's a good signal that we care deeply about those who live on
the land and make a living.
The farm bill is important legislation, and it meets important
needs. The bill will strengthen the farm economy, and that's
important. It will strengthen the farm economy over the long term. It
will promote farmer independence, and preserve the farm way of life for
generations. It helps America's farmers, and therefore it helps
America.
It is now my honor to sign the bill. And for any of the members
who dare have their picture taken with me -- (laughter) -- I
welcome.
SENATOR LEAHY: Or vice versa.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, or vice versa. (Laughter.) That wasn't just
-- for those listening on radio, that wasn't just some quack yelling
out. That was a member of the United States Senate. (Laughter.)
Please come for the bill signing. Welcome. (Applause.)