FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
December 14, 2007
NCC Lauds Senators
Chambliss, Lincoln
For Strong Efforts to Preserve Farm
Bill
MEMPHIS – National Cotton Council leaders
welcome Senate passage of farm legislation and applaud Senators Chambliss (R-GA)
and Lincoln (D-AR) for convincing their colleagues to reject amendments that
would have unraveled legislation which includes significant improvements and
reform.
NCC Chairman John Pucheu, a Tranquillity,
CA producer, said, “the industry is deeply appreciative to Senators Chambliss
and Lincoln and their colleagues for developing legislation that will continue
to provide all segments of the cotton industry with an effective, budget
responsible safety net which includes improvements to enhance competitiveness,
assist domestic manufacturers and allow commercially viable operations to
participate. It is certainly a compliment to the Committee that the legislation
was approved by the widest bipartisan margin in recent history
79-14.”
The legislation includes provisions which
make responsible reforms to payment limitations. It is important that the Senate
confirmed the significance of those reforms and rejected efforts to radically
change those provisions by significantly lowering limits, undermining the value
of the non-recourse loan as an orderly marketing tool, and modifying the
Adjusted Gross Income test in a way that would have denied benefits to full time
farmers.
The Senate also rejected an amendment to
replace balanced, effective commodity programs with a revenue insurance program
that is unworkable for diversified operations in the
American Cotton Producers Chairman Jay
Hardwick, a Newellton, LA producer, said, “growers and their bankers are
grateful that Senators Chambliss’ and Lincoln’s efforts preserved responsible
reform and improvements and resulted in the rejection of unworkable proposals
that were clearly detrimental to Sunbelt growers. We are also pleased that the
Senate has produced a balanced package that provided significant financial
resources to conservation, nutrition, research, international market development
and energy programs.”
NCC Vice Chairman Larry McClendon, a
Marianna, Arkansas producer/ginner said, “we look forward to working closely
with members of the House-Senate conference committee and encourage them to move
expeditiously to produce legislation that will preserve responsible reform and
improvements and to send the legislation to the President for his signature so
farmers and ranchers have a predictable and effective long-term policy in
place.”
As the
unifying force of the
The NCC’s mission is ensuring the ability of all industry segments to compete effectively and profitably in the raw cotton, oilseed and U.S.-manufactured product markets at home and abroad.