EMERSON CALLS FOR HELP TO FARMERS

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, and 40 of her farm-state colleagues want President Clinton to submit a plan to Congress to address the financial crisis in farming.

In a July 1 letter to the president, she and House colleagues wrote that America's farmers can't stand a second year of record-low prices without government help.

"We and they are looking to you for a plan of action to relieve their distress," the House members wrote.

In 1998, when farmers were in the midst of the worst farm economy in recent memory, the Clinton administration failed to request emergency funding or develop a proposal to address the crisis, Emerson said.

"Not only did the administration wait months before requesting emergency agriculture loan funds, but now the farm loan programs are again running out of money," she said.

"There are producers in southern Missouri with crops in the ground and they're still waiting for their loans. This is ridiculous," she said.

Emerson said that when the traditional farm program was phased out, farmers and ranchers were told that they would be free to market their crops and livestock in exchange for regulatory reform and increased access to overseas markets.

She said the envisioned reforms to lower farmers' production costs haven't happened.

Emerson said the federal government needs to get payments to farmers and ranchers to help through the tough times.

"For their long-term prosperity, we need to strengthen the agriculture safety net, improve crop insurance programs, lift trade embargoes, expand trade opportunities, and provide them with regulatory and tax relief," she said.