Farmers Allies Seek Help From President

Source from:  News Sentinel  06/03/2004

President Bush has several crises on his mind, so Tennessee Republicans are hoping he just misspoke when he said in effect that he does not see the need to rescue struggling tobacco farmers. Most members of the Tennessee congressional delegation, including all its Republicans, have been working for one to several years to provide federal or industry funding or other help to financially strapped tobacco farmers in Tennessee and a few other states so they can shift to a more stable profession. But Bush told a reporter earlier this month that he did not think the federal tobacco program needs to be changed. Without helpful changes, a number of tobacco farmers say they face poverty. The likely Democratic nominee for president, John Kerry, has highlighted Bushs position. Kerry said he supports a financial agreement for farmers getting out of tobacco production. The federal tobacco price support system in recent years made U.S. crops too high priced to compete well in the world market. Many U.S. farmers have lost much of their usual income due to cigarette manufacturers buying more leaf overseas. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., has said he hopes that Bush will think about it some more and change his position. He said he would try to talk to Bush about it. Alexander and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and U.S. Rep. Bill Jenkins, R-Tenn., chairman of the agriculture subcommittee that oversees the tobacco program, have been very vocal in trying to help tobacco farmers win a buyout option. Many farmers long ago were issued what amounts to permits to grow and sell certain amounts of tobacco. Nearly all other members of the states delegation, including Reps. John J. Duncan Jr. of Knoxville, Zach Wamp of Chattanooga, both Republicans, and Democrat Lincoln Davis of Pall Mall, favor bills to aid tobacco farmers. Jenkins drafted and filed his bill in March, which would cost about $9 billion over five years and be paid from current federal taxes on tobacco products that are spent annually on other programs. This legislation is long overdue and a fair solution for tobacco farmers in this country, Jenkins said. Farmers have experienced years of sharply reduced tobacco marketing quotas. Tennessee is the third-highest seller of tobacco; its farmers received $172 million in 2001, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. Only North Carolina and Kentucky take in higher cash receipts. Due to declining sales, the number of Tennessee tobacco farms has dropped significantly. There were about 23,000 such farms in 1992, dropping to about 15,000 in 1997, the Agriculture Department said. The latest statistics, which the department is updating, likely will show another huge decline. Farmers have waited a long time for help because their allies have been divided between varying approaches and could not build majority support in Congress for one bill. Also, only half a dozen states are major producers of tobacco leaf, so it is hard for farmers to get adequate attention to their problem. Then there is the difficulty in getting members of Congress from other regions to back help for tobacco farmers unless, for example, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is given clear authority to regulate the safety of cigarettes. How much latitude should be given FDA? Cigarette companies, a powerful lobby, are divided about it. Bush will not lose southern tobacco states on this one issue. But look for him to clarify his position on whether tobacco farmers should get a bailout or other federal help. Before the November election, he may give general support to tobacco farmers and their allies and say he will consider whatever bill Congress approves. Richard Powelson, the News Sentinels bureau chief in Washington, D.C., may be contacted at 202-408-2727 or PowelsonR@shns.com. Enditem