Clinton/Gore '96 The Briefing Room
Bill Clinton & Al Gore on the Issues



Preparing Rural America for the 21st Century
All Americans, regardless of how remote an area they live in, must have the opportunity to better their lives and share in our nation's economic growth. If we are going to meet the challenges of the 21st century, we all have to meet them together and there has to be a role -- a vital role -- for people living in rural America.”

—President Bill Clinton

President Clinton is working to improve the lives of our families in rural America.  The President is helping rural Americans raise their standard of living by improving housing, by providing running water, and by rebuilding infrastructure in small towns across America. President Clinton is committed to ensuring that all Americans -- regardless of where they live -- have the opportunity to build better lives.

President Clinton is improving life in rural America by:

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Helping farmers realize higher prices and raise net farm incomes. Under President Clinton's leadership, net farm income is projected to increase by as much as $15 billion this year -- totaling $55 billion. Measured across all crops and livestock, farmers are receiving prices 20 percent higher than a year ago. Agricultural exports have risen dramatically to record levels--$18 billion higher than when President Clinton took office, with a record trade surplus of $30 billion. Total farm cash receipts could reach a record $200 billion in 1996 -- an increase of $29 billion since President Clinton took office.
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Responding quickly to farmers' needs in times of natural disaster. The Clinton Administration has assisted farmers in distressing times by providing emergency loans, by facilitating emergency forage from the Conservation Reserve Program, by expanding crop insurance and non-insured assistance coverages, and by supplying emergency livestock feed.
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Making government more responsive to farmers' needs. Recently, the Clinton Administration helped cattle producers through hard times by purchasing 45 million pounds of beef for distribution in school lunch and other food assistance programs. These efforts have raised cattle prices 15 percent since April.
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Creating a smaller government that works better and costs less. The Clinton Administration has reduced the federal workforce by more than 230,000 positions -- to its lowest level since John F. Kennedy was president. USDA has undergone its most massive restructuring in history. USDA streamlining has already saved the taxpayers over $900 million and reduced the workforce by 10,000 positions. The USDA has consolidated 43 individual agencies into 29 and has created service-oriented "one-stop shop" field offices for America's farmers.
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Making farm programs simpler and more flexible. President Clinton fought for and won provisions in the farm bill that increase planting flexibility. Under President Clinton's leadership, the USDA has made it easier for farmers to participate in federal farm programs and achieved a record level farm program enrollment this year -- 99 percent. In 1996, 334 million acres are planted to principal crops -- an increase of 15 million over last year.
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Implementing common-sense regulatory reform. The Clinton Administration has eliminated 16,000 pages of obsolete government regulations and is revising another 31,000 pages. The USDA has revised compliance rules and wetlands reform, promoting incentive-based -- not punishment-based -- regulation, and providing farmers with more flexibility.
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Reforming federal food safety inspection rules for seafood, meat, and poultry to ensure that the food Americans feed their families is safe. The President has directed food inspectors to implement scientific methods to increase food safety.
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Signing into law historic pesticide reform legislation that ensures the safety of our families' food. The Food Quality Protection Act enhances confidence of American consumers, while acting in the best interests of our farmers and the environment.
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Completing a comprehensive government-wide plan and budget for biomedical and behavioral research on AIDS.
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Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for 15 million hard-working families so no parents who work full-time will have to raise their children in poverty.
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Designating 30 rural enterprise communities and 3 rural empowerment zones. By fostering the involvement of community leaders and by providing tax incentives, the Clinton Administration is working to improve education and increase employment for rural Americans.
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Creating the National Home Ownership Partnership to help rural families own their own homes. The Clinton Administration has increased home ownership opportunities for more than 234,000 people and expanded rural rental housing for nearly 30,000. Nationally, the home ownership rate is at a 15-year high of 65.4 percent. In rural America it is even higher -- 72.7 percent.
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Designating 30 rural enterprise communities and 3 rural empowerment zones. By fostering the involvement of community leaders and by providing tax incentives, the Clinton Administration is working to improve education and increase employment for rural Americans.
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Launching the Water 2000 initiative. The Clinton Administration is addressing rural America's pressing water needs by investing more than $400 million in loans and grants to communities to implement safe and dependable drinking water systems.
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Winning passage of a Farm Bill that reflects the strong commitment to the environment that the Clinton Administration and American farmers share. This law includes an unprecedented $2.2 billion for conservation, helping farmers and ranchers preserve soil, water, and other critical resources they depend on for their livelihood.


Building on Our Progress

The President will continue working to improve the overall economic position of family farmers and empower our nation's rural communities to build a better future by:

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Continuing policies that increase the overall equity position of farmers. Under President Clinton, the value of farm assets -- including land -- are rising much faster than farm debt levels.
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Working to connect every classroom in America to the Information Superhighway by the year 2000 to give all children the tools they need to compete in the next century.
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Responding to all natural disasters with immediate, high-level attention. The Clinton Administration will continue to provide relief funds and flexible government disaster assistance to farmers.
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Ensuring fair competition for small producers. President Clinton established an advisory committee to investigate the effects of concentration in the meat packing industry on producer prices. The Administration has already begun to implement the Committee's recommendations and to fight anti-competitive practices in purchasing.
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Supporting farmer cooperatives to help average farmers deal with price and income volatility and farmers' markets which help farmers increase their profit margins.
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Investing in agricultural research. Publicly supported agricultural biotechnology research sparks over $600 million annually in private industry research.

Meeting Our Challenges * Protecting Our Values



Paid for by Clinton/Gore ’96 General Election Committee, Inc.