FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 17, 1995
CONTACT: Dana Hagerty 202/225-2165
WASHINGTON, DC -- Congressman Collin C. Peterson (DFL-7th District), along with other Democratic Members from the Great Plains and Midwest, today sent a letter to Speaker Gingrich, asking that he send the Agriculture Appropriations bill to the President.
The Agriculture Appropriations bill, passed by the House last week, provides spending for USDA and related agencies for Fiscal Year 1996. CRP rental payments are normally released beginning October 1st of each year. The bill is now ready for presidential signature, but Speaker Gingrich has not released the bill to the White House.
"Without the President's signature on this bill, thousands of farmers and ranchers with CRP land will continue waiting for their rental payments, and many of them are depending on these funds to pay important bills," Peterson said. "These people were expecting the checks to be mailed to them once the fiscal year began, and I see no reason for this simple procedural matter to be held up."
The letter explains that many CRP landowners need their checks to meet local and state tax obligations, as well as to make payments to their Main Street merchants.
"Every day that they don't receive their CRP payments means additional interest or penalties that have to be paid," the letter states. "It also erodes the confidence in rural America of the government's ability to follow up on its obligations."