Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 29, 1994 TAG: 9411290099
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
``There are going to be substantial changes in how agriculture is treated from a regulatory standpoint,'' said Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, a member of the House Agriculture Committee.
He said the regulatory noose that has been tightened around farmers' throats for years will be loosened while farm subsidies likely will survive with no more changes than a Democrat-controlled Congress would have imposed.
John R. Keeling, assistant national affairs director for the American Farm Bureau Federation, offered a slightly less optimistic view. He called the election ``kind of a good news/bad news thing.''
The pro-business slant of the Republican Congress will help farmers, particularly on environmental regulation issues, Keeling said. But many newly elected GOP congressmen ``are very serious about cutting the budget, and agriculture is one of the first places they'll look,'' he said.
Goodlatte said that while Democrats believe in more government regulation and Republicans stress personal responsibility, it's demographics - not partisanship - that has hurt farmers the most in Washington.
``The biggest problem we face is the diminishing percentage of members of Congress from rural areas,'' he said.
The congressional change of command comes as agriculture, business and environmental groups are vying to put their stamp on the 1995 Farm Bill. Keeling said environmentalists didn't like the way they fared on the 1990 Farm Bill, so they are joining the debate with a ``we're-here-to-cut-your-throat kind of attitude.''
Keeling said President Clinton is an ally on most issues because he ``likes farmers better than he likes the budget-cutting exercise.''
All things considered, he said, ``it's really up in the air which way things are going to go.''
Goodlatte said there are issues other than the 1995 Farm Bill that will affect agriculture. For example, he said, an increase in the estate tax exemption and a cut in the capital-gains tax - both favored by Republicans - would help farmers.
He said the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade pending in Congress would help all sectors of the economy. The agreement involving 124 nations would cut worldwide tariffs and remove trade barriers.
by CNB