Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 102 Part 1.djvu/992

 102 STAT. 954

PUBLIC LAW 100-387—AUG. 11, 1988 (6) assistance to farmers, while essential, represents only the first stage of a comprehensive response to the serious national problems created by the drought, (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress that—

(1) budgetary savings that accrue from the effects of the drought and other economic circumstances should, to the maximum extent possible, be dedicated to relief for farmers and agricultural workers and to assist rural businesses and communities in promotion of rural economic development; (2) action should be taken to establish comprehensive Federal rural economic programs that address the needs of rural businesses and governments; and (3) rural development programs should stress efforts to cooperate with and support local decisionmaking; promote market-based capital formation; create a more equitable and dependable partnership between the Federal Government and other levels of government; provide Federal initiatives for improving the quality of rural health care, child care, and education; and foster better understanding of the effect of Federal spending, tax, trade, and regulatory decisions on rural communities.

Subtitle E—Agricultural Exports SEC. 341. SENSE OF CONGRESS—AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS.

(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— (1) the disastrous drought of 1988 is causing substantial agricultural crop losses and is putting an enormous financial burden on United States farmers and their families; (2) the Food Security Act of 1985 (A) recognized that agricultural export markets are extremely important in ensuring the economic recovery and future success of United States farmers, their families, and rural communities, and (B) established several programs to develop and expand agricultural export markets and help restore the United States share of international agricultural trade; (3) the programs under the Food Security Act of 1985, such as the export enhancement program and the targeted export assistance program, have been successful to date and have served to increase agricultural exports; (4) United States agricultural exports make a substantial contribution to reducing our Nation's international trade deficit; (5) it is important that the United States be perceived as being a reliable supplier of agricultural commodities and products; (6) imposing embargoes on, or taking other steps to reduce the levels of, the exports of agricultural commodities or products in wake of the drought will undermine the gains made since 1985 in securing markets for United States agricultural commodities and products abroad, by allowing foreign competitors opportunity to move into our international markets; and (7) imposing embargoes on, or taking other steps to reduce the levels of, expNorts of agricultural commodities and products would jeopardize the progress in strengthening our agricultural export markets made by export assistance programs under the Food Security Act of 1985.

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