42 



Shortly after Kauai was hit by Hurricane Iniki Congress provided 

 supplemental appropriations of $482 million for the crops losses 

 as a result of Hurricanes Iniki, Andrew and Typhoon Omar in 

 Public Law 102-368. These funds distributed in accordance with 

 the crop disaster program as outlined the 1990 Farm Bill, meant 

 that only farmers with crop losses which occurred in the calendar 

 year 1992 (the year of disasters) would be eligible for 

 assistance. Too bad that our crop losses imparted our farmers in 

 1993 and 1994! 



In addition, farmers had to experience a loss of 40 percent of 

 their crops in 1992. Because the Hurricane did not hit until 

 September of that year, most Kauai Farmers did not have a 40 

 percent crop loss for that year. 



Simply put my farmers on the Island of Kauai could not gualify. 



Through the combined efforts of the Hawaii and Florida 

 Congressional delegations we were able to add language in H.R. 

 2118, a 1993 supplemental appropriations bill, to allow farmers 

 impacted by Hurricanes Andrew, Iniki and Typhoon Omar to be 

 eligible for crop disaster assistance in crop years 1993, 1994, 

 and 1995 (P.L. 103-50) . This legislation was signed into law on 

 July 2, 1993 and the deadline set for applications was August 1, 

 1993. 



However, even following the passage of this legislation, Kauai 

 farmers continued to experience difficulty in applying for and 

 receiving crop disaster assistance, mostly due to administrative 

 actions within the Department of Agriculture rather than 

 legislative barriers. 



The farmers were instructed by the ASCS that they could not 

 apply for compensation for crop losses in 1993, 1994, or 1995 

 unless they experienced 100 percent losses in each of those 

 years! There was no legislative basis for this policy. When 

 contacted by my office the ASCS office stated that farmers should 

 be able to received assistance for partial losses, not just 100 

 percent losses. The matter was cleared up and the deadline for 

 application was extended to September 17, 1993. Nevertheless, 

 this confusion caused great anguish among the farmers who 

 believed that once again the program had cut them out and let 

 them down. 



Most recently the Department of Agriculture issued a policy 

 which denies compensation for crop losses in 1993, 1994 and 1995 

 for losses which occurred because of dead trees. This has 

 virtually eliminated payments to papaya farmers on the island of 

 Kauai. While they received some payments for crops losses in 

 1992, if this policy is allowed to stand they will receive no 

 compensation for the loss of the young trees which would have 

 bore fruit in future years. Somehow a papaya tree in the books 

 of the Department has the life of only one year. 



