U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE'S DISAS- 

 TER ASSISTANCE FOR SPECIALTY CROPS 



TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1993 



House of Representatives, 

 Subcommittee on Specialty Crops 



and Natural Resources, 

 Committee on Agriculture, 



Washington, DC. 

 The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 3:15 p.m., in room 

 1302, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Karen Thurman, act- 

 ing chairman, presiding. 



Present: Representatives Thurman, Minge, Pomeroy, Peterson, 

 Lewis, Kingston, and Goodlatte. 



Also present: Representatives E (Kika) de la Garza, chairman of 

 the committee; Representative Nussle, member of the committee; 

 and Representatives Deutsch and Mink. 



Staff present: John E. Hogan, minority counsel; Glenda L. Tem- 

 ple, clerk; Keith Pitts and Stacy Carey. 



Mrs. Thurman [acting chairman]. I will call the subcommittee to 

 order. However, we know that everybody is on a busy schedule so 

 we want to get started. We would like to start with the Honorable 

 Patsy Mink from Hawaii. 



STATEMENT OF HON. PATSY T. MINK, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 

 CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF HAWAII 



Mrs. Mink. Thank you very much. I appreciate very much the 

 opportunity to testify on the hearing that you have called. I com- 

 pliment you for calling it on the Department pf Agriculture's pro- 

 gram in relation to specialty crops. 



May I ask that my entire testimony be put in the record. 



Mrs. Thurman. Without objection, that will be done. 



Mrs. Mink. This subject of crop disaster is of great significance 

 to my State and district which, as you know, experienced the dev- 

 astating effects of Hurricane Iniki last year, in 1992. 



Our experience shows that the crop disaster program is inad- 

 equate to meet the needs of specialty crop producers following a 

 disaster. 



It is my hope that this hearing today will lead to improvements 

 in the program and necessary changes in the law, so that farmers 

 of specialty crops in any area of the country will not have to endure 

 the agony and frustration, as we have, of trying to work with a sys- 

 tem that is not designed to accommodate the circumstances of spe- 

 cialty crops. 



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