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STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE TIMOTHY J. PENNY, CHAIRMAN 

 80BCOMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AGRICULTURE AMD HONGER 

 30 MARCH 1993 



I want to welcome all of you to the first hearing of the 

 Foreign Agriculture and Hunger Subcommittee. This is the first 

 of three hearings that will provide an overview of the current 

 agriculture situation in Russia. This hearing is especially 

 timely in light of the Summit next week between President Yeltsin 

 and President Clinton. 



The Former Soviet Union and Russia have been important 

 agricultural markets for the U.S. for many years and it is 

 important to bear in mind that any drastic changes in Russia's 

 ability to import U.S. grain and other agricultural products has 

 a ripple affect throughout U.S. agriculture. 



Our country also has a tremendous opportunity to promote the 

 forces of democracy and economic reform in Russia. Withholding 

 our support would be a tragic mistake, not only for the plight of 

 hundreds of millions of people in Russia, but for the security 

 and economic health of the U.S. and the world as well. 



We start these hearings with film footage and interviews 

 with private farmers who have recently ventured out on their own. 

 The reason that the U.S. trades and interacts with Russia is not 

 only for our own farmers benefit but to assist their nascent 

 private farmers as they take the first steps to privatize their 

 economy . 



For a relatively small financial investment, we could help 

 budding entrepreneurs start and grow businesses, aid farmers in 

 creating supply and marketing cooperatives, and support rural 

 banks that can provide credit. In short, we must promote the 

 private sector through technical assistance projects and, in 

 doing so, help destroy the long tentacles of the Communist 

 system. 



Nearly 50 years ago, we came to the aid of war-torn Western 

 Europe with the Marshall Plan. Today, that area is a bastion of 

 democracy, the largest market in the world, and one of our 

 biggest trading partners. Clearly the payoff was worth the 

 investment. Unlike the Marshall Plan, an aid program to Russia 

 doesn't have to be expensive. But the vision is similar: We must 

 invest with an eye toward long-term political and economic gains 

 for both East and West. 



