CURRENT AGRICULTURAL SITUATION IN 



RUSSIA 



TUESDAY, MARCH 30, 1993 



House of Representatives, 

 Subcommittee on Foreign Agriculture and Hunger, 



Committee on Agriculture, 



Washington, DC. 



The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:30 a.m., in room 

 1300, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Timothy J. Penny 

 (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. 



Present: Representatives Barlow, McKinney, Baesler, Pomeroy, 

 Allard, and Lewis. 



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

 the committee. Representative Pat Roberts, ranking minority mem- 

 ber of the committee, and Representative Bishop, member of the 

 committee. 



Staff present: Joseph Muldoon, associate counsel; Gary R. Mitch- 

 ell, minority staff director; William E. O'Conner, Jr., minority pol- 

 icy coordinator; John E. Hogan, minority counsel; Dale Moore, mi- 

 nority legislative coordinator; Glenda L. Temple, clerk; Jane Shey, 

 Anita R. Brown, Joe Dugan, and Lynn Gallagher. 



OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. TIMOTHY J. PENNY, A REP- 

 RESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MIN- 

 NESOTA 



Mr. Penny. I want to welcome all of you to the first hearing of 

 the Foreign Agriculture and Hunger Subcommittee. This will be 

 the first of three hearings that will provide an overview of the cur- 

 rent agricultural situation in Russia. This hearing is especially 

 timely in light of the summit next week between President Clinton 

 and President Yeltsin. 



The former Soviet Union and Russia have been important agri- 

 cultiu-al markets for the United States for many years now. Obvi- 

 ously, any drastic changes in Russia's ability to import United 

 States grain and other agricultural products will have a significant 

 ripple effect throughout the United States agricultural sector and, 

 for that matter, all of the United States economy. 



In addition, however, our country is well-positioned to provide a 

 tremendous amount of support for the forces of democracy and eco- 

 nomic reform within Russia. I have long maintained that agricul- 

 tural assistance is central to our ability to provide aid, and agri- 

 culture is clearly central to any successful economic and political 

 reforms within Russia and the other former Soviet Republics. 



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