39 



In the experience of National Cotton Council, FAS has been quite 

 flexible. Increasingly, the flexibility is being further stifled by ex- 

 cessive regulation and audit burdens which drain a significant 

 amount of energy and responsiveness from the agency and its pri- 

 vate sector partners. 



Mr. Chairman, while accountability is clearly necessary with the 

 use of public funds, it is program and not regulations that make 

 sales overseas. 



Question: Has the long-term trade strategy been implemented 

 and how do agricultural export programs fit with the National Ex- 

 port Strategy of the TPCC? 



FAS is the agency that can be held up as a 40-year successful 

 "one-stop shop" for national export programs for its sector. Regard- 

 ing the long-term trade strategy as we suggested earlier in my 

 comments, the Government can best serve as a purveyor of infor- 

 mation, a facilitator, and a market access advocate for the U.S. pri- 

 vate sector, not as a creator of some inflexible grand plan. 



Mr. Chairman, the U.S. Grovernment and FAS are being reorga- 

 nized or even reinvented. In FAS's case, much of its market devel- 

 opment work is carried out through the market development co- 

 operators and the private sector participants they represent. To my 

 knowledge, neither the U.S. Agricultural Export Development 

 Council, its members or the private sector companies are actively 

 being consulted by the Department or the agency. If the U.S. Grov- 

 ernment truly desires a successful National Export Strategy, it can- 

 not hope to do so by leaving the private sector, for example, the 

 people who actually export, out in the cold. 



Through public forums. Secretary Espy and his staff did an ex- 

 cellent job of reaching out to the constituency in searching for the 

 appropriate structure and programs for the Farm Service Agency; 

 programs designed to help farm income. We would ask that a simi- 

 lar outreach happen for the structure and mission of FAS; the 

 agency charged with fostering exports, programs that also directly 

 bolster farm incomes and the profitability of our agricultural sector. 



For that reason, Mr, Chairman, the National Cotton Council of 

 America and its exporting members greatly appreciate the oppor- 

 tunity to testify before this committee today and have some input 

 into the future of FAS, the "one-stop shop" that facilitates U.S. ex- 

 ports of cotton, its value-added products and the abundance of our 

 entire agricultural sector. 



I thank the chairman and members of the committees and would 

 be happy to answer any questions. 



[The prepared statement of Mr. Terhaar appears at the conclu- 

 sion of the hearing.] 



Mr. CONDIT [resuming chair]. Thank you very much, Mr. 

 Terhaar. 



Next, Mr. Krajeck. 



Mr. Krajeck is vice president of the U.S. Feed Grains Council. 

 Welcome, 



STATEMENT OF RICHARD KRAJECK, VICE PRESIDENT, U.S. 



FEED GRAINS COUNCIL 



Mr. Krajeck, Thank you. I thank you for the opportunity for the 

 U.S. Feed Grains Council to present our views on the mission of 



