153 



Testimony 



of Robert L. Waiker 



Before the House Subcommittees 



on Foreign Agriculture and Government Operations 



November 16, 1993, 9:30 a.m. 



Good morning, Chairman Penny, Chairman Condit. 



Thank you for this opportunity to join in this important discussion of the factors 

 affecting the international competitiveness of our nation's largest employer -- agriculture. 



1 want to commend both of you, Chairman Penny and Chairman Condit, for 

 conducting these hearings on the future mission and role of the U.S. Department of 

 Agriculture's Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS). All too often, we spend our energies on 

 issues of the moment, on putting our fires, and do not step back, in this case, to see the 

 international landscape and to stress how changes in that landscape affect our federal 

 policies and programs. 



Let me say at the outset that I have a strong interest in international marketing of 

 U.S. agricultural products. As Maryland Secretary of Agriculture, as Chairman of the 

 National Association of State Departments of Agriculture's World Trade Committee and 

 as a psu-ticipant on various overseas missions for the World Bank and others, I have had an 

 opportunity to travel in this hemisphere, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. And 

 everywhere I travel, the story is the same. U.S. agriculture is the envy of the world. 

 People all around the globe want what we produce. They are looking to us for assistance 

 and leadership. 



