GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 73 



Secretary Brannan. I know a lot of discussion has gone on with 

 respect to cotton, Mr. Chairman, 



Mr. Pace. Your associates have made specific recommendations 

 that certain years be considered. 



Secretary Brannan. We certainly did recommend specifically that 

 1949 be taken out. 



Ml". Pace. I think you recommended that you start off with 4 

 years and drift into 5 years after we get beyond the 1949 period. 



Mr. HoEVEN. Mr. Chairman. 



Mr. Pace. Mr. Hoeven. 



Mr. Hoeven. Can we assume, then, judging from the Secretary's 

 statement, that we are going to have specific recommendations from 

 the Secretary of Agriculture next week on a farm price-support pro- 

 gram, including recommendations as to marketing quotas on corn 

 and wheat, and everything that is included in the discussions that we 

 are holding here with reference to the possible repeal or iimendment 

 of the so-called Aiken law? I am just wondering when we are going, 

 to have these recommendations. 



Mr. Pace. The Secretary has advised me that he can let us loiow 

 definitely Alonday, and I am hoping that it will be some time next 

 week. The Secretary has been working under pretty heavy pressure 

 and I do not know how nearly he has concluded his recommendations. 



Do you want to comment, Mr. Secretary? 



Secretary Brannan. I would just like to say, Mr. Chairman, that 

 I deeply appreciate the indulgence of yourself and Air. Cooley and the 

 other members of the committee in letting us take what we think is 

 the necessaiy time to get our views in order to present them. We 

 feel an obligation. 1 feel that the Secretary of Agriculture, whoever 

 he may be, has an obligation to give the Congress his views on these 

 very key subjects. 



On the other hand, I do think, and I think every one of us recognizes, 

 that tluy are pretty tough ])robleras. If they were not really tough 

 problen s somebody would have walked in and said "Here is the 

 solution," and the matter would hive been wound up long ago. We 

 are just going to try to get here as (juickly as we can, and we say right 

 after the first of the month we expect to be here with our recommen- 

 dations. 



Mr. Hoeven, we will try to be as comprehensive in our recom- 

 mendations as possible, starting with the price-support mechanisms 

 and formulas themselves and those things which are ancillary and 

 necessarily related to them. 



Mr. Hoeven. Specific recommendations on what we are discussing 

 here today relating to corn marketing quotas? 



Secretary Brannan. Yes, sir. 



Mr. Pace. 1 anticipated, of course, that you would cover the price- 

 support field, the general program, a discussion of abundance of 

 production, the problem of consumption, and so forth. I had not 

 anticipated that you would then deal with the specific question of the 

 machinery for quotas. 



My question is whether or not we should pursue this question now, 

 inasmuch as this committee has so much work to do on must legisla- 

 tion, or whether it would be better before trying to go into corn 

 allotments, and so forth, to wait for your statement. 



