GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 181 



Secretary Brannan. No; the last 3 years. As of this very day, if 

 I understand it correctly, we are spending almost a million dollars a 

 day in potatoes under the existing law. 



May I just qualify that so we will not get in trouble? 



It is every working day. That is not 365 days out of the year, but 

 every working day. 



Mr. Andresen. We are spending $100,000,000 a day to run the 

 Government. Do you mean that we are spending a million dollars 

 of that $100,000,000 a day on potatoes alone? 



Secretary Brannan. Under the present program and if you can 

 show me how I can cut off a nickel I will be very grateful. 



Mr. Andresen. Under my figures the new program would cost be- 

 tween 300 and 400 milHon dollars, but the people will get potatoes at 

 probably a cent a pound. 



Secretary Brannan. People get potatoes at a fair and reasonable 

 price and if the production of potatoes exceeds the limits beyond which 

 there is no reasonable, rational use that can be made of them, exceeds 

 the genuine human demand in this country, then you would begin by 

 the use of the devices which the Congress has now provided which we 

 now have in force and effect, to cut back on the production of potatoes. 



Mr. Andresen. They have all come up here and been passed on 

 the recommendation of the Department, so I think probably if there 

 is any responsibility for it it rests on the Department. 



Secretary Brannan. Not the potato program. We have three let- 

 ters before this Congress asking for the authority to limit the produc- 

 tion on potatoes, and we have not got the authority yet. 



Mr. Andresen. You had authority to hmit the production of po- 

 tatoes under the old law before we passed this, but there was some 

 question about the Solicitor's judgment on it. 



It was maintained that you had the authority to reduce acreage, 

 and an attempt was made to do it. Is that not right? 



Secretary Brannan. That is not what we advised the Congress in 

 our letters. 



Mr. O'SuLLivAN. Mr. Chairman. 



The Chairman. Will the gentleman yield? 



Mr. Andresen. I yield to the gentleman from Colorado. 



Mr. Hill. Mr. Secretary, I wonder if you are familiar with the 

 recent appropriation biU for Agricultm-e in which the Eighty-first 

 Congress, controlled by your party, increased the conservation pay- 

 ments to individual farmers from $750, the limit that was on it, to 

 $2,500, and we had an amendment, and we could not get enough votes 

 on the floor to get it back to $750. 



We do not want to get into any detail on what it is but we just 

 know what it was. 



Mr. Worley. For the record, it was soil-conservation payments. 



Mr. Hill. We are not worrying about the record. You probably 

 supported it yourself. 



Mr. Worley. I certainly did. 



Mr. Hill. The Secretary did not know about that or he would 

 have had you vote it the other way. 



Secretary Brannan. No; he would not. 



The Chairman. The committee will be in order. Mr. Simpson 

 desires to ask the Secretary a question. 



91215— 49— pt. 2 4 



