326 GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 



Mr. Andresen. Will the gentleman yield? 



Mr. Murray. Yes. 



Mr. Andresen. In connection with what Mr. Murray has had to 

 say, Mr. Secretary, is it not a fact that if the commodity price level 

 level on farm products were to drop another 50 percent, as far as the 

 farmers are concerned, so that the income of the farmers would be 25 

 to 50 percent below the standard that you have made in your proposal, 

 every farmer would become dependent upon the Government for a 

 substantial portion of his livelihood and if there were any regulations 

 he would have to comply with them or he would face bankruptcy 

 because he would have to get his extra income to get that support 

 standard from the Government. 



Then he would be dependent upon Congress to appropriate the 

 money to supplement his income from what he received from what he 

 had to sell. 



Secretary Brannan. Mr. Andresen, that is exactly the spot he is 

 in under the existing law if the prices go below supports. 



Let us take cotton or wheat as an example. The farmer has pro- 

 duced his wheat or his cotton and has taken it to the warehouse or 

 elevator and has his receipts. He has walked into the Commodity 

 Credit Corporation county office and he has received his check for it. 



Mr. Andresen. He sold it to the Government, in substance; did he 

 not? 



Secretary Brannan. He did if the price never goes back up or if 

 it does and he does not want to take it out, he has still sold it to his 

 Government and there he has received his check from the Govern- 

 ment just the same as he w^ould get it under production payments 

 except w^ith a production payment route he would get part of it in 

 the market place and the balance of it from his Government. 



You assumed that we were going to have support levels all the time. 

 If that were true, I think under any system about wiiich we have 

 spoken a good part of the American farmers would be getting some 

 portion of their income from the Government. 



Mr. Andresen. Under existing law, of course the Government 

 would eventually become the owner of a very substantial portion, if 

 not all, of a particular commodity. That is where you retain the 

 present floor support on basic commodities. 



In that manner he would become dependent on the Government 

 for his loan. 



Of course, that is the way we are operating now. But under your 

 program the price sinks down except on cotton, wheat, corn, and 

 tobacco, which are under marketing quotas. 



The price will sink down to its natural supply and demand level. 

 Of course, there is where your program for consumers comes in. But 

 in the meantime the amount of commodities that a farmer sells in the 

 market at the supply and demand level, which brings in a lower price, 

 will cause him to be completely dependent on Congress to provide 

 him with the difl'erence in income between that which he received 

 and what he should have had according to the standards set up. Is 

 that not right? 



Secretary Brannan. I think that is right, but I want to make the 

 point once more that he is today in the same position. 



Mr. Andresen. We agree with that. 



Secretary Brannan. If the prices of all the commodities go down 

 to the support level or start below, he immediately is in the same 



