ADMINISTRATION OF FARM PROGRAMS BY

ELECTED FARMER COMMITTEEMEN

TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 1958

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON DEPARTMENTAL ADMINISTRATION AND
CROP INSURANCE OF THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE,

Washington, D. C. The committee convened pursuant to notice at 10: 15 a. m., in room 1310 New House Office Building, Hon. John L. McMillan (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

Present: Representatives McMillan, Jones (Missouri), and Dague. Also present: Representative McIntire.

Mr. MCMILLAN (presiding). The committee will come to order. We have before us this morning several bills introduced by Members of Congress on the same subject, Mr. Christopher, Mr. Polk, Mr. Jones of Missouri, Mr. Anderson, Mr. McGovern, Mrs. Knutson, Mr. Hoeven, and Mr. Anderson of Minnesota.

(H. R. 12669 is as follows:)

[H. R. 12669, 85th Cong., 2d sess.]

A BILL To amend section 8 (b) of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, as amended, to provide for administration of farm programs by democratically elected farmer committeemen

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, effective July 1, 1959, section 8 (b) of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, as amended, is amended by striking out the fourth to the seventeenth sentences, inclusive, thereof and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "In carrying out in the continental United States the provisions of this section, acreage allotment nad marketing quota programs, and such other farm programs requiring dealing on individual farms as the Secretary may deem fit, the Secretary is directed to utilize the services of local, county, and State committees selected as follows:

"(1) LOCAL COMMITTEES.-The Secretary shall designate local administrative areas as units for administration of the programs described above. No such local area shall include more than one county or parts of different counties. Farmers within such local area shall elect annually by secret ballot from among their number in open meeting a local committee of three members for such area, together with first and second alternate members who shall serve in that order in the absence of committee members. Election of local committee members and alternates for any year shall be conducted by the local committee serving at the time of such election. Public notice of such election shall be given by the then serving county committee at least two weeks prior to the date of such election. Candidates for election shall be selected only by nomination from the floor. The local committee shall elect from its members a chairman and a vice chairman. The local committee shall select a secretary and may utilize services made available by the county committee for such purpose. Failure by any local area to elect a local committee prior to the holding of a nominating convention shall not affect the annual election for the county committee, but such local area shall not be represented at the county nominating convention. The county

committee elected at such election shall provide promptly for the election of such local committee by any means prescribed by regulations.

"(2) COUNTY COMMITTEES.-The chairmen of the local committees (or vice chairmen in the absence of chairmen) shall, in a county nominating convention, nominate annually one or more farmers within the county for each position on the county committee and for each position of alternate member on the county committee. Additional nominations may be made by petitions signed by not less than ten farmers eligible to vote. The county committee shall consist of three members. There shall also be first and second alternate members who shall serve in that order in the absence of committee members. The nominating convention shall be called by the county committee then serving, which shall give the chairman of each local committee at least two week's notice of the date of such convention. The county committee then serving shall, immediately following such convention, give public notice of the names of the persons nominated at such convention and of the time and place fixed for the filing of additional nominating petitions and of the time and place fixed for the election, which shall be held not earlier than fifteen days following such notice. Such election shall be by secret ballot upon which the names of all of the candidates properly nominated shall appear, and shall be conducted by such committee either by mail or at one or more public polling places. Each farmer in the county shall be entitled to vote at such election, and may vote for any of the nominees named by the nominating convention or by qualified petition. The votes shall be counted by the county committee conducting the election. The ballots shall be preserved for such period as the Secretary, by regulation, may prescribe. The committee conducting the election shall certify the results of the election to the State committee. The three candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared committee members; the candidate receiving the next highest number of votes shall be declared first alternate; and the candidate receiving the next highest number of votes shall be declared second alternate. Beginning with the regular election in 1959, one member of the county committee shall be elected for a three-year term, one for a two-year term, and the third for a one-year term. In subsequent years, one member shall be elected for a three-year term to succeed the member of the county committee whose term is expiring. The county committee shall elect from its members a chairman and a vice chairman. The county committee shall select a secretary. The county agriculutral extension agent shall be ex officio a member of the county committee. The county agricultural extension agent shall not have the power to vote. In any county in which there is only one local committee the local committee shall also be the county committee. "(3) PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO LOCAL AND COUNTY COMMITTEES.-Special elections for the purpose of filling vacancies not filled by alternate members, occuring at least sixty days prior to the time for holding an annual election, in the membership of a local or county committee shall be held as expeditiously as possible, and shall be held in the same manner and subject to the same restrictions as annual elections, except that only five days' notice of the nominating convention shall be required. The State committee may, if it deems necessary, appoint temporary committee members to serve pending any such special election, or to fill vacancies not filled by alternate members occuring less than sixty days prior to an annual election. County and local committees authorized by this section shall be administratively responsible to the Secretary of Agriculture for the conduct of farm programs assigned to them. The county committee, subject to the general direction and supervision of the State committee, and acting through community committeemen and other personnel, shall be generally responsible for carrying out in the county the programs assigned to it by the Secretary or the Congress. In so doing the county committee shall employ a county office manager subject to standards and qualifications furnished by the Secretary. The county office manager shall serve at the pleasure of the county committee, and subject to the direction and supervision of it, shall execute the policies established by it, be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the county office, and employ the personnel of the county office in accordance with standards and qualifications furnished by the State committee.

"(4) STATE COMMITTEES.-In each State there shall be a State committee for the State composed of three farmers or five farmers who are legal residents of the State. One member shall be elected when State committees, are composed of three farmers and two when five farmers. Such member or members

shall be elected by the members of the county committees at an election to be held on a date or within a period of time fixed by the Secretary which will afford full opportunity for participation therein by all county committee members: Provided, That such date or period of time shall fall between July 1 and December 30 each year. An elected member shall take office on the first day of the month next after his election and shall serve for twelve months or until a successor has been elected and qualified. Such elected member shall be subject to removal by the Secretary only for cause. The other mmebers of such committee shall be appointed by, and serve at the pleasure of, the Secretary, one of whom shall be designated as chairman. The State director of the Agricultural Extension Service or his designated alternate, shall be ex officio a member of such State committee, without power to vote, and shall be in addition to the number of members of such committee hereinbefore specified. "(5) REMOVAL OF LOCAL AND COUNTY COMMITTEE MEMBERS.-The State committee may remove a local or county committee member from office, but only by majority vote after furnishing such member with a statement of the charges against him, advising him of his rights, and giving him an opportunity for a fair hearing at which, if requested by such member, a representative of the Secretary shall be present. The State committee shall cause a transcript of the proceedings at any such hearing to be made and a copy thereof to be furnished to such member. Pending such hearing the State committee may by majority vote suspend such member, but no such suspension shall exceed sixty days unless such hearing is delayed at the request of such member. Such member may appeal from the decision of the State committee to the Deputy Administrator of the Commodity Stabilization Service, or such other officer or employee of the Department of Agriculture as the Secretary may designate. All pertinent and material evidence may be presented at such appeal.

"(6) For the purposes of this subsection, the term 'county' shall include any consolidation effectuated by the Secretary by joining any actual county or counties with any adjacent county upon the determination that each such county or countries being joined therewith has less than fifty farms on which farming operations are actively being carried out and shall include the administrative subdivision of the counties of Otter Tail, Polk, and Saint Louis, in the State of Minnesota, and the county of Pottawattamie, in the State of Iowa, as authorized by the Act of September 2, 1957 (71 Stat. 601).

"(7) REGULATIONS.-The Secretary shall make such regulations as are necessary relating to the selection and exercise of the functions of the respective committees, and to the administration through the committees, of such programs." SEC. 2. Section 503 of the Agricultural Act of 1954 is amended by inserting after the word "county" the words “or local".

SEC. 3. Section 362 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, as amended, is amended by striking out the second sentence thereof.

SEC. 4. Section 392 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, as amended, is amended by changing the last sentence of subsection (b) to read as follows: "A statement of the names and addresses of the members and employees of any county or local committee, and the amount of such compensation received by each of them, shall be kept freely available for public inspection in the office of the county committee for a period of five years following the close of the calendar year in which such compensation was received."

Mr. MCMILLAN. Before we start I should like to call on Mr. Jones to give us a brief statement or explanation of his bill, H. R. 12669. Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, I will just speak very briefly to give some background for the introduction of these several bills.

We have had, of course, some unfortunate circumstances arise in the operation of the farmer committee program and for the purposes of trying to clarify the administration we have introduced legislation clarifying what I believe was originally intended in the law.

Just recently there have been certain amendments or changes made in the bills that were introduced last year in an effort to overcome the objection of the administration. And according to my best information and from reading a letter from the Department I am of the opinion that the Department at least is more satisfied with the bill

H. R. 12669 which is identical with the Senate bill, S. 1436, which has been favorably reported from the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, and which is now on the Senate Calendar.

I think what we have attempted to do was to clarify and in some instances restore to the farmer elected committee the responsibilities and the authorities which Congress thought they originally had under the law. I think that we have tried to spell out the fact that in the future that the farmers would have the opportunity to select the local any county committees without any interference, and that these county committees in turn would have the opportunity of selecting the staffs in the county offices that would carry out the program. Of course, having the obligation of administering the program under the regulations to be promulgated by the Secretary.

Personally, I want to say that I have no desire to try to take away from the Department of Agriculture, either its authority or its responsibilities, and I feel that law intended that the farmers have a real voice in the operation of this program. I think they should have, because they are in the best position to know the local condition, and if they are left free, I think that they will administer the program on the most equitable basis.

I believe that the bill which has been approved in the Senate and which we will consider here today meets most of the objections of the Department of Agriculture, although prior to the meeting of this committee this morning I did have an opportunity to talk to Mr. McLain and Mr. Manwaring and know that there are some objections. I hope that during the course of this hearing this morning that we can reach an understanding on those problems, and that we can report from the committee to the full committee a legislation which would be beneficial in carrying out the program with the least amount of controversy, and with the greatest amount of equity, and to restore to the farmer elected committees the full responsibilities that were originally contemplated under the law.

That is all I would care to say at this time.

Mr. MCMILLAN. We are delighted to have representatives of the Department of Agriculture here this morning, consisting of Mr. McLain, Assistant Secretary, and Mr. Manwaring of the Commodity Stabilization Service, and Mr. Miller, associate administrator of the Commodity Stabilization Service.

Would you like to make a statement first, Mr. McLain?

STATEMENT OF HON. MARVIN MCLAIN, ASSISTANT SECRETARY; ACCOMPANIED BY H. LAURENCE MANWARING, DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR, AND CLARENCE MILLER, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR, COMMODITY STABILIZATION SERVICE, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Mr. McLAIN. We are glad to have the opportunity to come up and briefly state our feeling about these proposals.

First, I would like, if I may, to be sure that we get in, as a matter of record, the letter that was sent to Congressman Cooley, reporting on this bill.

Mr. MCMILLAN. That letter will be made a part of the record.