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Show Sen. Moss Sponsors Bill to Aid U. S. Family Farmer A bill to make it easier for family size farmers to borrow at low interest rates was presented pre-sented to the U. S. Senate this week with Sen. Frank E. Moss as a co-sponsor. The measure proposes to chang The measure proposes changes in existing farm statutes to reduce re-duce interest rates and increase the amounts federal farm agencies agen-cies will have available to lend. It also directs the Secretary of Agriculture to reactivate the program of assisting farmers and creditors with voluntary debt adjustment; and revives the policy of adjusting repayment schedules to the borrower's net earnings. The bill is almost identical with one introduced last session. It was referred to the Department Depart-ment of Agriculture for review, and received an unfavorable report. re-port. It did not come to a vote in the Senate. It is expected, however, how-ever, to get further along the legislative process this session. "If we are interested in maintaining main-taining conditions that make it possible to operate family-sized farms this type of credit must be modernized. I am aware of the difference of opinion among students of agriculture. Some feel that the practical approach is to recognize that the small farmer is doomed. But I believe that the credit policies of the government should be adjusted to allow the family farmer to compete," he said. Known as the Family Farm Yardstick Credit Act of 1959, the bill would amend the Bank-head-Jones Farm Tenant Act, the Water Facilities Loan Act, the Emergency and Livestock Loans Act, and the special emergency emer-gency loan act of 1954. Senator Moss noted that the new bill does not change the existing requirement that a borrower bor-rower leave the program when he can obtain other commercial credit at not to exceed 5 percent, nor does it change the requirement require-ment that a potential borrower must exhaust all other sources before being eligible for the government gov-ernment program. Reduction of interest charged on farm operating loans from 5 1 to 3 per cent is proposed, as is reduction of interest paid to insured in-sured private lenders from 4 to 3 per cent. The latter means government absorbtion of the cost of insurance risk and administration ad-ministration costs which are now covered by an additional 1 per cetn charged the borower. The bill raises the permissible maximum of any one loan from $10,000 to $35,000, and the permissible per-missible size of a borrower's total indebtedness from $20,000 to $50,000. The maximum permissible per-missible amount of water facility loans to cooperatives, irrigation districts and municipalities is raised from $250,000 to $1,-000,000. $1,-000,000. Utahns have participated extensively ex-tensively in the loan programs covered by the bill. For example in one of five categories, "operating "operat-ing loans," Utah farmers have borrowed some $12,919,000 before be-fore 1946. As of June 30, 1058, $9,047,000 has been repaid according ac-cording to figures of the Farmers Farm-ers Home Administration. |