Kerrey, Exon criticize
new farm subsidy bill
OMAHA (AP) — The Senate is
attempting to buy off the nation ’ s farm
ers and end the decades-old farm pro
gram in a bill passed Wednesday, Sen.
James Exon, D-Neb., said.
Exon and Sen. Bob Kerrey, D
Neb., voted against the farm bill, which
passed on a 64-32 vote.
The bill calls for ending the link
between farm prices and government
subsidies and giving farmers a series
of declining payments over seven
years.
“This bill is designed, and has been
so advertised, as buying off the farm
ers with some nifty payments for seven
years,” Exon said.
“At the end of seven years, that will
be the end of the farm bill.”
Rep. Bill Barrett, R-Neb., praised
the Senate for passing the measure.
“This bill provides for planting flex
ibility, promises full production and
allows farmers to manage their own
business based on economic factors
without government intervention.”
Farmers would be paid preset pay
ments based on their historical plant
ing bases and yields without regard to
market prices.
“This bill is designed,
and has been so
advertised, as buying off
the farmers with some
nifty payments for seven
years. ”
JAMES EXON
Nebraska senator
The bill also would allow farmers
to plant what they want and as much as
they want.
The old farm bill placed limits on
certain crops in an attempt reduce
surpluses and increase prices.
Exon criticized the Republican
sponsored bill as nothing more than
welfare payments.
Farmers would get paid whether
they plant or not and whether prices
are high or low, he said. In time, the
public will become fed up with the
program, he predicted.
*
Kerrey’s ire was directed at the
manner in which the farm bill was
passed in the Senate with less than 10
hours of debate. He also criticized the
bill as shortsighted.
“The Senate had months upon
months to debate a farm bill and reach
a strong, bipartisan compromise in the
full light of day, but it chose the route
of back-room deal-making instead,”
Kerrey said.
For 60 years, the nation’s farm
programhas protected farmers against
low prices and provided consumers
with a stable food supply, Kerrey said.
That all ends with the new bill, he said.
“The farm program cannot respond
to the flaws of the market if it ignores
the market altogether,” Kerrey said.
“This is the fatal flaw in the Freedom
to Farm Act.”
Exon predicted the nation’s small
farmers would suffer when the farm
program ended in seven years and
land prices plummeted.
“I think at the end of seven years,
without a farm program, you’re going
to see land values decline significantly
because the safety net is not going to
be there,” he said.
Exon confident disputes
won’t rout anti-smut bill
OMAHA (AP) — Sen. James
Exon, D-Neb., accused the Ameri
can Civil Liberties Union of using
“red herrings” Wednesday to chal
lenge an anti-smut bill aimed at the
Internet.
Exon sponsored the Communi
cations Decency Act, which was
passed last week by Congress as
part of a large telecommunications
bill and which is expected to be
signed by President Clinton on
Thursday.
The provision would outlaw
transmission of indecent and other
sexually explicit materials to mi
nors.
The ACLU said it intended to
challenge the anti-smut provision
in federal court as overly broad.
The organization said the law would
outlaw electronic transmissions of
legal speech, including literature
such as “Catcher in the Rye,” rap
lyrics and profane conversations.
Exon disputed the charges.
“The ACLU continues to raise
red herrings that have nothing to do
with our proposal,” he said.
“The legislation will not ban
works of art or medical warnings
because they would not be' in con
text, patently offensive’ under the
Supreme Court’s indecency stan
dard used in our legislation.”
He was confident the bill would
withstand a legal challenge.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has
repeatedly held that it is important
and right to protect children from
indecency and obscenity and I am
confident it will do so again,” he
said.
Opponents of the bill staged a
protest Wednesday in cyberspace,
with about 150 people and groups
turning their home page on the
Internet the color black.
What that means is protesters
will change the background color
of their home page—the electronic
equivalent of a calling card with
lots more information—to black in
opposition to the bill.
Retiring senator
donates funds
to Dana College
WASHINGTON (AP)—Retiring
Sen. Paul Simon has donated $ 168,000
in surplus campaign funds to chari
table groups, civic organizations and
educational institutions — including
Dana College in Blair, Neb.
The largest beneficiary listed for
the July through December reporting
period was Dana, which will use
$100,000 from Simon for a new pro
gram to let students travel abroad.
Simon, D-Ill., dropped out of Dana
in 1948, at age 19, borrowed $3,600
and bought a failing weekly newspa
per in Troy, across the Mississippi
River from St. Louis.
That launched a publishing and
political career that has included ser
vice in the Legislature in Springfield,
a term as lieutenant governor, and
tenure in both the U.S. House and
Senate.
Along the way, Simon has earned a
reputation as a reform-minded, honest
politician, a lawmaker who began dis
closing his personal finances in the
1950s.
“It was a very pleasant surprise,”
said Connie Steudel, director of the
Carbondale Public Library, which wili
use its $ 1,000 donation to help pay for
a 75th anniversary celebration in the
fall. Simon and his wife, Jeanne, have
a house nearby in Makanda, 111.
Simon is now in his final year in the
Senate. A teaching and public policy
research job awaits him at Southern
Illinois University in Carbondale.
Among the things he is wrapping up is
his Senate campaign account, which
had a balance of $517,000 on July 1.
Federal election law says politi
cians with excess funds can use the
money for the ordinary and necessary
expenses of an officeholder; dona
tions to charities; or transfers to other
national, state or local party commit
tees. Taking the money for personal
use is prohibited.
Over the last six months of 1995,
Simon donated $168,050 and trans
ferred $127,000 to balance the ac
count he set up when he sought the
Democratic presidential nomination
in 1988. His campaign account now
has $122,000 left.
Simon said in an interview that
many charities had asked for money.
“We just tried to be selective and at
the end of the year we may have the
opportunity to contribute a little more,”
he said.
At Dana College, President Myrvin
Christopherson said the new travel
program, which was Simon’s idea,
would give students money for explo
ration abroad.
BACK-TO-BACK NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Dear Husker Fan:
For the second year in a row, I am proud to say that our Nebraska Huskers were voted
the best team in the nation. I hope that our victory over the University of Florida in the
Fiesta Bowl was as thrilling for you as it was for me, my staff and the team.
Our 1995 team was simply tremendous. Names that will not soon be forgotten
include Benning, Ellis, Green, Graham, Makovicka, Peter, Veland,
Tomich, Wistrom, Williams and, of course: Tommie Frazier. Tommie rose
to every challenge and overcame every obstacle en route to our second
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This is the only official University publication about our second-consecutive
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Last year’s national championship book is still available, while supplies last for
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For every copy of the NEBRASKA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BOOK
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However, I’m confident that you will be thoroughly pleased with the quality
of this publication.
Sincerely,
' _ »; , .
\ V.
Tom Osborne
Head Football Coach
P.S. Order before February 24,1996, and you will receive a FREE copy of
UMI’s Big 12 Basketball Handbook this fall. The Big 12 Basketball Handbook is
a 160-page magazine that covers Big 12 recruiting, national recruiting, cheer
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• Tin Oily Official University af Nebraska Publication
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University of Nebraska National Championship Order Form
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Please reserve me_copies. Enclosed is $_($34.95 per copy plus $5.00 S&H,
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Offer good while supplies last.
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