Glickman Compares Congress, Cabinet

In a speech which ranged from Alexis de Tocqueville to California avocado growers, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan R. Glickman addressed a crowd of about 100 yesterday in the ARCO Forum of the Institute of Politics(IOP).

A former U.S. congressional representative, Glickman shared his experiences in two branches of government in a talk entitled "From Congress to the Cabinet: Making Public Policy Work."

Glickman, who served in the House for 18 years as a representative from Wichita, Kan., spoke about the role of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), as well as the different ways in which the President's Cabinet and Congress approach issues.

According to Glickman, when he gained his Congressional seat in 1976, he immediately felt the need to fight for his district's agricultural interests.

"You stand for election every two years in the House, so as soon as you arrive, there is instant pressure to hone in on the economic and political interests of your district," Glickman said. "That's what landed me on the House Agricultural Committee, where I lived wheat and cattle policy for years."

However, after being voted out of office in 1994 during the Republican landslide, Glickman, a Democrat, was offered his current position as secretary of agriculture. There, he had to adjust to a broader perspective.

"It's a different view from the Cabinet. Your perspective is national...[and] President Clinton's views have a lot to do with my decisions," Glickman said. "In the Cabinet, there's less personal freedom, but certainly more power."

Glickman also spoke on many of the major issues facing the USDA today.

Food safety, Glickman said, is one of the most visible responsibilities of the Department of Agriculture.

According to Glickman, after four deaths in 1993 resulted from E. Coli bacterial poisoning in fast-food hamburgers, the USDA received the necessary public and Congressional support to push meat inspection programs which detect bacteria invisible to traditional methods.

Discussing international trade, Glickman noted that the views of Congress and the Cabinet often diverge.

"It's easy for me to stand here at Harvard and talk about the importance of expanding trade...to our economy, to global stability and to America's place in the world," Glickman said. "But let's look at this from a congressional perspective. With a few exceptions, it comes down to how their people fare."

After his prepared speech, audience members asked Glickman questions ranging from the condition of grape workers to the dead weight loss effects ofagricultural subsidies.

Glickman said farm labor has not been atraditional policy area of the Department ofAgriculture, but said he plans to conduct a jointtour later this year with Secretary of LaborAlexis M. Herman to examine migrant workerconditions.

Machael J. Passante '99 asked Glickman why theU.S. government continues to provide agriculturalsubsidies to many industries despite the widelyheld view by economists that such subsidies are,overall, a "waste of taxpayer money."

Glickman responded by saying many of thesubsidy programs, such as those for the dairy,tobacco and peanut industries, have long-rootedhistories because they developed during the GreatDepression and were meant to keep people on theland and producing food.

In addition, Glickman said some of thesubsidies are still necessary to keep farmersproducing food, but "we are moving towards moremarket-oriented policies."

After the speech, Passante said he wasimpressed overall by Glickman's knowledge andexperience but was not satisfied with the answerto his question.

"I don't see why there is any morejustification for providing subsidies toagriculture than any other industry," Passantesaid. "It's not the Great Depression any more."

However, Jeffrey P. Yarbro '99, chair of theIOP Student Advisory Committee and son of aTennessee soybean farmer, said he was happy withthe attention Glickman paid to issues concerningsmall farmers.

"I was just pleased to know that even at thehighest levels they have the interests of smallfarmers in mind," Yarbro said

Glickman said farm labor has not been atraditional policy area of the Department ofAgriculture, but said he plans to conduct a jointtour later this year with Secretary of LaborAlexis M. Herman to examine migrant workerconditions.

Machael J. Passante '99 asked Glickman why theU.S. government continues to provide agriculturalsubsidies to many industries despite the widelyheld view by economists that such subsidies are,overall, a "waste of taxpayer money."

Glickman responded by saying many of thesubsidy programs, such as those for the dairy,tobacco and peanut industries, have long-rootedhistories because they developed during the GreatDepression and were meant to keep people on theland and producing food.

In addition, Glickman said some of thesubsidies are still necessary to keep farmersproducing food, but "we are moving towards moremarket-oriented policies."

After the speech, Passante said he wasimpressed overall by Glickman's knowledge andexperience but was not satisfied with the answerto his question.

"I don't see why there is any morejustification for providing subsidies toagriculture than any other industry," Passantesaid. "It's not the Great Depression any more."

However, Jeffrey P. Yarbro '99, chair of theIOP Student Advisory Committee and son of aTennessee soybean farmer, said he was happy withthe attention Glickman paid to issues concerningsmall farmers.

"I was just pleased to know that even at thehighest levels they have the interests of smallfarmers in mind," Yarbro said