PRINTER'S NO. 1903
No. 139 Session of 1983
INTRODUCED BY D. R. WRIGHT, MANDERINO, WARGO, STEWART,
STEIGHNER, MORRIS, STUBAN, COLE, LLOYD, BROUJOS, RUDY, COY,
SWEET, LIVENGOOD, WOZNIAK, WACHOB, TELEK, GRIECO, MADIGAN,
BOWSER, JOHNSON, HAYES, SIRIANNI, WASS, SWIFT, STAIRS,
A. C. FOSTER, JR., ROBBINS, MACKOWSKI AND LEHR, OCTOBER 4,
1983
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON FEDERAL-STATE RELATIONS,
OCTOBER 11, 1983
A RESOLUTION
1 Urging the Pennsylvania delegation in the United States Congress
2 to gain membership on committees which deal with farm and
3 rural legislative matters.
4 WHEREAS, The 1980 census reported that the rural population
5 in Pennsylvania increased to 3,643,044, more than the combined
6 population of all Pennsylvania's cities of 30,000 or more; and
7 WHEREAS, Forty-seven of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania have
8 been classified as rural, constituting 70% of the total
9 Pennsylvania landmass; and
10 WHEREAS, Pennsylvania is first in the Nation in the
11 production of mushrooms, third in the production in calves and
12 eggs, fourth in the production of grapes, fifth in the
13 production of dairy products, chickens, peaches, cherries and
14 floriculture, and sixth in the production of silage, corn and
15 apples; and
16 WHEREAS, Agriculture is the backbone of a very substantial
1 agri-business industry: food processing, feed, fertilizer, seed,
2 equipment and machinery production and distribution. Agriculture
3 is also the largest user of steel and rubber. If export markets
4 can be captured, agriculture stands in the forefront of economic
5 remedies for Pennsylvania. Agriculture heads the list of the
6 number and quantity of goods exported annually; and
7 WHEREAS, In spite of the fact that agriculture is the number
8 one revenue-producing industry in the Commonwealth ($3 billion
9 annually, almost half from dairy products), neither of our
10 United States Senators nor members of the Pennsylvania
11 Congressional delegation serve on either the 18-member Senate
12 Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee or the 41-member
13 House Committee on Agriculture although United States Senator
14 Specter has served with distinction on the Agricultural
15 Appropriations Subcommittee; therefore be it
16 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
17 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge United States Senators Heniz
18 and Specter, along with the other members of the Pennsylvania
19 Congressional delegation that represent farm/rural
20 constituencies, to strive for positions on either of these
21 committees at the earliest appropriate time; and be it further
22 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be submitted to
23 Senators Heinz and Specter; members of the United States House
24 of Representatives; United States Senator Jesse Helms, Chairman
25 of the Senate Agriculture Committee; Congressmen E. de la Garza,
26 Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee; Senate Majority
27 Leader Howard H. Baker; House Speaker Tip O'Neill; and House
28 Majority Leader James C. Wright, Jr.
I23L82RLC/19830H0139R1903 - 2 -