"While Congressional leadership and the White House hash out details on all the remaining spending bills, we ag sate legislators in Congress are using that additional time to pass legislative measures to help our struggling farmers and ranchers," Lucas said. "This particular tax bill will help many others as well, including small businesses."

Representative Bill Archer, Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee, introduced this bill in order to see that these tax relief provisions are passed during the 105th Congress. The provisions were also included in the "90-10 Tax Plan" the House passed last month but will not be considered in the U.S. Senate this year.

Some of the provisions in the $9.2 billion measure include: (1) Permanent extension of income averaging for farmers, (2) shield farmers from paying tax on 1999 farm program market transition payments until the year in which the payments are actually received versus when the option of payment is available, (3) increase deduction of health insurance for self-employed individuals to 75 percent for taxable years beginning 2002 and to 100 percent for taxable years beginning in 2003 and thereafter.

"I had hoped that we would be able to offer this relief this year as part of the $80 billion in general tax relief for Americans," Lucas said. "When it began to look like the President was going to make it very difficult to get that broad tax relief passed, many of us worked to be sure that these critical provisions do get passed.

"Our ag producers should not be punished by partisan politics," Lucas continued. "We need this relief out there now. We can't wait around until the 106th Congress meets in January.

"On that note, we are still waiting to see in what form the FY99 Agriculture Appropriations bill is passed," Lucas said. "After the President's veto last week, leadership has been working to include it in an omnibus spending bill that should be passed in the next day or two.

"I, as well as other farm state legislators, took that delay as an opportunity to request that more money be put in the agriculture disaster aid that had been placed in the appropriations bill," Lucas said. "I certainly cannot predict the future, but I believe our pleas did not fall on deaf ears. It is entirely possible we may see more than the original $4.2 billion in the form of immediate relief to be injected into the ag economy."

Also included in H.R. 4738 are provisions to extend the research tax credit for businesses; incentives for hiring former welfare recipients; permanent tax deduction for contributions to private foundations of stock that has appreciated in value; extension of the Generalized System of Preferences; increases in the current cap on private activity bonds, helping local governments finance housing, school loans and industrial development as well as other provisions.

The Senate is scheduled to consider a bill similar to H.R. 4738 this week. Details will be reconciled between the two bills immediately and sent to the President for his signature.