McLean, Va. – The U.S. House of Representatives today approved legislation to provide the nation’s apple growers with $150 million in market loss assistance. Specifically, the $15.7 billion House agriculture appropriations bill for fiscal 2002 (H.R. 2330) allocates $150 million to offset a portion of the losses apple growers sustained in marketing the 2000 apple crop.

“We are extremely grateful to our allies in Congress for their steadfast support of America’s apple growers,” said U.S. Apple Association (USApple) President and CEO Kraig R. Naasz, whose group worked closely with key congressional members to garner the House’s approval of the apple assistance measure. “We especially appreciate their efforts to address the devastating economic hardships facing our nation’s apple growers by providing this much-needed assistance.”

Reps. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), John Sweeney (R-N.Y) and James Walsh (R-N.Y.) of the House Appropriations Committee sponsored the $150 million apple assistance amendment during that committee’s consideration of the agriculture appropriations bill. House Rules Committee members Reps. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) and Tom Reynolds (R-N.Y.) secured that committee’s endorsement of the amendment, clearing the measure for today’s favorable vote by the House of Representatives.

“While we’re thankful to have prevailed in the House, the game is far from over,” said Naasz. “We are hard at work to ensure the Senate follows suit and, hopefully, ups the ante to $250 million.”

Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) are sponsoring similar legislation in the Senate to provide $250 million in assistance to America’s apple growers. The Senate is expected to consider its version of the fiscal 2002 agriculture spending bill before the congressional recess in August.

Any differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill will have to be reconciled before the agriculture spending legislation can be sent to President George W. Bush for his signature. The fiscal 2001 agriculture appropriations act (Public Law 106-387) provided $18.7 billion in discretionary spending, including $138 million in direct assistance for the nation’s apple growers.

Growers have suffered losses of $1.5 billion over the past five years, including an estimated $500 million during the past year alone, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) statistics. Unfairly priced imports, excessive regulatory costs, stagnant domestic consumption, food retail consolidation, subsidized foreign competition, diminished exports and global overproduction are all to blame.

The U.S. Apple Association (USApple) is the national trade association representing all segments of the apple industry. Members include 40 state apple associations representing 9,000 apple growers throughout the country, as well as nearly 500 individual firms involved in the apple business. USApple’s mission is to provide the means for all segments of the U.S. apple industry to join in appropriate collective efforts to profitably produce and market apples and apple products.