Farm Credit Act Amendments of 1980 Statement on Signing S. 1465 Into Law.

I am today signing S. 1465, the Farm Credit Act Amendments of 1980.

For over 60 years the Farm Credit System has ably serviced the credit needs of farmers and ranchers, and more recently, those of aquatic producers and harvesters. S. 1465 represents the culmination of an effort, begun in 1978, to update and improve the Farm Credit System's authorities so that it can continue to efficiently and effectively make its significant contribution in meeting the credit-related needs of agriculture throughout the 1980's. Among its more noteworthy features, the enrolled bill:

—lowers the percentage of voting members of rural utility and service cooperatives and some farm supply cooperatives who must be farmers in order for these cooperatives to be eligible for loans from a bank for cooperatives;

—authorizes the banks for cooperatives to provide export credit and related services to cooperatives;

—provides special authority to aid young, beginning, and small farmers;

—authorizes the provision of loan funds from Federal intermediate credit banks to rural commercial banks; and

—enables Federal land banks to extend to commercial fishermen the same range of services which are currently available to farmers and ranchers.

Finally, in signing this bill, I want to emphasize my view, and that of the Attorney General, that section 508 is unconstitutional insofar as it would permit Congress to disapprove certain Farm Credit Administration regulations by passing a concurrent resolution. This provision violates Article I, section 7, of the Constitution, which requires congressional action that has the effect of law to be submitted to the President for his possible veto. Moreover, by granting Congress an extra legislative role in administering substantive statutory programs, this provision of section 508 violates separation of powers principles. In accordance with my June 21, 1978, message to Congress, the executive branch will treat section 508 as a "report and wait" provision and will not consider a congressional expression of disapproval under section 508 to be legally binding.