| American agricultural policy underwent a significant change when, beginning in 1965, the government shifted from production controls to export expansion in a search to solve the problem of low prices for agricultural products. Over the next twenty years, Thomas S. Foley, who represented Washington's Fifth District, played an important role in the implementation of export-market policies.; A Democrat, Foley worked tirelessly to increase agricultural exports. He helped pass legislation that encouraged free trade and limited government export controls. Foley worked particularly hard to promote the wheat trade with Japan, a leading American wheat importer. He also championed wheat exports to the Soviet Union and China, despite opposition in the House to trade with Communist nations. In the 1970s, he wholeheartedly supported free trade and repeatedly criticized the administration's policies of using grain exports as a diplomatic weapon. In the 1980s, however, as he moved up the political ladder to become Majority Leader and then Speaker of the House, he became less committed to free trade because he had to balance national interests with those of his district.; This dissertation examines Foley's role in shaping agricultural legislation regarding wheat exports generally, and then focuses specifically on his efforts to encourage markets in Japan, the People's Republic of China, and the U.S.S.R. It argues that Foley's political style of gentle persuasion and compromise, combined later with his leadership position in the Democratic party and Congress, made him a forceful advocate of trade relations that benefited his constituents, many of whom were wheat farmers who depended heavily on exports. But, as Foley ascended the political ladder, he increasingly felt the tension between the interests of his constituents and the demands that national leadership imposed.; The first in-depth analysis of Foley's role in the U.S. wheat trade, this study relies mainly on Foley's Congressional Papers at Washington State University, the Congressional Record, and local newspapers. |
