Lucas Discusses Threats to American Agriculture with Farm BroadcastersSays Washington is piling economic burdenson top of our farmers and ranchers
Washington, DC,
May 5, 2010
MEDIA CONTACT: Today, Ranking Member Frank Lucas discussed the many threats American agriculture and rural communities face with members of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting at their annual Washington Watch event. Ranking Member Lucas issued a statement at the event in which he said:
"Like many Members, I travel across my district and talk to constituents about the challenges facing them. Frankly, they do not regard the stimulus package, Obamacare, cap and trade, and environmental policies such as new spray drift regulations, crop protection chemical reviews, and the EPA’s endangerment finding to be solutions to their problems. They ask why Washington can’t pass the already-negotiated free trade agreements, settle the death tax, and reduce a bloated federal government that spends too much money."
The full text of the statement is below:
Welcome to Washington and thank you for inviting me to participate in your annual Washington Watch program. It is a pleasure to be with you.
I would also like to thank you for your contributions as agriculture journalists and farm broadcasters. You make it possible for those living throughout rural America to stay informed about the issues that matter most to our farmers, ranchers, and citizens of rural communities.
As you know, Chairman Peterson has kicked-off the 2012 Farm Bill hearing process. I was pleased to be a part of the first set of field hearings in Iowa, Idaho, California and Wyoming this past weekend. And, I was also a part of the hearing in Washington a few weeks ago where Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack testified before the Agriculture Committee. I commend Chairman Peterson for starting this process early and believe the hearings will be beneficial as we move forward.
As we begin the process of preparing for the next farm bill, it’s important to consider the context in which our farmers and ranchers are operating these days. What have the Obama administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress done and what have they left undone? Like many Members, I travel across my district and talk to constituents about the challenges facing them. Frankly, they do not regard the stimulus package, Obamacare, cap and trade, and environmental policies such as new spray drift regulations, crop protection chemical reviews, and the EPA’s endangerment finding to be solutions to their problems. They ask why Washington can’t pass the already-negotiated free trade agreements, settle the death tax, and reduce a bloated federal government that spends too much money.
Agriculture’s Most Significant Threat:
Out-of-Touch Administration & Democratic Leadership "This leads me to what I would like to discuss with you today – the serious threats that American agriculture faces. The most significant is the tremendous disconnect between the people running Washington – the Obama Administration, the Democratic-controlled Congress and liberal special interests – and the needs and wants of the men and women who work in production agriculture and throughout rural America.
For the past year, the President and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have taken a governing approach that suggests they believe public policy should be in spite of the American people, instead of on behalf of the American people. They have dismissed the legitimate concerns the American people have raised regarding jobs, the economy, reckless spending, a national energy tax, and government-run health care. The message from this administration has been we know what’s best for you and we’re going to push our agenda through Congress. They’re not working to advance the interests of the American public; they’re working to advance their own interests and those of their extreme special interest allies. The debate in Washington over the last 16 months has been dominated by three major issues – a stimulus package that showed the Democrats’ commitment to trillion dollar deficits, the Democrat’s national energy tax, and the Democrats’ government takeover of health care. All three of these issues will have a huge impact on our farmers and ranchers.
But believe it or not, as big as those issues are it is only the beginning. And because of the incredible size and scope of their agenda, too little focus and attention has been paid to a long list of other issues which, when combined, reveals an ongoing effort that will make it impossible for farmers and ranchers to produce the food and fiber of this country. Or, it at least makes it impossible for them to do it in a way where they can make a living and also provide affordable products for American families to purchase.
This is what I want to discuss with you today, all of the many threats and economic burdens that Washington is piling on top of our farmers and ranchers.
Threat: Out-of-Control EPA, Banned Products, and a Backdoor Energy Tax
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a good place to start. It seems that every day the EPA is proposing a new regulation, facilitating new litigation, or otherwise allowing unelected bureaucrats to run wild across the farms and ranches of America. Under the Obama administration, this EPA is most interested in pursuing the extreme agenda of environmental groups with a blatant disregard for the impact it will have on our farmers and ranchers.
The development and use of vital crop protection tools have brought us the bounty produced by American agriculture. However, unless the EPA is reined in, safe and effective pesticides, herbicides, and other agriculture chemicals will be banned from use, and farmers and ranchers will be faced with a crippling array of new regulations and rules. Two recent EPA actions could result in these widely-used, safe and effective tools being removed the market:
The cap and trade legislation that Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Waxman envision is the single largest economic threat to the agriculture industry as well as the pocketbook of every American. Speaker Pelosi rammed the more than 1,000 page bill through the House and it narrowly passed in June. Now it’s bottled up in the Senate with Sen. Reid continuing to assert that the Senate will debate the bill soon.
Meanwhile, the administration has decided if it can’t pass cap and trade into law then it will have the EPA simply implement cap and trade by rulemaking.
The EPA must be stopped from telling our farmers and ranchers how to do their jobs. The only way we can do that is if those that have the most at stake remain engaged and vocal about the real world implications of the Obama EPA regulatory assault.
Threat: More Regulation & Bureaucracy
Washington and Congress Telling Farmers How to Farm Unfortunately, it is not just the EPA that wants to layer regulation after regulation on top of our producers; we also have others in Washington trying to tell our farmers and ranchers how to do their jobs. Some of my very senior colleagues in the House – working in conjunction with environmental and other liberal special interest groups and with Speaker Pelosi’s blessing – are getting in the game too.
Add all of these issues up and it is clear that Speaker Pelosi and her lieutenants in Congress, working in conjunction with Obama administration, want to dictate to farmers and ranchers how to feed the American public. They think bureaucrats in DC know better than farmers and ranchers. I disagree and, again, our producers must have their voices heard if we are to stop this assault on production agriculture coming from Washington, DC.
Threat: Extreme Animal Rights Activists
Animal agriculture is under assault by extremely well-funded animal rights activists who, at the very least, want to impose their own view of animal husbandry on the livestock community. There are many who believe the ultimate goal of these activists is the removal of animal products from the American diet. Unfortunately, these groups have powerful allies in Washington that want to help them achieve their objectives.
Threat: Missing Opportunities for Economic Growth. Where are the jobs?
I’ve talked about things that are being done to farmers and ranchers. But there’s an entire agenda that is quite frankly being ignored. It’s a list of issues that have not been acted on by Congress or the Administration that will allow our economy to grow and prosper. Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi and the Obama Administration are more interested in pursuing the agenda of their liberal special interests than passing legislation that has bipartisan support and which will allow us to create jobs and grow our economy.
Moving Forward
Time and again, the administration and the Democratic-controlled House have proven they are out of touch with farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. If we allow these folks to have their way, it’s going to be significantly more expensive for our farmers to have the necessary tools for agriculture production. It’s going to become increasingly more difficult for farmers to produce the same amount of product at the same high quality we have come to value. Ultimately, this means our food costs will dramatically increase and we will become more reliant on foreign food imports. But, worst of all, it means that the very livelihoods of our agricultural producers are put in jeopardy.
Our farmers and ranchers have been producing food and fiber for a long time. It’s fair to say we know what we're doing. Our success is demonstrated by the fact that such a small portion of our citizens now feed the remainder. But the policies of this administration and the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate are overreaching and misguided and they threaten the viability of our agriculture community and our economy as a whole.
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