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HELPING FARMERS AND RANCHERS IMPACTED BY THE DROUGHT
On Friday, I announced a two-month extension for emergency grazing on land designated as Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres. This is a positive step forward in the ongoing effort to relieve the pressure in the midst of this year’s historic drought.
Our fight here in Missouri has reached competent and caring ears in Washington. Still, we have many challenges ahead as we continue to rebuild from last year’s flood and face this disastrous drought.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced the extension as part of the Obama Administration and the Department of Agriculture’s commitment to the thousands of families and businesses affected by drought.
On August 23, 2012, along with six other members of Missouri’s Congressional Delegation, I sent a letter to the Farm Bureau Administrator Bruce Nelson requesting this 60-day extension for emergency grazing in Missouri.
While we have seen a little cooler weather lately, and Hurricane Isaac brought showers to parts of Missouri, these oppressive conditions are expected to continue. And I will continue, as well, monitoring the situation and working on behalf of all constituents to make sure when help is needed, it is there.
For the full text of the letter, visit my website, here.
UPDATE ON THE LIBERTY MEMORIAL
The House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee National Parks, Forests and Public Lands has scheduled a hearing for the new version the World War I bill, on September 11, at 2pm. It is my honor and pleasure to testify at this hearing in support of the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri.
This bill is in line with my previous legislation. It would establish a commission to ensure a suitable observance of the centennial of World War I, to designate memorials to the service of members of the United States Armed Forces in World War I, including a National World War I Memorial on the National Mall in the District of Columbia, and most importantly, it would designate the Liberty Memorial as “The National World War I Museum and Memorial.” You can read the entire bill for yourself by clicking here.
Mark your calendars for this hearing, and stay tuned for further updates.
JOBS NUMBERS
Today, as it does every month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report on our nation’s unemployment.
While there is more work that remains to be done, today’s employment report provides further evidence that the U.S. economy is continuing to recover from the worst downturn since the Great Depression. It is critical that we continue the policies that are building an economy that works for the middle class as we dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the severe recession that began in December 2007. The American Jobs Act would further investment in infrastructure to rebuild our Nation’s ports, roads and highways, and allocate assistance to State and local governments to prevent layoffs and to enable them to rehire hundreds of thousands of teachers and first responders. We should also consider extending federal unemployment insurance (UI) benefits beyond the end of the year. The Great Recession produced such a large jobs deficit and high unemployment that the labor market is still in far from good health, and emergency federal UI still has an important role to play in supporting unemployed workers and their families and the economy beyond the end of this year. The unemployment rate’s dip to 8.1 percent reflects a drop in labor force participation, not a strong labor market.
Congress enacted emergency federal UI in every major recession since 1958, and they have never allowed any of these previous programs to expire before unemployment fell to 7.2 percent or lower (see chart for the most recent five programs). As Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke said on August 31 at Jackson Hole, WY, “Unless the economy begins to grow more quickly than it has recently, the unemployment rate is likely to remain far above levels consistent with maximum employment for some time.”
Still, the monthly employment and unemployment figures can be volatile, and employment estimates can be subject to substantial revision. Therefore, it is important not to read too much into any one monthly report and it is informative to consider each report in the context of other data that are becoming available.
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Emanuel Cleaver, II
Member of Congress
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