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Agriculture
The issue of Agriculture is important to our district and to my work in Congress.
In the center of America’s Heartland, Missouri is a proud and longstanding agricultural state. With over 100,000 farms, agriculture brings over $33 billion to Missouri’s economy. How we support agricultural education and research and manage and preserve our agricultural lands today will affect the prosperity of our region in the coming years.
Farm Bill
A new farm bill must be considered in 2012. The new bill must provide financial help for farmers when times are tough, continue agriculture’s longstanding interest in stewardship and conservation, and encourage and promote continued expanded trade. The farm bill ought to better assist beginning and young farmers and continue to support agricultural education and research. As you may know, the FY13 Agriculture Appropriations Act provides funding for all of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, except for the Forest Service, as well as the Food and Drug Administration and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The House version, H.R. 5973, would reduce discretionary Agriculture spending to $19.4 billion, a cut of $365 million from last year's levels. H.R. 5973 decreases funding for rural development ($153 million from last year), international food aid ($300 million from FY12), agricultural research, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and conservation programs. The cuts to the CFTC are particularly alarming, as the CFTC is the federal agency that regulates speculation in the oil futures market. The Administration requested $308 million for the CFTC for FY2013 to fulfill expanded responsibilities after the 2010 financial reform law. The House bill instead appropriates only $180 million.Additionally, H.R. 5973 included several policy provisions. One of these, Section 773, would create a loophole for farmers to continue to produce genetically-engineered (GE) crops even if a court finds that GE crops previously approved by the USDA as not subject to regulation actually should be regulated. This provision would allow the Secretary of Agriculture to give temporary approval for continued production of the crops while the agency conducts further analysis. Other policy provisions include tightening farm commodity program payment limits and requiring USDA to allow white potatoes for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) feeding program.
The bill passed the House by a vote of 223-197. I did not vote for the bill, because I believe Congress can better provide assistance by passing a true farm bill. Additionally, specialty crop growers were left out of the disaster assistance in HR 6233, dairy farmers in some drought-affected areas would not be eligible, and the bill was paid for by cutting conservation programs that provide financial assistance to farmers to conserve farmland.
Anti-Hunger Programs
According to the Census Bureau, 49.1 million Americans lived in poverty in 2010. This includes a staggering 13.6 million children and 6.2 million seniors. It is imperative that we not take nutrition benefits from Americans that are struggling to stay out of poverty and to feed themselves and their family. Nearly 46 million Americans rely on the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). Programs like SNAP and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) not only provide money for local economy stimulation, but also keep American families nourished and out of poverty. Even with a strong SNAP program, 14.5% of American households experienced food insecurity in 2010. I support continued funding for these programs in the Farm Bill and in yearly appropriations.
Local & Regional Food Systems & Food Deserts
Local food systems have the potential to yield significant benefits to the economy and create jobs. According to a recent study by the Union of Concerned Scientists, a modest amount of public funding for between 100-500 farmers markets could create as many as 13,500 jobs over a five-year period. By providing further investment in local and regional food systems, we can bolster agriculture and put people back to work.
According to the Department of Agriculture, more than 13.5 million people live in a food desert; they live more than a mile from a grocery store or large supermarket in an urban area or more than 10 miles away in a rural area. With support for local and regional food systems and programs such as the Healthy Food Financing Initiative and the Let’s Move Campaign, we can support local farmers, provide healthy food choices for families, and help our children grow up healthier.
For more information concerning my work and views on the issue of Agriculture, please contact my Washington, DC office.
I look forward to your feedback.
Thank you.