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Farming & Agriculture
A nation must provide its citizens freedom and security. To accomplish this, a nation must be able to defend itself and feed itself. We have learned how disastrous it is to be dependent on other countries for our energy needs - we must never be dependent for our food needs. Being able to feed ourselves is not just sound economic and agricultural policy, it is wise national security policy. Besides growing our food, our farmers are growing our energy and leading the way to energy independence. We need more ethanol, including cellulose-based ethanol from sources such as switch grass and agricultural residues. We need more bio-fuels and bio-diesel from food processing wastes, such as fat from processing plants and used cooking oils. We need methane gas from livestock and dairy operations. These alternative fuels will not only make us independent, they will also provide additional markets for our farmers' products and create more jobs in rural areas. We take for granted that our food is not only plentiful and diverse, but also inexpensive. As a percentage of income, we spend about half what people in other developed countries do, which gives us an enormous economic advantage. We have so much more money to spend on discretionary items. Part of the reason prices are low is that subsidies keep production at high levels, so keeping American farmers in business is not just good for them but for all of us. We must continue subsidies because our farmers compete with highly subsidized farmers in Europe and Asia, and they face fixed costs (land, equipment, seed, supplies) whether or not they produce a crop. Subsidies insulate farmers from natural disasters like droughts, floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes, as well as from sudden spikes in the price of fuel, feed, and fertilizer. Coming from a family of farmers, I want to help rural families meet and overcome the challenges of rural life because I know that for all our advances, our country’s best hope in the 21st century lies in preserving the values and viability of the American Heartland and that every American benefits from the hard work of our family farmers and those living in rural America. As your Representative, I will work to revitalize rural America. Fair Price with a Strong Safety Net. While fighting to ensure that family farmers receive a fair price, I will help maintain and build upon a strong safety net of farm programs that support family farmers and ranchers, not corporate agribusiness. Competitive Marketplaces. I will push legislative action to provide significant resources to the Department of Agriculture, Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to aggressively investigate allegations of anticompetitive practices and activity in the agricultural market. I also support strengthening USDA’s oversight and enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act. Fair and Balanced Trade. I will push Congress and our political leadership to aggressively enforce current trade agreements, negotiate new ones that include labor and environmental standards, and stop foreign governments from manipulating their currency to lower the cost of doing business with America. New Markets for Agricultural Goods. I will promote new opportunities for American farmers by support legislation that opens up additional markets for our agricultural products worldwide. The Safest Food Supply in the World. I support investing in our nation’s infrastructure to ensure that food can be easily and safely transported. I also support investing in efforts to bolster local capacity to produce, process and distribute foods so that America’s food supply is not vulnerable in times of national or global crises. I support country-of-origin labeling and rigorous inspection of imported products. New Opportunities and New Beginnings. As your Representative, I will support legislative action to create financial assistance plans for young farmers seeking to farm in sustainable ways. Stewards of America’s Land. I support providing a tax credit of up to $3,000 to farmers and ranchers who enroll their land in carbon trading programs or re-appropriate working lands for hunting, fishing and wildlife preserves. I will also seek to expand programs designed to assist farmers and ranchers in becoming more energy efficient and that provide grants, loans and loan guarantees to assist farmers in purchasing renewable energy systems and making energy efficiency improvements. |
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