CONTACT YOUR SENATORS ON THE 2007 FARM, FOOD, AND FUEL BILL
The 2007 Farm Bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday, July 27th with a vote of 231 to 191, after surprisingly little debate.
The bill now moves to the U.S. Senate where the pressure is on to adopt commodity limits that might finally break the agricultural subsidies deadlock that has gripped the Doha round of WTO negotiations since the dramatic collapse of negotiations in Cancun in 2003. President Bush’s threat to veto the farm bill, unless subsidies per farm are capped at a level lower than the House limit of one million dollars per farm, may move the Senate in that direction. Farmer’s groups and farm state leaders have been vocal in their disapproval of the direct payments system, a form of subsidies in which farmers are given yearly payouts – with an estimated $26 billion in taxpayer money over the next five years.1
Another troubling aspect of the house bill that has less chance of being addressed by the Senate include the failure to establish mechanisms to allow new farmers and ranchers, especially those of color, to survive in their chosen line of work. Such mechanisms might include a special loan program with reduced interest, a farmer-to-farmer buddy system, and extension services. Less than one percent of America’s farmers are under 25 years of age, threatening the loss of rural ways of life and rural communities as older generations become unable to farm their lands.2
Environmentalists would like to see more funding for grassland preservation, through a program that allows farmers to share the cost of protecting uncultivated areas. Current inadequate funding levels mean that millions of farmers who apply to participate in this program are rejected. The current bill also provides for the proliferation of corn-based ethanol, seriously threatening millions of acres of grasslands, especially in fast-developing states like California.3 If no limits are placed on corn-based ethanol production, much of the nation’s grasslands genetic diversity is at risk of being plowed under in the name of agribusiness fuel profits.
VISIT YOUR SENATOR in August while they are in their home states and tell them what needs to be included in the Farm Bill to make it fair for small farmers, rural families, consumers and the environment.
Sources:
1. Agricultural Policy Analysis Center, University of Tennessee.
2. Center for Rural Affairs
3. The Ruminant, Environmental Defense
HOW TO CONTACT YOUR SENATORS:
1. Call your senators
If you don’t know your Senators’ contact information, call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. Or look it up here: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
ALL Senators are important to contact, but if your Senators is on the Agriculture Committee, they ESPECIALLY need to hear from you because they will be marking up the Farm Bill in September. To see if your Senator is on the Agriculture Committee, go to http://agriculture.senate.gov/sen.htm
2. Fax
If you can, request your Senators’ FAX numbers and compose a brief letter. (Note: emails are not advised because they tend to get lost or ignored. Calls are recorded and faxed letters go right to the appropriate aide.
3. Meet them in their offices
Senators will be in their HOME STATES during the August Recess! Contact their local offices for appointments. Meeting with aides who handle the farm bill can be very effective.
4. Project site visits
Many senators will accept invitations to tour community food projects including farms, community gardens, farmers’ markets, and other activities that highlight local food systems. Invite the press to cover their visit. It’s easy to find your legislators ¬just call their local office and ask to speak to their scheduler. They may also post events on their websites.
5. Letters to the editor
Editorials in local papers can also be extremely successful, and we encourage you to continue submitting them. Sample op-eds and letters to the editor can be found at www.foodsecurity.org/policy under “Farm Bill Materials.”