As Farm Bill Draft is Considered, Donnelly Highlights Issues Important to Indiana Farmers
Targeted News Service -- WASHINGTON, DC -- July 10, 2012 -- Today, Congressman Joe Donnelly sent a letter to members of the House Committee on Agriculture to highlight three issues of importance to Hoosier farmers: removing unnecessary regulatory burdens, protecting access to crop insurance, and easing market access for biofuels. The full House Committee on Agriculture will begin debating and considering amendments to the new Farm Bill tomorrow, Wednesday, July 11."In their line of work, farmers face an incredible amount of uncertainty. This summer's drought shows the impact uncertainty can have on the agricultural community. It is important to let farmers reap the rewards of their hard work, while also putting in place a safety net in the event of natural disasters, sharp market downturns, and other events outside of a farmer's control," Donnelly said. "That's why I encourage the members of the Committee on Agriculture to consider my suggestions so that America's agricultural industry can continue driving our economy and strengthening our communities."
In the letter, Donnelly highlighted three issues important to Hoosier farmers:
Farmers often face unnecessary and duplicative regulatory requirements. The House Committee on Agriculture's draft Farm Bill includes legislative text from a Donnelly co-sponsored bill, H.R. 872, The Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act. This legislation would prevent duplicative permitting requirements for pesticide applications and has already passed the House of Representatives, with Donnelly's support, by a vote of 292-130 on March 31, 2011, and is currently pending before the Senate.
The Senate version of the Farm Bill would make crop insurance premium subsidies available only to those who are in compliance with conservation requirements for wetlands and highly erodible lands. Farmers know that conservation is important and have implemented many voluntary conservation measures on their farms. Donnelly feels the House version of the Farm Bill should balance the need to encourage participation in conservation programs and ensuring farmers have access to appropriate levels of crop insurance protections.
The current draft of the Farm Bill eliminates funding for the installation of ethanol blender pumps. Donnelly is a strong supporter of ethanol, which gives consumers an option of a cleaner, renewable fuel made from corn grown in the United States, including Indiana. In 2007, Donnelly introduced The E-85 PUMP Act, which amended the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act to explicitly prohibit an oil company from restricting the right of a franchisee to install qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling equipment, such as E-85 pumps.
Donnelly served on the House Committee on Agriculture during the writing of the 2007 Farm Bill.
You can download a PDF of Donnelly's letter here (http://donnelly.house.gov/7.10.12%20Letter%20to%20Lucas%20and%20Peterson.pdf) or read the full text below:
July 10, 2012
The Honorable Frank Lucas
The Honorable Collin Peterson
Chairman
Ranking Member
Committee on Agriculture
Committee on Agriculture
Dear Chairman Lucas and Ranking Member Peterson,
America's agricultural industry has been one of the brightest spots in our economy over the last several years. Last year in my home state of Indiana, Hoosier farmers produced over $10 billion in economic activity. As a representative from a district with nearly 5,000 family farmers, I have heard from many of my constituents about the importance of Congress allowing farmers to use their ingenuity, hard work, and incredible dedication to create their own rewards, while putting in place a safety net designed to protect against natural disasters and sharp market downturns.
As the House Agriculture Committee begins marking up its draft of the next Farm Bill, I would like to highlight for the committee several areas of concern to Hoosier farmers. I have listened to many constituents express the need to eliminate unnecessary and duplicative regulations, and as a result, I was encouraged by your inclusion in the draft Farm Bill of the legislative text of a bill I support, H.R. 872, The Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act. This legislation would clarify that farmers do not need an additional Clean Water Act permit when properly applying agents already approved under existing law. I have also heard concerns from farmers and lenders about potentially losing access to crop insurance premium subsides if one of their fields is out of compliance with a conservation plan, and I hope that the committee will find the appropriate balance between encouraging participation in important conservation programs and ensuring that farmers have access to appropriate levels of crop insurance protections. Also, I would like the committee to reconsider its decision to eliminate funding that encourages the installation of ethanol blender pumps. Hoosier farms are a great source of renewable energy, and I will continue to advocate for improving market access to biofuels as part of a strategy to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
Having served on the committee during the passage of the previous Farm Bill, I know firsthand the difficulty of creating a comprehensive Farm Bill. I commend the two of you for your bipartisan work on the draft measure of this bill, and I encourage the other members of the committee to follow your example. I look forward to examining the bill reported out by your committee and evaluating how it would impact Indiana.
Sincerely,
Joe Donnelly
Member of Congress
(c) 2012 Targeted News Service
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