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Frankly Speaking - Agriculture
Implementation of Free Trade Agreements Should Happen Now
Aug 8, 2011Delays in implementation of three pending free trade agreements between the U.S. and Colombia, Panama and South Korea are costing the United States in market share and access to foreign competitors. Recently, the White House insisted on Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) in return for implementing free trade agreements. This further delays the creation of many jobs and economic growth in America. Trade agreements have already been negotiated, agreed to and signed by the United States, however, an up or down vote in Congress has yet to occur.
Filed under: AgricultureBurdensome Federal Regulations Hurt American Farmers and Ranchers
Feb 11, 2011American agriculture is under attack. Every day the administration seems to demonstrate just how vastly disconnected it is from the folks who feed us. The administration fails to realize that rural America’s economy is dependent on agriculture. The in-your-face-approach that the administration has taken regarding government regulation has increased the cost of doing business for America’s farmers and ranchers. If the administration is allowed to continue down this path, the only choice for many farmers and ranchers will be to stop farming altogether.
Filed under: Agriculture
New Year, New Congress
Dec 23, 20102010 was a challenging year in this country, as American families lived through record high unemployment rates and a lagging economy. And much to their disappointment, their elected officials in Washington seemed more concerned with making government bigger than creating jobs. During the 50 town hall meetings I held this year, my constituents voiced their discontent with what was happening and I joined them in their frustration at leaders in Washington’s failure to listen to them. Whether the trillion-dollar government takeover of health care, the out-of-control federal spending that has
Filed under: AgricultureNational Tragedy Should Not Be Exploited to Pass Harmful Cap-and-Tax Legislation
Jun 23, 2010On April 20, 2010, an explosion occurred on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico that set off a chain of events leading to one of the worst environmental disasters – if not the worst – our country has ever faced. The explosion caused three leaks in an underwater oil well, spilling tens of thousands of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico on a daily basis. In fact, at its worst, the government estimates that the well was leaking between 12,000 and 19,000 barrels of oil each day before BP’s latest effort to contain it.
Filed under: AgricultureReining in the EPA
Mar 5, 2010My Republican colleagues and I introduced a measure, H.J. 77, in the House of Representatives that would rein in the aggressive power-grab of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Last December the EPA released an endangerment finding which stated that gases such as methane and carbon dioxide were a threat to public health and should be regulated under the Clean Air Act. This endangerment finding is really just an underhanded way of imposing cap and tax regulations on the American people.
Filed under: AgricultureChange We Don't Want
Jan 20, 2010The resounding victory by Republican Scott Brown in the Massachusetts special election last night demonstrated a fact that President Obama might not be too happy with: the winds of change can blow both ways. The people of Massachusetts – an historically liberal state – spoke with one voice to reject his legislative agenda and to loudly say no to a government takeover of health care, no to a $600 billion national energy tax, and no to an economic policy of borrow, tax, and spend.
Filed under: AgricultureCap-and-Tax Bad for Farmers, Rural America
Dec 4, 2009We like to say that we have the safest, most abundant, most affordable food and fiber supply in the world. But this isn’t just a boastful expression, it is a reality. Our farmers and ranchers are responsible for feeding folks living in our country and throughout the world.
But, cap and tax legislation threatens that safe, abundant and affordable food and fiber supply. The agriculture industry, as we know it, will not survive under the heavy burdens of a cap and tax policy.
Filed under: AgricultureUSDA Study on Cap & Trade Bill Is an Incomplete Analysis
Jul 24, 2009Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a preliminary analysis of the effects H.R. 2454, the cap and trade legislation, will have on the livelihoods of our farmers and ranchers.
Filed under: Agriculture