2008 Farm Bill expiration compounds weather droughts & rising input costs
By Cong. Randy Neugebauer
Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON D.C. Im very disappointed that the Farm Bill is expiring without a new 5-year program in place. Our
farmers keep America fed and clothed while risking the uncertainties of weather droughts & rising input costs. Now theyll also have to deal with uncertain policy when making their planting decisions for next season said
Cong. Randy Neugebauer (TX-19) following the 2008 Farm Bill expiring on September 30 2012.
The House Agriculture Committee passed a Farm Bill extension with bipartisan support. H.R. 6082 the
Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act repeals or consolidates more than 100 programs cuts billions of dollars of discretionary spending authority and saves $35 billion in mandatory funding.
It includes a market-based group crop insurance program proposed by Congressman Neugebauer.
Ill continue to push for long-term policy to give our farmers and ranchers a measure of predictability in a risky industry" Neugebauer said.
Earlier this summer I helped pass
H.R. 6233 the Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act which provides critical relief for producers struggling with dry weather. Right now 70 of the country is classified as abnormally dry or
worse according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. And for the farmers and ranchers in Texas this is the second year in a row of a brutal drought.
This bill reauthorizes a number of disaster assistance programs including the Livestock Indemnity Program the Livestock Forage Program and the Emergency Assistance for Livestock Bees and Fish program. It pays for this assistance by offsetting spending in conservation programs. All told this bill will actually reduce our spending by $256 million over ten years.
The Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act is good policy given our current situation but it is not a five-year farm bill which remains critical for our farmers and ranchers. This drought underscores the risk and uncertainty inherent in farming and demonstrates why a safety net is critical to maintaining our countrys food security.
Our producers need the certainty of a long-term farm bill so they can plan for upcoming plantings and harvests. Farmers may be forced to deal with unpredictable weather but Congress can at least give them predictable policy. Ill continue working to pass a five-year farm bill that gets signed in to law.
EPAs attempt to target Texas struck down by U.S. Court
Last week a U.S. Court of Appeals struck down a flawed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that would have hurt electric plants throughout the United States particularly those in Texas.
According to the Clean Air Act if pollution from one state is causing a neighboring state to fail federal air quality tests then the EPA can order the upwind state to reduce its emissions that are causing the problem. This rule
known as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule was supposed to reduce air pollution. However the EPA tried to take it one step further and impose massive requirements on some states.
The Court found that the EPA stretched their authority by dictating how states would reduce emissions instead of allowing states to design their own plans.
EPA regulations continue to be too burdensome for energy producers in our country and particularly in our state. More regulations from this misguided bureaucracy result in less energy production and fewer jobs.
With unemployment above 8 percent the Obama administration should be doing everything it can to expand the development of our domestic resources not hinder it by imposing new regulations whenever it can. I am continuing to fight for increased energy production in our country to spur the economic growth we need.
Working to Defend Taxpayer Interests
I was honored to be named a Taxpayer Hero" for the first session of the 112th Congress by the
Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW). The CCAGWs objective is to increase transparency minimize waste permanently eliminate earmarks and reduce the ever-growing national debt.
CCAGW determined which Members of Congress are Taxpayer Heroes based on votes on issues that cut government spending and create opportunities. For instance I voted against $2.5 trillion in spending on Obamacare.
I am proud to stand up for American taxpayers in Congress and I look forward to every opportunity I have to support the rights of families and businesses.
Congressman Randy Neugebauer represents the 27 Texas Panhandle counties included in the 19th District of Texas. Since taking office June 5 2003 currently in his 5th term he serves as Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations and is also a member of both the House Agriculture Committee and the Science & Technology Committee.
