Leading Farm Bill Reform Expert Launches Blog As Legislative Action Heats Up in Congress
WASHINGTON, June 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — A leading Farm Bill reform expert, Environmental Defense Farm Policy Campaign Director Scott Faber, today will launch a blog called “The Ruminant” to respond to rapidly changing developments in the debate over congressional renewal of the Farm Bill this summer. Faber has testified before Congress on the issue and been quoted in many news outlets, including: Agweek, Associated Press, Congressional Quarterly Today, Delta Farm Press, Des Moines Register, Gannett News Service, Knight Ridder-McClatchy Newspapers, Los Angeles Times, The National Journal, Reuters, Southeast Farm Press, Southwest Farm Press, States News Service, The Washington Post and Western Farm Press.
Faber’s blog launch coincides with a vote today by the House Committee on Agriculture’s Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management about whether to increase depression-era farm subsidies that help few farmers and violate international trade agreements. Specifically, the Subcommittee is expected to approve a hike in target prices for wheat, soybeans, oats and barley.
“The proposal would modestly tweak the price guarantees that make some forms of farming about as risky as crossing at the light,” Faber notes on the blog (see entire blog at: http://environmentaldefenseblogs.org/healthyfarms). “As a result, most farm spending would continue to flow to a handful of farmers in a handful of districts — farmers in just 19 congressional districts would continue to collect more than half of all farm spending.”
In fact, eight of the top ten congressional districts collecting about one-third of all farm spending between 2003 and 2005 are represented by legislators who serve on the Committee (see breakdown at http://www.ewg.org/sites/farmbill2007/cdlist.php).
“It should be no surprise that the fox is getting second helpings from the hen house. After all, he isn’t just guarding the hen house — he built the hen house,” Faber concludes. “Those who hoped the 2007 Farm Bill would help many more farmers and communities might hope that the next Farm Bill will be written on the floor of the House — where the chickens have the foxes outnumbered.”
Environmental Defense is a member of left-right alliance of groups that support Farm Bill reform proposals to provide more funding for voluntary conservation programs that reward farmers who offer to meet our environmental challenges, such as providing clean air, clean water, clean energy, and wildlife habitat. Unlike subsidies, conservation payments flow to all farmers, ranchers and landowners regardless of what they grow, how much they grow or where they grow it. As a result of inadequate conservation funding of the current Farm Bill that took effect in 2002, the U.S. Department of Agriculture now turns away two out of three farmers who are eligible for conservation payments.
A majority of the U.S. House of Representatives (219 members) have cosponsored legislation endorsed by Environmental Defense that would dramatically increase funding for voluntary conservation programs in the Farm Bill. These bills include The Healthy Farms, Foods and Fuels Act (H.R. 1551/S.919), EAT Healthy America Act (H.R. 1600), Chesapeake’s Healthy and Environmentally Sound Stewardship of Energy and Agriculture Act (H.R. 1766/S.1346), Farm, Nutrition, and Community Investment Act (H.R. 2144), NOURISH Act (H.R. 2401) and FARM 21 Act (H.R. 2720/S. 1422).
For more information about Farm Bill reform, visit http://www.environmentaldefense.org/go/farms/.
Environmental Defense, a leading national nonprofit organization, represents more than 500,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. http://www.environmentaldefense.org/.
Contact: Scott Faber, sfaber@environmentaldefense.org, (202)230-1899-c Meghan Stasz, mstasz@environmentaldefense.org, (202)572-3373-w
Environmental Defense
CONTACT: Scott Faber, +1-202-230-1899 (cell),sfaber@environmentaldefense.org, or Meghan Stasz, +1-202-572-3373,mstasz@environmentaldefense.org, both of Environmental Defense
Web site: http://www.environmentaldefense.org/http://environmentaldefenseblogs.org/http://www.ewg.org/