Posted by Jane Clark
Defenders Rural Updates!
November 27, 2001
Events that will shape the next farm bill are moving quickly in
Washington and your help is needed! See the action alerts below
and Please feel free to forward this information widely. To
subscribe to this free weekly newsletter go
to: www.familyfarmer.org/sections/ruralsubscribe.html
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1. Farm Bill in Senate This Week!(?)
2. Arctic Drilling and The Farm Bill
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1. FARM BILL IN SENATE THIS WEEK!(?)
With the Senate in a crunch to finish its business before the targeted
adjournment of December 8, reports keep circulating that the Farm
Bill will come up for a full Senate vote at any time. That said, there
is still no concrete indication of when to expect it -- leaving us with
the estimate of sometime between tomorrow and next Friday.
While the bill reported by the Senate Agriculture Committee is
better than the House bill passed in October, there is still plenty of
room for improvement: 1) The Senate bill subsidizes factory farm
livestock operations; 2) More investment in conservation is needed;
3) The Competition Title should be reinstated; 4) The Commodity
title won't help raise prices for farmers, and; 5) The forest
stewardship provisions pose serious ecological concerns and need
to be changed. In addition, there is rumor that an amendment that
would allow for drilling in the Arctic Refuge might be added to the
bill (see # 2 below). Please call your Senator TODAY and tell him
or her to support the above measures to improve the Farm Bill.
You can reach your Senator through the Capitol Switchboard at the
following toll free number 1-800-648-3516
For more information, please visit www.familyfarmer.org
2. ARCTIC DRILLING AND THE FARM BILL
Would Senate Republicans dead-set on drilling in the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) attempt to attach a rider onto
the upcoming farm bill? On top of rumors now circulating behind
closed doors in the capital, the Ancorage News is reporting that
Alaska Senator Frank Murkowski (R-AK) and Idaho Senator Larry
Craig are considering using the Farm Bill as a "vehicle" to push this
agenda. According to Craig, "Most of our farmers understand that
good farm policy is good energy policy, or vice versa, because they
use energy in a very extensive way." This leaves these oil state
Senators facing the challenge of convincing farmers that drilling in
the arctic, which will yield less that six months of oil and take ten
years to develop, is going to help oil prices and is a better idea than
development of local energy economies where farmers make money
from developing solar, wind and biomass. But, according to DC
insiders, drilling proponents are trying to take advantage of the fact
that many Senators including some who have opposed drilling in
the Arctic Refuge consider the Farm Bill to be "must-pass"
legislation and might be induced to vote for drilling in order to get a
Farm Bill passed this year. So far the oil lobby is not doing too
well. The nations two largest farm organizations, the National
Farmers Union and the American Farm Bureau Federation have
signed a letter asking Senate leaders "to oppose any effort to add
unrelated or non- agriculture related issues" to the farm bill. You
can tell your Senators the same by calling the Capitol Switchboard
at 202-224-3121.
For more information on the effects of drilling on the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge, and how America can meet its energy
needs and create jobs without drilling, please visit
http://www.savearcticrefuge.org" www.savearcticrefuge.org
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