----- Original Message ----- From: Scotty Johnson<mailto:[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> Sent: Wednesday, October 06, 2004 4:48 PM Subject: ACTION NEEDED! PROTECT FARM CONSERVATION DOLLARS Defenders of Wildlife Rural Updates! October 7, 2004 SPECIAL ACTION ALERT! TAKE ACTION: URGE CONGRESS TO PRESERVE FARM BILL CONSERVATION FUNDING!! Please call your Representatives and Senators TODAY and urge them not to raid the farm bill conservation programs to pay for agricultural disaster assistance! Congress is currently debating a measure to provide disaster assistance to producers who suffered damages from droughts, floods and hurricanes this year. These types of funding measures are usually designated as emergency spending. However, this year, the leadership in the House is considering offsetting the cost of the disaster assistance by taking money out of farm bill programs. Specifically, there is a move to pay for disaster assistance by imposing a multi-year cap on the Conservation Security Program. A host of commodity, conservation and producer groups are united in their opposition to opening the Farm Bill in order to pay for disaster assistance -- Defenders of Wildlife, National Wildlife Federation, Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, National Association of Conservation Districts, American Farm Bureau Federation, National Farmers Organization, National Farmers Union and American Corn Growers Assocation, to name just a few. But Congress needs to hear directly from you! Please call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Representative. (If you don't know your Representative, you can find out at www.vote<http://www.vote/>- smart.org). Ask to speak to their agriculture or conservation staff person. Tell them that you support the passage of a disaster assistance package but that it should be funded as emergency spending. It should not be funded by modifying or cutting any of the farm bill programs, particularly the conservation title programs like the Conservation Security Program. You can also point out that 26 producer and commodity groups and a dozen major conservation organizations are on record opposing funding disaster assistance through changes in the farm bill. Finally, please urge your Representative to relay your concerns to House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Please forward this alert to others in your action network, and please act quickly. Funding levels for important conservation programs, and the future of the CSP may depend on it! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask]