Farm Bill
Today (and maybe tomorrow) the Senate will be voting on amendments to the Farm Bill, which includes subsidies to American farmers both large and small.
The problem with these subsidies is that when big-business farmers receive millions of dollars in subsidies they end up driving down prices of these crops around the world. As a result, small farmers around the world can’t compete. For small farmers in the developing world, this means they stay trapped in poverty, unable to compete because their government can’t afford to underwrite their production.
The Farm Bill only comes up for renewal every 5 years, so if we don’t change it now, we won’t get another shot until 2012. The status quo is a promise of 4 more years of extreme poverty to millions of people, so we are asking our Senators to vote YES on two amendments that put a limit on the cash handouts given to big-agribusiness.
You can reach your Senators by calling the capitol switchboard at:
(202) 224-3121
When you get through, let them know you are a constituent and ask them to support:
1. The Lugar-Lautenberg Farm Ranch Equity Stewardship and Health (FRESH) Amendment.
The FRESH Amendment will provide a more effective safety net for all farmers regardless of what they grow or where they farm. The amendment reinvests $16 billion in savings over five years into several programs: $1.5 billion will go to new support for specialty crop farmers; $2.0 billion will go to improve diet and health; $6.2 billion will go to invest in popular conservation programs; $4.3 billion will go to help more hungry Americans; $3.0 billion will go to reduce the federal deficit; and $1.6 billion will go to support investments in renewable energy. The amendment will also bring our farm policy into compliance with international trade rules-removing the threat of real threat of retaliation.
2. The Grassley-Dorgan Payment Limits Amendment.
The Grassley-Dorgan Payment Limits Amendment will place a real limit on the amount of money any one entity can receive, and it will close loopholes that allow some producers to evade limits altogether. This amendment will level the playing field for family farms and rural communities by producing budget savings that can be reinvested into programs such as nutrition, conservation, and rural development-that deliver enhanced social benefits.
Yesterday, members of the Farm Bill Working Group of Ohio went on a mission in downtown Columbus to deliver a faith-based sign-on letter to the offices of Senators Sherrod Brown and George Voinovich.
As seen in the pictures, our team includes: Jerry Freewalt (Columbus Catholic Diocese), Mark Diemer (Grace of God Lutheran Church), Gini Lohmann Bauman (Sojourners), Larry Hollar (Bread for the World). Being the group photographer that day, I was included in spirit.
The sign-on letter included faith leaders from Central and Southern Ohio representing over 2,000 congregations and over 650,000 people of faith.
There are two purposes for this sign-on letter:
1. To show the Ohio senators that the faith community cares about these issues; and
2. To urge the Senate to push for a better and stronger Farm Bill that helps farmers domestically while keeping in mind farmers globally.
Beth Thames, the Deputy State Director for Senator Brown, and Lynn Stevens, the Community Relations Coordinator for Senator Voinovich, gladly accepted the letters and took the time to hear our concerns. Our mission is over but the mission for the Senate is just beginning. Hopefully we will have some good news this Fall.
-Katie Andrews, ONE Regional Organizer
This is an abridge legislative update — it is August recess after all.
The Farm Bill – The U.S. Congress has an unique moment to reform the Farm Bill this year to help small farmers in America and in developing countries.
Updates:
- Last week, Speaker Pelosi said on camera that she has “always wanted” a tougher limit on farm subsidies (a payment limit so wealthy farmers don’t continue to receive a government check) than the one included in the House-passed farm bill.
- The Senate Farm Bill will likely to be marked-up in committee during the third week of September and the Senate’s support for a tougher payment limit is growing – Obama, Durbin, Brown, Dorgan, Grassley have all come out publicly supporting a stronger cap.
The Millennium Challenge Account – A U.S. government program that rewards countries that do right by their citizens through long-term, larger than typical grants. Beyond working as an incentive against corruption, the process is additionally unique because it is transparent and citizen led.
Update:
-The list of signatories is growing. Republicans: Senators John Sununu, Norm Coleman, Johnny Isakson, Chuck Hagel, Richard Lugar, Gordon Smith, Richard Burr, John Warner and David Vitter. Democrats: Senators Christopher Dodd, Russ Feingold, Joe Lieberman and Sheldon Whitehouse
Sen. Obama was in Nashua yesterday to talk with New Hampshire voters about why he wants to be the next president of the United States. In his speech, he spoke about the need to fight AIDS and poverty in places like Africa and his plan to double US aid in these areas.
He also spoke about reforming the Farm Bill in the Senate and said how important it was for the Senate to shift farming payments. He even noted how many of these payments have been wasted and been given to deceased people and fortune 500 companies. By reforming the Farm Bill, we have a chance to help small US farms at the same time we allow poor African farmers to trade their way out of poverty.
After the event, Sen. Obama went around and shook hands with people and met some ONE members in the crowd. The Kinney’s were there and their daughter Carly and her friend Chandler, in ONE shirts, were able to thank Senator Obama for remembering the poorest people in the world. I was able to snap a quick photo as Sen. Obama thanked us and he moved down the line…only to find more ONE members thanking him for talking about AIDS and poverty in Africa.
Across the nation, ONE members are using their voice on behalf of the poorest of the poor, and the over 2.4 million Americans that know our country can beat global AIDS and end extreme global poverty when we act as ONE. ONE Vote ’08 is making sure the next president of the United States – Republican or Democrat, man or woman – will be a leader in this global emergency!
-Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Field Organizer
Hi everyone,
We just got word that Oxfam America Vice President Jim Lyons will be on Anderson Cooper 360 tonight at 10:00 ET (7:00 PT) on CNN, to discuss the Farm Bill. Make sure you tune in and let us know what you thought.
Thanks!
Tim Fullerton, Oxfam America
After we posted that the Fairness Amendment failed, an anonymous member added this comment.
An excerpt:
“This year…I and the 2.4 million other members of ONE learned about the farm bill and how it effects the lives of small farmers here and around the world, and we — for the first time ever– were given a chance to act.
By the thousands and the tens of thousands and the hundreds of thousands we made our voices heard. We wrote letters to the editor of papers all over the country. We called our congressmen and our senators. We met in their offices and made our case eye to eye. We sent faxes. We forwarded information to our friends, who passed it on to their friends. We turned decades of silence into the first globally conscious movement to change the farm bill ever.
Yes, it’s now clear the cynical defenders of the status quo that have been preparing a well oiled, massively funded lobbying machine for years will get most of what they want. But not all. Because this year, the billions who live or die by the decisions made in Washington finally found a voice to echo for them down the corridors of American power. They found my voice. They found your voice. The found our voice.
This round we learned to to speak for and with the people of the world, together as ONE. No, we did not win all we had hoped. But we have forever changed the game. Next round, there will be millions more of us speaking with greater strength than ever before.
Disappointing but not surprising. This was an amazing effort by all. Never before has such a diverse group come together to support reform that would benefit family farmers here at home and abroad.
Thanks for all the calls, letters, meetings, statements and releases. This was never going to be easy but we made major strides toward reform. The House took the first step, now it is up to the Senate to capitalize on the momentum that has been built.
