The U.S. agriculture industry continues to produce the safest and most abundant food supply in the world. Our farmers and ranchers have adapted to expanding global markets, increased input costs, and more stringent state and federal regulations. It is an honor to serve on the House Agriculture Committee and fight for the agriculture needs of our State.
A New Farm Bill
As farmers make plans for the 2008 crop, they face increased uncertainty from Washington. The House Agriculture Committee completed its work in a timely manner and crafted a bi-partisan bill that adequately supports our farmers, and contains the necessary reforms to stay within the constraints of the budget. While this version of the Farm Bill received unanimous support in the Committee, the Democrat leadership of the House decided to add unnecessary tax increases to the bill.
After loosing $60 billion for the commodity programs, our farmers were told that there was no more money for agriculture. Despite providing no additional support for farmers, Democrat leaders added nearly $7 billion in tax increases to the Farm Bill in order to pay for international food aid programs and other non-agriculture programs. This is the first time in history that taxes have been added to a Farm Bill.
Because of their disregard for American farmers, Democrats have taken the Farm Bill down a difficult and unnecessary path. I find it disturbing that the Farm Bill is becoming less and less about farmers. The House-passed version of the bill spends $769 billion over the next 10 years. Of this total, only 13% of the funding goes to our farmers and over 66% of the funding is for nutrition and foreign aid programs. The House of Representatives and the Senate passed different versions of the Farm Bill by the end of 2007, and work has begun to draft a compromise bill that the President will sign.
As the conference process continues, I will work vigorously to remove the unnecessary taxes and to get the Farm Bill back on track so farmers and ranchers can plan for the 2008 crop with confidence. I will continue to support our rural communities in Southwest Louisiana.
Food Safety
We continue to learn about more and more products being recalled because of safety concerns. Furthermore, the recent announcement regarding the selling of processed meat from cloned animals raises a variety of concerns. Without question, we are not doing enough to provide an adequate inspection and verification of our imported goods.
I look forward to working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the House Agriculture Committee to improve the quality and safety of our food products. It is important to note that it is completely unrealistic to have 100% inspection of the items entering this country, regardless of whether it is a food item or manufactured product. With that said, I still believe there is much more that can be done to improve the safety standards as well as the public notification methods.
Part of the problem is the lack of available U.S. inspectors in foreign ports. The Committee fully understands the funding shortages for these inspectors, and is working with the Department to find ways to shift resources from less critical areas thereby increasing the manpower of our inspectors. Not only should Congress work to increase foreign inspections, but we must also maintain a strong domestic farm economy. The U.S. produces the safest food in the world and we must not loose this industry to foreign competitors.
I am always eager to hear from my constituents. If you would like to speak with my staff about agriculture and food safety legislation, please contact my Washington, D.C. office at 202-225-2031.
