[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 133 (Friday, October 5, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1816-E1818]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         THE FARM SECURITY ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 4, 2001

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, my office has been contacted by dozens of 
groups expressing concerns about the Farm Security Act (H.R. 2646). I 
submit the following letter on their behalf.

                                                  October 2, 2001.
       Dear Representative: The one hundred forty-eight (148) 
     groups listed below, from

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     across the country representing family farmers and ranchers, 
     sustainable agriculture, religious communities, environmental 
     and wildlife concerns, consumers, and many other 
     constituencies and issues have joined forces to urge you to 
     vote against the Farm Security Act of 2001 (H.R. 2646). As 
     agricultural and rural groups, we make this urgent plea to 
     vote against a farm bill with great reluctance. However, this 
     bill proposed by the House Agriculture Committee would 
     continue and expand misguided policies that have driven 
     commodity program spending to record high levels, while doing 
     little to stem family farm decline and falling far short of 
     providing solutions to the many conservation, rural 
     development, credit, research and other needs of America's 
     farmers, ranchers, and their communities. This nation needs a 
     Farm Bill that works for family farms, ranchers, rural 
     communities, consumers and the environment. Unfortunately, 
     H.R. 2646 fails to do this.
       Specifically, H.R. 2646 would:
       Unfairly subsidize the nation's very largest farms, while 
     encouraging overproduction, low prices, environmental 
     distress, and large government payments in perpetuity.
       Ignore the need for a competition title to address the 
     impact of rapid consolidation in agriculture and to check 
     anti-competitive behavior that harms farm and ranch families, 
     consumers, rural communities and the environment.
       Transform the Environmental Quality Incentives Program 
     (EQIP) into a subsidy program for huge, polluting, factory 
     livestock operations.
       Ignore the needs of beginning farmers and ranchers.
       Cap and severely limit funds for conservation technical 
     assistance for the Conservation Reserve and Wetlands Reserve 
     Programs.
       Weaken the highly successful Wetlands Reserve Program 
     (WRP).
       Phase out within the next five years nearly all direct 
     lending programs within USDA.
       Fail to increase the percentage of total farm bill funds 
     dedicated to conservation, and ignore the calls for a 
     comprehensive stewardship incentive program for working land.
       Take only minimal steps to support marketing innovation and 
     development and value-adding enterprises and to reverse the 
     decline in public support for agricultural research.
       Fail to address structural changes essential to assure fair 
     and equitable delivery of USDA programs and services to all 
     farmers, despite costly legal settlements brought on by USDA 
     actions.
       The results would do substantial harm to family farms, to 
     our communities and the environment. For years, family 
     farmers and ranchers and concerned citizens have been 
     developing solutions to agricultural problems and putting 
     them into practice on their farms and in their communities. 
     In our view, the bill reported out by the House Agriculture 
     Committee not only ignores these solutions, but in fact would 
     make them more difficult to achieve.
       H.R. 2646 was reported out of the House Agriculture 
     Committee in July 2001 after just 15 hours of debate. Federal 
     policy affecting our nation's agriculture system and food 
     supply for the next ten years is much too important to be 
     pushed through in a matter of days. This bill must go back to 
     the House Agriculture Committee for the substantial debate 
     and policy development process our nation needs and deserves.
       At a minimum, a new round of deliberations on the Farm Bill 
     by the House Agriculture Committee should include:
       Removal of biases against small and moderate-scale 
     agriculture, and assuring that all farmers receive equitable 
     access and service.
       Comprehensive assistance for all small-scale, socially 
     disadvantaged and new farmers and ranchers not served by 
     current programs.
       Restoration of direct lending for all family-size farms.
       Stewardship incentives for family farmers that provide real 
     conservation and environmental benefits for our society.
       Rural development, research and marketing programs that 
     increase the farm and ranch share of food system profit and 
     support development of new cooperative and small businesses.
       Commodity programs that enable family farms to earn a fair 
     price.
       A competition title to increase competition and fairness in 
     the domestic agricultural marketplace.
       We respectfully request that you vote no on H.R. 2646.
       Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network.
       Alternative Energy Resources Organization (AERO).
       Agricultural Resources Center.
       American Corn Growers Association.
       Arkansas Natural Produce, Inc.
       Ashland Community Food Store.
       Berkeley Ecology Center (CA).
       Berkeley Farmers' Market (CA).
       Beyond Organic Communications.
       Cabinet Mountain Market (MT).
       California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF).
       California Church IMPACT.
       California Farmers Union.
       California Institute for Rural Studies.
       California Sustainable Agriculture Working Group.
       California Wilderness Coalition.
       C.A.S.A. de Llano (Communities Approaching Sustainable 
     Agriculture) (TX).
       C.A.T.A., Farmworker Support Committee (NJ).
       Campaign for Contract Agriculture Reform.
       Carolina Farm Stewardship Association.
       Center for Earth Spirituality and Rural Ministry, School 
     Sisters of Notre Dame (MN).
       Center for Food and Justice, Urban and Environmental Policy 
     Institute, Occidental College.
       Center for Rural Affairs (NE).
       Center for Sustainable Systems (KY).
       Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana.
       Coalition for the Bight (NY).
       Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (ME).
       Colorado Organic Producers Association.
       Columbia Area Food Circle (MO).
       Community Farm Alliance (KY).
       Community Food Security Coalition.
       Community Market Gardens.
       Consumer Federation of America.
       Corporate Agribusiness Research Project.
       Dakota Resource Council.
       Dakota Rural Action (SD).
       Delta Land and Community.
       Demeter Association.
       Earthfriends.
       Eden Foods, Inc.
       Erehwon Retreat (NY).
       Family Farm Defenders.
       Family Farms for the Future (MO).
       Farming Alternatives Program at Cornell University.
       Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund.
       Florida Organic Growers.
       Food Works (VT).
       Friends of Rural Alabama, Inc.
       Friends of the Earth.
       GRACE Public Fund (Global Resource Action Center for the 
     Environment).
       Green Eggers Farm (MS).
       Greenpeace USA.
       Henry A. Wallace Center for Agricultural and Environmental 
     Policy at Winrock International.
       Hoosier Environmental Council.
       Idaho Organic Alliance.
       Illinois Stewardship Alliance.
       Indiana National Farmers Organization.
       Innovative Farmers of Ohio.
       Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement.
       Iowa Environmental Council.
       Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.
       Johnny's Selected Seeds (ME).
       Just Food (NY).
       Kansas City Food Circle.
       Kansas Rural Center.
       Maine Farms Project.
       Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association (MOFGA).
       Maysie's Farm Conservation Center (PA).
       McCone Agriculture Protection Organization.
       Michael Fields Agricultural Institute.
       Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Services (MOSES).
       Minnesota Project.
       Minnesota Food Association.
       Mississippi 2020 Network, Inc.
       Mississippi River Basin Alliance.
       Missouri Farmers Union.
       Missouri Rural Crisis Center.
       National Catholic Rural Life Conference.
       National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture.
       National Center for Appropriate Technology.
       National Family Farm Coalition.
       National Farmers Organization.
       Nebraska Wildlife Federation.
       New York City Soil and Water Conservation District.
       New England Small Farm Institute.
       New York Certified Organic, Inc.
       New Jersey Environmental Lobby.
       New York State Grange.
       New York Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (NYSAWG).
       Northeast Organic Farming Association-New York.
       North Carolina Contract Poultry Growers Association.
       Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut (CT).
       Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group.
       NorthEast Neighborhood Alliance (NY).
       Northern Plains Resource Council.
       Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society.
       Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides.
       Nebraska Wildlife Federation.
       Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association.
       Ohio Environmental Council.
       Ohio Family Farm Coalition.
       Organic Agriculture Systems Consulting.
       Organic Farming Research Foundation.
       Organic Independents.
       Organic Trade Association.
       Organization for Competitive Markets.
       PCC Farmland Fund.
       Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture.
       Pennsylvania Certified Organic.
       Pesticide Action Network-North America.
       Philadelphia Fair Food Project (PA).
       Poughkeepsie Farm Project (NY).
       Peacework Organic Farm (NY).
       Provender Alliance (Pacific Northwest).
       Regional Food and Farm Project (Northeast).
       Rio Grande Agricultural Land Trust (NM).
       Roby Van En Center (PA).
       Rocky Mountain Farmers Union.
       Rodale Institute.
       Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA.
       Rural Coalition/Coalicion Rural.
       Rural Vermont.
       Rural Virginia Inc.

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       San Juan Citizens Alliance.
       Sierra Club Agricultural Committee.
       Social Concerns/Rural Life Office Diocese of Jefferson City 
     (MO).
       Sophia Garden CSA (NY).
       South Central Farmers Market Association (PA).
       Southern Research and Development Corp. (LA).
       Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group.
       Students Interested in Sustainable Agricultural (Dickinson 
     College, PA).
       Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
       Sustainable Agriculture for Everyone.
       Sustainable Earth (IN).
       Sustainable Food Center (TX).
       Tennessee Land Stewardship Association.
       Tuscaloosa CSA (AL).
       Tuscarora Organic Growers Cooperative (PA).
       Union of Concerned Scientists.
       United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and 
     Society.
       Washington Biotechnology Action Council (WA).
       Washington Sustainable Food & Farming Network.
       Western Organization of Resource Councils.
       Western Sustainable Agriculture Working Group.
       Willimantic Food Co-op (CT).
       Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group
       Virginia Biological Farming Association.
       Veritable Vegetable (CA).

       

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