As a member of the House Committee on Agriculture, one of Congresswoman Halvorson's top priorities is to support agricultural policies that protect family farms and ensure American consumers have a safe, affordable and accessible food supply.

The Congresswoman believes the agriculture industry shows great promise for its contributions to our nation's energy supply through ethanol, biodiesel and other alternative fuels. These products burn cleaner, reduce American dependence on foreign oil, and are produced right here in the United States.

Important Issues in the 111th Congress:

American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act

As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, Halvorson stood firm with her colleagues on the Committee to ensure that the ACES bill recognizes agriculture's contributions to a renewable energy policy that would also reduce our reliance on foreign oil and improve our environment. The Congresswoman fought to:

• Ensure the bill exempted the agriculture sector from greenhouse gas emissions reduction requirements,
• Require any future regulations on international indirect land use must be based on sound science,
• Create an agricultural offset program that empowers farmers to participate in a voluntary, market-based carbon offset program, to help them earn income for activities they undertake to address pollution,
• Protect early carbon-sequestration actors by allowing farmers who participate in USDA conservation programs or who have already undertaken carbon sequestration activities to receive credits for their participation make sure that the ACES bill fairly compensates their participation.

Fighting for Illinois' Waterways

The Illinois' waterway system is a critical component of the state's agricultural infrastructure, but is aging and in need of urgent repair. The lock and dam system transports 75% of Illinois agricultural exports. Needless to say, upgrades on the Mississippi-Illinois Rivers are necessary to help farmers continue to supply food to the rest of the country and to the world.
Fighting to ensure the safety and continued operation of our locks, Congresswoman Halvorson:

• Voted for H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which provided $1.4 million for maintenance for the Brandon Road lock near Joliet and the Dresden lock near Morris, in addition to $88.8 million for the Lockport lock system,
• Brought representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers to the Illinois River lock and dam system to tour the area with local agricultural stakeholders in order to demonstrate the urgent need for action and repair,
• Strongly opposed the closure of the locks near Chicago as a way to keep invasive fish species from reaching Lake Michigan, when such an approach is unproven and would cause economic harm to Illinois agriculture, businesses and jobs.

Food Safety Enhancement Act

In just the last few years, there have been a string of food-borne illness outbreaks caused by foods consumed by millions of Americans each day, from spinach to peppers to peanuts, as well as pistachios and other products. The recent food-borne illness outbreaks led Congress to pass a food-safety bill to improve our food safety laws. Congresswoman Halvorson voted in favor of this bill, which provides government agencies entrusted with the safety of our food new tools and funding to carry out their vital mission, while protecting local farmers from over burdensome regularions.

The new authorities provided to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to better ensure food safety include more frequent inspection of food processing facilities, the development of a food trace-back system to pinpoint the source of food-borne illnesses, and enhanced powers to ensure that imported foods are safe.