The FY 2011 Budget Proposal
The Administration proposes to limit farm subsidies to family farmers by reducing the cap on Direct Payments by 25 percent, and reducing each of the Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) commodity payment eligibility limits for farm and non-farm income by $250,000 over three years.
The uncertainty of payment limit and eligibility rules places burdens on our farmers and adds unnecessary confusion as they make crucial management decisions for their operations. Congress must retain the Farm Bill safety net approved last year, after much debate, to offset the significant weather and marketing risks and so American consumers can benefit from a safe, affordable and abundant food supply.
Our farmers are producing in a global market place and the playing field is not level. One example: the International Trade Commission published in November that Indian bound tariff rates on agriculture products continue to average 114 percent, compared to a 34 percent average for our top 10 agriculture export markets. Another example: while US farmers are painted as subsidy recipients, if you compare the latest data available, the farming operation receiving the largest government check in Missouri would only be 17th in the Republic of Slovenia; the largest in the nation only 25th in France. So long as these facts remain, I will work to ensure our family farmers have access to a strong and sustainable safety net.
Cuba
Our government’s Cuba policy has been a failure. Existing policies of the United States do not punish the Cuban government; they punish American and Cuban citizens. Furthermore, our policies threaten agriculture exports to Cuba from Missouri and deprive the Cuban people of U.S. food and medicine.
In the past, the U.S. policy of open trade and travel has helped bring an end to several communist regimes. I firmly believe an open trade and travel policy is the best ambassador for democracy. A policy of isolation simply has not been effective in bringing change to Cuba.
Global Food Security
Hunger is a tremendous problem, and it is not enough for our response to conditions of malnutrition, starvation and poverty to simply be well-intentioned. We must construct a complete response to hunger and script wide-ranging and proven-effective strategies. Congress needs to approve legislation that establishes commonsense waypoints so we can measure success at alleviating hunger and set good goals for the future. I’m glad to work with a bipartisan group in the U.S. Congress to raise the profile of this critical issue and implement solutions.
Horse Slaughter
In recent years, aggressive efforts have been made to ban horse slaughter. Unfortunately, many of my colleagues do not fully understand the negative consequences such proposals would have on the horse industry. Along with depriving horse owners of the market value for their horse, significant costs associated with caring for an unwanted horse and euthanasia would be transferred to horse owners and taxpayers. Additionally, I have serious concerns regarding the precedent set by excluding an animal from slaughter for reasons beyond health concerns derived from science.
National Animal Identification System
We can all agree that the National Animal Identification Program has been ineffective and the $142 million USDA has received since 2004 has not provided benefits to animal health. However, not only does the program continue to receive funding, but there continue to be calls to mandate participation in the program. Please know that I will only support a voluntary system, and that support depends on USDA developing a voluntary plan that provides real benefits in animal health and marketing to our ranchers, dairymen and livestock producers. Missouri producers must be assured they will not be solely responsible for additional costs and burdens of complying with an animal ID system. Furthermore, producers must retain their privacy and be granted liability protection in such a system.
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