Updates from Michael
Greeley Tribune: Senate Ag Committee Approves Farm Bill
The Greeley Tribune has a good article on the Farm Bill passing the Senate Agriculture Committee. Here are a few excerpts:
A new farm bill could come by the end of this year, after all.
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The new farm bill, if approved, will reduce the federal deficit by $23 billion by eliminating subsidies, consolidating programs and through efforts aimed at preventing food-assistance abuse.
Bennet and other lawmakers have been piecing the 2012 farm bill together for months.
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In response to the input Bennet received at more than 20 farm bill listening sessions across Colorado in recent weeks, he focused on securing a strong crop insurance program, as well as expanding flexibility in conservation easement agreements, and for the new farm bill’s conservation title to focus not only on water quality but also water quantity.
Bennet said those provisions remained intact following Thursday’s markup session.
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Bennet said he was pleased the committee advanced the Rural Energy Savings Program Act, which he had helped introduce during last Congress. The program authorizes the Rural Utilities Service to offer low-interest loans to rural homeowners and small businesses undertaking energy-efficiency improvements.
Other provisions in the farm bill look to expand export opportunities, invest in research, grow bio-based manufacturing, help family farmers sell locally by increasing support for farmers’ markets and food hubs, and extend rural development initiatives to help rural communities upgrade infrastructure.
To read the full article, click here.
Opinion: Farm Bill aims for simpler, more efficient conservation programs
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
By Michael Bennet
In the last 18 months, I’ve held 21 listening sessions across the state from Wray to Cortez, and from Lamar to Meeker, so that I could hear directly from Coloradans who are using Farm Bill programs. I’ve also participated in private-land conservation events, including one last month in Palisade where five conservation easements were finalized.
Time and time again, I have heard about the importance of Farm Bill conservation programs as voluntary tools essential to keeping Colorado’s farms and ranches in business and to sustaining our state’s hunting and fishing economy.
These conversations and this input have been a core focus of mine as we work in the Agriculture Committee to draft a new Farm Bill. As chairman of the subcommittee on conservation, natural resources and forestry, I have pushed for a bill that maintains and improves — even in an era of budget cuts — the tools that have allowed Colorado’s private landowners to use conservation programs so effectively and to the benefit of the entire state.
This month, I also invited the chief of the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, David White, the country’s head private-land conservationist, to join me in Greeley so he could hear firsthand how well these programs have worked for Colorado landowners.
The Senate Agriculture Committee is scheduled to begin debate of the Farm Bill today. During that process, we’re going to find opportunities to save money and add efficiency, including streamlining the existing slate of conservation programs.
In the end, we hope to make the conservation title simpler and more efficient overall, while maintaining all of the primary program functions.
Under the current law, there are more than 20 conservation programs. Restructuring conservation into four program areas will save taxpayer dollars and alleviate confusion.
Under the new approach, we will focus on working lands or lands currently in agricultural use, which includes the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Conservation Stewardship Program and the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program. They provide assistance to help producers improve their operations to save water and avoid violating federal regulations — and comply with those already on the books. The streamlined program will also help preserve and develop wildlife habitat — good news for Colorado sportsmen.
The second program area will focus on strengthening easement programs. It will help more private landowners, like the families I met with in Palisade, protect the agricultural heritage of their communities. I am working to ensure that the revised easement programs work better for western farmers and ranchers. They will include greater flexibility for landowners who must provide matching non-federal contributions when finalizing their agreements.
The third program area focuses on the Conservation Reserve Program. CRP helps maintain the integrity of Colorado’s most fragile land by providing financial incentives to help reduce soil erosion and enhance wildlife habitat.
Finally, the conservation portion will be home to a program called the Regional Conservation Partnership Program. It will emphasize locally led projects aimed at improving regional soil quality, water quality, water quantity and wildlife habitat. This is built on the success we’ve had with hard-working partners, farmers and ranchers right here in Colorado and will truly be a grassroots, locally led program.
As one of the only Western voices on the Senate Agriculture Committee, I’ve made sure to emphasize to other committee members that, while water quality will always be important, it’s water quantity that we’re most concerned with in Colorado. I’ve fought to include a provision in the Farm Bill that underscores the need to help producers address vital water quantity issues.
Across the state, I’ve heard from countless Coloradans who want nothing more than to be left alone to run their farm or ranch, take care of their family and get a fair shake from the government. I thank everyone who has taken the time to share their experiences with me. Our conversations have been invaluable. And I can assure you common-sense and real-world experience has had a significant and real affect on this legislation.
Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat, is one of two senators representing Colorado in Washington, D.C.
Apply for a Judicial Nomination by May 11
Senator Mark Udall and I encourage qualified individuals to apply for a vacancy on the United States District Court before the May 11 deadline. Please follow the instructions below to complete your application:
Service Academy Nominations
This past month, I had the pleasure of meeting and celebrating with some of the young people I nominated to our nation’s service academies. They are among the best and brightest of our state’s high school students. After spending a bit of time with them, I am pleased to say that future of our military leadership is in good hands.
The nomination process is starting again soon, and I encourage any students interested in applying to the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy to start the process early. Nominating and supporting some of Colorado’s brightest minds is one of the highlights of my job and is something I look forward to each year. This year we are using a new online application. For more information on applying to the service academies, or for questions and information, please visit my website or call our Nominations Coordinator Courtney Davis in my office at 303-455-7600.
As a former superintendent of Denver Public Schools I know just how important a college education is to long-term success. By encouraging our youth to pursue higher education we are actively preparing them to succeed in a 21st century economy.
Colorado Innovation, Colorado Jobs
Colorado is a hub for economic innovation. We have some of the most savvy entrepreneurs, a highly skilled workforce and an array of top-tier research institutions that help make Colorado a place where innovation thrives. And our unparalleled quality of life, anchored by our incredible natural beauty, continues to make our great state a place where people want to live, work and raise a family.
Taken together, these things make Colorado a perfect location for a new satellite patent office. The effort to make that a reality just took a big step forward, when a coalition of Coloradans, including my senior advisor for business affairs, hand delivered a comprehensive report to the U.S. Patent Office that makes the case for why Colorado should be home to a new satellite office.
Our innovation-based industries rely on the speedy approval of new patents for job creation and growth. And our state is home to a large number of technology professionals who would be excellent candidates for long-term patent examiner jobs.
Why else is this important to Colorado? Because, if we are selected, it would mean directly hundreds of new jobs for Coloradans and even more indirectly. It would bring an estimated overall economic impact of nearly $440 million over the first five years alone. In fact, the economic benefits are so significant that we’ve been able to get a broad coalition of business leaders and elected officials – from both parties – behind this important push.
This effort has been coming for some time. We provided a boost when I was able to secure a provision in the America Invents Act, cosponsored by Senator Mark Udall, calling for the creation of new satellite patent office. The delivery of this report, which includes a letter of support from the entire Colorado Congressional delegation, represents the latest step in this statewide effort. With your help and support, we can bring a new satellite patent office to Colorado that will further our position as a place where innovation and job creation can thrive.
Please sign my petition calling for the United States Patent and Trade Office to select Colorado as the home of its next satellite office.
