Agricultural News
Continuing Resolution Passes House- Farm Bill Spending Left Along- Ethanol Targeted as Was the EPA on Ag Regulations
Mon, 21 Feb 2011 3:58:48 CST
The House voted 235-189 early Saturday morning to pass its Continuing Resolution to slash federal spending by over $61 billion for the remaining seven months of fiscal 2011. While several amendments designed to force stricter payment limits on agriculture were defeated- at least two amendments to the Continuing Resolution will hobble expansion of ethanol in this country if the Senate agrees to them.
On the regulatory front, several measures were okayed by the House to slow the EPA ont heir regulatory binge. National Cattlemen's Beef Association Vice President of Government Affairs Colin Woodall issued the following statement regarding the passage of three amendments to H.R. 1, legislation to fund the federal government through the end of this fiscal year, that if passed by the Senate will block the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) funding to regulate dust and implement its Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) rule for the Chesapeake Bay and its nutrient criteria rule for Florida.
"I hope the activists turned government officials at the Environmental Protection Agency were listening to the very clear signal sent by the U.S. House of Representatives that enough is enough. Our elected leaders are growing weary of defending this agency that appears to be determined to put farmers and ranchers out of business. Burdensome, job stifling regulations are never a good thing. But when you have a struggling economy on the verge of a rebound, government overreach is definitely not a way to stimulate job growth and economic recovery. On behalf of U.S. cattlemen and women, I commend Representatives Kristi Noem (R-S.D.), Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) for leading the charge against overregulation and in support of economic growth in rural America and throughout the country."
On the issue of Ethanol- two measures were offered and approved by the House- one by Jeff Flake of Arizona and the other by John Sullivan of Oklahoma- that would bar funding for the EPA to implement its decision to allow up to 15% ethanol blends (E15) for use in cars, pickups, and SUVs built in model year 2001 and newer as well as prohibiting USDA and EPA funds from partnering with private companies to install blender pumps that dispense mid-to-high ethanol blends.
The Renewable Fuels Association issued the following statement denouncing those votes:
"The House has denied consumers choice in the type of fuel they use. Instead, they have chosen to continue giving oil companies a virtual monopoly over the fueling system. Our dependence on imported oil is neither safe nor sustainable. As the world's largest oil companies tell us they can't find new sources of oil, this House measure would seek to relegate future generations to a preventable future of oil dependence."
On Saturday evening, we talked with the President of the National Farmers Union, Roger Johsnon, about the CR- and he predicts that there is zero chance that the Senate will go along with the House on their budget cutting ideas- at least not all of them. You can hear our conversation with Johnson by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below.
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