The National Grange
Blueprint for Rural America 2003

Priority Issues of Concern to Rural Americans and Our
Nation's
Family Farmers and Ranchers in the Year 2003

Introduction-

The National Grange, the nation's oldest rural public interest and general agricultural organization, has developed a 10-point program to revitalize Rural America and return US agriculture to prosperity. Since 1867, the Grange has provided a legislative voice for families, family farmers and rural communities. Today, nearly 300,000 Grange members, affiliated with 3,000 local, county and State Grange chapters across the nation, are leaders in developing and implementing programs that benefit their communities.

I. Return Prosperity to U.S. Agriculture for Individuals and Families

America's family farmers and ranchers face challenges regarding food security, contract agriculture, agribusiness consolidations, and low prices. Federal farm programs should encourage increased participation in the agricultural sector by the largest number of individuals and families through the broadest practical distribution of agricultural production. Congress should reauthorize the Northeast Dairy Compact and authorize other regional dairy compact as well as continue direct financial assistance targeted at moderate sized dairy operations. Imports of Milk Protein Concentrates should be included under existing U.S. trade agreements. Federal farm policies should also promote a variety of innovative agricultural practices that include part-time farming, new uses, organic production and biotechnology.

Action Plan-

1. Support Federal farm programs that provide credit, risk management, income supplement and environmental stewardship opportunities that benefit family farmers and ranchers, regardless of the crop or livestock they produce. Support continued financial assistance for moderate sized dairy farms. Support research, marketing and producer education programs that are appropriate for innovative production philosophies such as part-time farming, new uses, organic or biotechnology.
2. Increase US agricultural exports by reducing domestic and foreign barriers to agricultural trade. Prevent foreign subsidies from undermining domestic agricultural prices. Support including imported Milk Protein Concentrates under existing U.S. trade agreements.
3. Support measures to improve the bargaining position of individual family farmers and ranchers engaged in contract agricultural production. Support permanent reauthorization and expansion of the Northeast Dairy Compact, creation of a Southern Dairy Compact and formation of dairy compacts in other regions. Oppose proposed agribusiness mergers that threaten to reduce competition or reduce prices received by family farmers and ranchers.

II. Expand Telecommunications Services in Rural Areas

Adequate access to telecommunications services such as telephone, Internet, satellite and cable is important to rural America. The Internet delivers services and products efficiently, irrespective of geographic location. Today, telecommuters can enjoy a rewarding career and a rural life style. Satellite technology can bring new information to every American farm. We must guarantee that advanced telecommunications technologies are available in every rural community at affordable costs. We must assure that children do not access inappropriate materials through these technologies. We must reduce the incident of Internet fraud. We must protect the privacy of individuals using these technologies.

Action Plan-

1. Support programs that guarantee every rural community will have local telephone services, lifeline telephone services, wireless telephone services, competitive long distance telephone services, local/toll-free dial up Internet service and affordable high speed Internet access.
2. Assure that every rural community has access to free, over-the-air broadcast radio and television services as well as competitive cable, fixed wireless, or satellite dish services.
3. Prevent children from accessing inappropriate materials from the Internet, combat incidents of Internet fraud and protect the privacy of individuals who use the Internet.

III. Reform the Endangered Species Act and Other Environmental Programs

The 1973 Endangered Species Act requires that species preservation must be the paramount goal in any Federal decision affecting the habitat or viability of an "endangered" species. Species are included under the Act only on the basis of biological conditions. The law does not allow impacts on communities or private property to be a factor in placing a species on the endangered list. Federal environmental programs restrict normal, traditional and customary activities on private and public lands in rural areas without regard for sound science or input from local persons. The consequence has been heavy handed Federal regulatory programs to direct private and public land use in many rural communities that create unnecessary animosity and that fail to meet their environmental goals.

Action Plan-

1. Support litigation to de-list specific subspecies of Pacific Salmon based on principals of sound science. Restrict the quantity of threatened or endangeted fish species that may be taken from rivers or from U.S. territorial waters, as part of any comprehensive fish resource management program.
2. Support amendments to the ESA to require that all decisions to list a species as endangered must be balanced against the economic health of the local area, state or region as well as justified by peer reviewed science. Allow state governments to manage local habitats as part of a species recovery plan, including authority to exempt any business, farmer, rancher or landowner who complies with a state ESA law from further compliance with Federal ESA laws.
3. Support rehabilitation of existing watershed dams. Oppose the removal of any dam in the Pacific Northwest without consideration of best available science or local economic impact.
4. Insist that private property ownership rights derived from the U.S. Constitution, state constitutions, and the common law be vigorously protected.

IV. Achieve Energy Security for Rural America

Imported energy and energy price instability threatens prosperity in rural America. Programs to promote energy from our nation's farms languish for lack of political leadership. Proven domestic reserves of energy cannot be developed. Voluntary energy conservation programs are under funded. Environmentally marginal proposals to increase regulatory burdens on agriculture and industry increase energy costs. Electric utility deregulation causes anxiety in rural areas, especially where rural electric cooperative and public power electric utilities have served their rural customers effectively for decades. Rural consumers must share equally in the benefits of electricity deregulation programs with other consumers.

Action Plan-

1. Promote development of energy sources that are derived from America's family farms.
2. Develop energy resources on public lands in rural areas in an environmentally sound manner. Oppose further releases from the National Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
3. Support voluntary energy conservation programs for rural areas such as telecommuting, public transportation and car/van pools. Oppose regulations that increase costs to farmers and consumers.
4. Support electricity deregulation as a primary function of state governments, not the Federal government. Support only those electricity deregulation proposals that treat rural consumers equitably with other consumers and that preserve the special relationship that rural electric cooperatives and rural public utility districts have with their customers.

V. Improve the Quality of Rural Education

In rural areas, the public school is a community focal point. Congress should increase funding for rural public education, including funding for special needs students and Headstart programs. Internet access is vital for every rural student. Full Federal payments in lieu of taxes for school districts in counties with Federal land holdings must be preserved. However, violence and disruptions occur far too often in rural schools. Lewd and obscene messages worn on clothing are offensive. These distractions keep children from taking full advantage of the learning process and are contrary to the civic values we wish them to cultivate. Teachers and administrators should have greater flexibility to deal with these problems. New methods should be used to involve parents in their children's education.

Action Plan-

1. Support increased Federal funding for rural public schools, including funding for mandated programs for special needs students, for Headstart programs and for high speed Internet access.
2. Support full Federal payments in lieu of local school taxes in counties containing Federal land.
3. Support increased authority for teachers and administrators to address instances of violence or inappropriate expression that disrupt the learning process. Encourage greater parent involvement.

VI. Enhance Homeland Security and Public Safety In Rural Areas

In the wake of September 11, 2001, homeland security is a top priority. The USDA Homeland Security Council should focus its efforts on protecting our food supply from foreign pests and animal diseases. Domestically, rural Americans face threats of violence and intimidation from extremist environmental groups such as the Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front. Drug dealers use rural locations to manufacture drugs and leave toxic wastes for landowners to clean up. Laws regarding the use of a firearm during the commission of a crime are not adequately enforced. Our children are increasingly becoming the targets of kidnappings. The basic rights of crime victims in rural areas go unprotected.

Action Plan-

1. Combat foreign bioterrorism by preventing the importation of invasive pests and diseases.
2. Support efforts to disrupt domestic terrorist activities initiated by extremist environmental organizations and their ancillary propaganda networks.
3. Support efforts to coordinate abducted children "Amber Alert" notices among all 50 states.
4. Support legislation to combat the manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs in rural areas.
5. Support the strict enforcement of all existing laws pertaining to the use of firearms during the commission of a crime in lieu of additional restrictions on the right to bare arms.
6. Support programs that protect the rights of victims of violent crime in rural areas.

VII. Strengthen Civic Participation in Our Society

The challenges our nation experienced after September 11, 2001 go beyond public safety to the durability of our fundamental liberties and our duties of civic participation. Common frames of reference, such as language, faith and patriotism, are fundamental prerequisites for individual liberties and vibrant civic participation. These shared references reinforce our traditions of religious and social tolerance. Modern technology can also facilitate civic participation. Strengthening the role of civic participation in our society by acknowledging the roles played by language, faith, patriotism and technology, is the most effective means to guarantee our personal liberties and combat on going threats to our way of life.

Action Plan-

1. Support a constitutional amendment to protect the Flag of the United States and to maintain the current wording of the Pledge of Allegiance. Support teaching about the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States and basic civil values in all schools and in other forums.
2. Support legislation to make English the official language of the United States. Support legislation to assure that everyone living in the United States can learn to function with English.
3. Support legislation to allow references to a divine presence at school and other publics events.
4. Support using Internet technologies to facilitate civic participation such as Internet voting, voter registration, nomination petitions, referendum petitions, serving on juries, and registering for selective service or other volunteer service programs. Substantially increase penalties for incidents of fraud regarding voting or other civic responsibilities.

VIII. Improve the Quality and Availability of Rural Health Care

It is time to focus attention on health care in rural America. We support policies that allow rural citizens to meet their medical financial responsibilities, such as 100% tax deductions for all health and long term care insurance, Medical Savings Accounts and competitive medical insurance choices that include fee-for-service and HMO products in rural areas. We must give rural seniors a choice of Medicare programs that include an affordable prescription drug benefit. But even the best health insurance has no value if there are no health care facilities in rural areas. We must repeal regulatory barriers rural health care facilities face when they seek equitable reimbursement for treatments provided under Federal health care programs. We must preserve access to the latest pharmaceutical technologies for all rural families.

Action Plan-

1. Provide rural residents the freedom to address their medical financial responsibilities through income tax deductions for all health and long term care insurance premiums, Medical Savings Accounts, and preservation of choice in health insurance products.
2. Support Medicare reform that gives rural seniors a choice among different Medicare programs, including an affordable prescription drug benefit.
3. Support repeal of regulatory barriers regarding equitable reimbursement from Federal medical insurance programs, i.e. Medicare and Medicaid, for rural health care facilities.
4. Support measures to assure access to modern pharmaceutical technologies for rural families.

IX. Reform The Federal Tax System To Preserve Family Farms And Rural Businesses

Congress should reform the tax system to preserve family farms and small rural businesses. For most farmers and small business owners, their farms and businesses are their largest retirement asset. Current tax laws penalize farmers and rural businesses that seek to sell their property to other families, to pass it on to their heirs or to preserve the future use of their property in agriculture through conservation investments or through the sale of development or water rights. New tax policies will assure that today's family farmers and rural business owners can retire with dignity and that the rural America's productive resources are transferred to a new generation of family farmers and small business owners.

Action Plan-

1. Support the permanent elimination of the estate tax. Support immediate phase out of taxes on all estates below $1.2 million, adjusted for future inflation.
2. Support extending the current $500,000 private residence sale capital gains tax exclusion to agricultural land as well as to the sale of development or water rights on agricultural land. Support tax credits for agricultural land use preservation on private land.
3. Support tax relief for rural small businesses, such as increased acclerated depreciation.

X. Address the Needs of Foster Children and Foster Parents In Our Communities.

The well being of foster children and the dedicated families that accept these children into their lives is important. Children in foster care often come from situations that put them at-risk for falling into a lifestyle that may include drugs, poverty and violent crime. Foster parents are licensed professional caregivers and dedicated volunteers who open their hearts and homes to children in need. The National Grange Foster Parents Program is dedicated to restoring dignity, raising self-esteem and creating a sense of belonging for all children in foster care and their foster parents through educational efforts, through advocacy, and by upholding family values.

Action Plan-

1. Restore funding under Title XX of the Social Security Act that is used to pay for social services to assist vulnerable children, including children in foster care.
2. Support new programs to give children who have received foster care special preferences in receiving Federal grants for higher education.
3. Support reforms to base each state's reimbursement rate for foster care on regional USDA guidelines that project the cost of raising a child in foster care.
4. Support income tax deductions for all forms of foster care services provided to children.

If you have any questions or comments please contact Legislative Research Analyst Chil-Sook Hwang by fax: 202-347-1091 or by phone: 1-888-4GRANGE, ext 109. Thank you for your grassroots participation in the National Grange Legislative program.

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