Blueprint for Rural America 2007 Contains the Following:

• Build a Solid Foundation of Prosperity for America’s Family Farmers and Ranchers
• Reform Eminent Domain Authority and Protect Private Property Rights
• Expand Telecommunications Services in Rural Areas
• Achieve Energy Security for Rural America
• Improve the Quality and Availability of Rural Health Care
• Promote Practical and Effective Immigration Reform

Introduction-

The National Grange, the nation’s oldest general farm and rural public interest organization, has developed a six-point program to revitalize rural America and build U.S. agricultural prosperity. The Grange has provided a legislative voice for individuals, families, farmers and rural communities since 1867. Today, Grange members, affiliated with more than 2,800 local, county and state Grange chapters across the nation, are leaders in developing and advocating policies that benefit their communities.

1. Build a Solid Foundation of Prosperity for America’s Family Farmers and Ranchers

Today, America’s family farmers and ranchers are a highly diverse and constantly evolving group of entrepreneurs who differ greatly in the size of their operations, the products they produce, their ownership structure, their needs for capitol and financing, their use of farm labor, geographic location, environmental challenges, marketing decisions and annual revenues derived from their farming operations. Fewer than 15% of farms today are commercial scale, farming-only businesses. But these farms produce 75% of all domestic agricultural production. The remaining 85% of farmers in the United States rely on non-farm income to remain active in the agriculture sector. Federal farm programs should foster increased participation in the agricultural sector as well as the broadest practical distribution of agricultural production by actively encouraging more individuals and families to include agricultural production as part of their entrepreneurial business plans or personal lifestyle goals. A majority of the primary farm operators in our nation are over 55 years old and 35% of our farmers are over the age of 65. Farm programs must further be structured to assure that today’s family farmers can retire with dignity and that their productive resources will be transferred to a new generation of farmers and rural entrepreneurs. To meet these benchmarks, farm programs should reward innovative practices, encourage sound conservation techniques, preserve prime agricultural land, assure compliance with our existing international trade agreements and facilitate the introduction of cost saving and environmentally beneficial new technologies for all segments of the agriculture sector, while protecting farmers from risks that are beyond their control or from the undue concentration of market power that restricts competition or entry into the agriculture sector.

Action Plan-

1. Support farm programs that make available credit, risk management, income support, and environmental stewardship for family farmers and ranchers, regardless of the crop or livestock they produce. Support innovative practices like part-time, new uses, low investment/expense, direct-to-consumer, and organic farming. Protect farmers who rely on commodity markets or contract production from market manipulation. Restrict agribusiness mergers that reduce competition or farm prices. Support country of origin labeling and animal identification regulations that minimize costs for U.S. farmers.
2. Extend regional dairy programs to all U.S. dairy farmers and consumers. Support financial assistance, such as the MILC program, for moderate-sized dairy farms.
3. Support biotechnology property rights, publicly disclosed biotechnology product contract terms and use of “tech fees” to give farmers legal ownership to the seeds they save and the offspring animals they produce. Require foreign farmers to pay the same biotechnology fees as U.S. farmers. Support using sound science during the approval process for new biotechnology products to assure their safety.
4. Facilitate the generational transfer of farm assets to a new generation of farmers by supporting an extension of the existing $500,000 per couple federal capitol gains tax exclusion for private residences to agricultural land and to the sale of development or water rights on agricultural land; supporting federal programs for agricultural land use preservation and conservation practices on private land; supporting tax simplication for family farmers; supporting reform of the estate tax and supporting increased accelerated depreciation of capitol assets for farms and rural businesses.

2. Reform Eminent Domain Authority and Protect Private Property Rights

Property rights are central to our liberty and our economy. The Founders realized the fundamental importance of property rights when they codified the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, which requires that private property shall not be taken `for public use, without just compensation'. Many state constitutions have similar language. In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Kelo v. City of New London, abuse of eminent domain for the purpose of economic development is a threat to the civil rights of all private property owners, including rural land owners. Rural lands are not traditionally considered high tax revenue generating properties for state and local governments. Nevertheless, ownership rights in rural land are fundamental building blocks of our nation's agriculture industry. Farmland and forest land owners require long-term certainty regarding their property rights in order to make the commitment to both invest in these properties and preserve them for agriculture production. The use of eminent domain to take farmland and other rural property for economic development threatens liberty, the social fabric of rural communities, and the economy of the United States. Americans should never have to fear their government would arbitrarily take their homes, farms, or businesses. Governments should not abuse the power of eminent domain to force rural property owners from their land in order to develop rural land into industrial or commercial property.

Action Plan-

1. Support federal legislation prohibiting any agency or authority of the Federal Government from exercising its power of eminent domain to be used for private economic development.
2. Support federal legislation to prohibit all state or local governments from exercising or delegating their power of eminent domain for the purpose of private economic development. Any State or political subdivision that exercises the power of eminent domain for private economic development should be ineligible for all Federal economic development funds for any purpose for a period of at least two years.
3. Support state legislation and local ordinances to strickly prohibit local political subdivisions from exercising their powers of eminent domain for the purpose of private economic development.
4. Support legislation to require that if any property acquired through eminent domain for a public purpose is needed only temporarily for that purpose or is not subsequently used for that purpose, the property must be returned to the original owner or their rightful legal heirs or successors, at no cost.

3. Expand Telecommunications Services in Rural Areas

Universal access to affordable, reliable and competitive telecommunications technologies such as telephone, cellular, wireless, digital broadcast television, radio, Internet, satellite and video services must be available to rural communities at affordable costs. As advanced telecommunications technologies and services begin to converge, national, state and locals laws that govern these technologies should be reformed to remove the regulatory uncertainty that has deterred advanced telecommunications investment in rural America. The Internet delivers information, services and products efficiently, irrespective of geographic location. Telecommuters can enjoy rewarding careers and rural lifestyles, as well as conserve energy and reduce traffic congestion. Cellphones increase personal security in remote areas. Telemedicine and tele-education both bring vital services to rural communities that lack access to these services. Global position satellites improve productivity on America’s farms. Even with these benefits, we must protect children from inappropriate materials, we must prevent conglomerates from controlling multiple media venues, and we must reduce incidents of spam, Internet fraud and loss of privacy from these technologies. A national policy to expand access to advanced telecommunications technologies and services in rural areas will spark the creation of new service providers, new innovations and new technologies that will become more affordable to rural communities.

Action Plan-

1. Support programs such as the Universal Service Fund to guarantee that every rural community will have affordable local telephone service, cellphone, dial-up Internet and broadband Internet access.
2. Support legislation to assure that every rural community has access to free, over-the-air broadcast radio and television services, as well as competitive video, fiber optic, fixed wireless or satellite services. Provide adequate education and financial resources for a transition to digital television in 2009.
3. Protect children from inappropriate materials, combat incidents of Internet fraud, reduce spam and increase privacy and security for individuals who use the Internet.
4. Support legal review of media mergers resulting in consolidated control of multiple media venues.

4. Achieve Energy Security for Rural America

Imported energy and high energy prices threaten our national security. In 2005, high energy costs forced some farmers to abandon crops in their fields. Renewable energy from our nation’s farms is the key to reducing our dependence on imported energy along with better utilization of traditional domestic energy sources and enhanced energy conservation. However, existing national energy policies often work directly at cross purposes to this effective three pronged strategy. Biofuel and renewable energy production from our nation’s farms and rural communities is grossly underutilized and faces both government regulatory and monopolisticly driven hurdles to further integration into our national energy mix. High natural gas prices, driven in part, by Wall Street speculators taking advantage of the partial deregulation of natural gas commodity markets, have crippled our nation’s fertilizer and chemical production capacity. Proven reserves of traditional domestic energy cannot be developed because of unscientific ecological prejudices while environmentally marginal “global warming” policies increase energy costs on agriculture and society without benefits. Legislation languishes in Congress to promote critical infrastructure improvements that will increase efficiency and reduce energy costs in rural areas, such as streamlined approval processes and authorization for improved road, rail and water transportation as well as additional electricity transmission capacity. Voluntary and effective energy conservation programs, such as long and short distance passenger rail service, regional air transportation service, telecommuting, car/van pooling and affordable inter-community bus service, are under utilized and lack financial support in rural areas. Rural consumers, especially those served by rural electric cooperatives and public utility districts, must benefit from electricity restructuring, pricing and reliability programs just as other consumers.

Action Plan-

1. Promote biodiesel, ethanol, biomass, solar and wind energies derived from America’s family farms. Support tax and other incentives to increase use of “blended” renewable/conventional fuels.
2. Develop energy resources on public lands and off shore in an environmentally sound manner.
3. Support legislation to provide energy saving infrastructure improvements in rural areas, such as streamlined approval processes and authorization for improved road, rail and water transportation as well as additional electricity transmission capacity.
4. Support effective energy conservation in rural areas such as passenger rail service, regional air transportation service, telecommuting, public transportation and car/van pools instead of marginal “global warming” schemes that increase energy costs and reduce farm output.
5. Support amendments to the Commodity Futures Trading Act to return market oversight authority over the natural gas market and other energy markets to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
6. Support electricity industry restructuring/reliability proposals that preserve the special relationship that regional power suppliers, rural electric cooperatives and rural public utilities have with their customers. Preserve “cost-based” electricity pricing where this system has benefited rural customers.

5. Improve the Quality and Availability of Rural Health Care

Rural citizens need 100% tax deductions for all their health and insurance costs as well as their long-term care insurance, medical savings accounts, and medical flexible spending accounts. They need competitive priced health insurance choices such as nationwide association sponsored health plans. Yet, health insurance and related health benefit programs have no value if there are no health care providers in rural areas. We must preserve access to modern pharmaceutical technologies for all rural families. In particular, rural seniors expect that full implementation of the Medicare Part D program will provide a wide choice of affordable prescription drug benefits that meet their individual needs at prices they can afford. More U.S. farmers over the age of 65 will receive greater direct financial benefits from the Medicare Part D program than they will from government farm programs. Rural health care providers face regulatory barriers when they seek equitable reimbursement for treatments provided under Medicare and Medicaid. Rural health care providers also bear a disproportionate financial burden from medical malpractice litigation. Small scale, private, provider owned “specialty” health care facilities that focus on treating a narrow range of ailments effectively could be a source of economic development in many rural communities as well as a means of offering consumers of medical services greater choice and more competition in the market. But these facilities are effectively banned from operating in underserved rural areas under federal, and some state laws that favor giant corporate and “non-profit” hospitals and hospital chains that prefer to serve urban and suburban marketplaces.

Action Plan-

1. Provide rural residents the freedom to address their medical responsibilities through 100% income tax deductions for all health and long-term care insurance premiums, medical savings accounts, medical flexible spending accounts, authorization for nationwide association health plans and competitive health insurance products.
2. Support Medicare Part D prescription drug benefits. Support allowing the government to negociate prices for prescription drugs offered under Medicare part D but do not sacrifice the successful, market-based approach of offering the widest variety of Medicare Part D prescription drug programs to rural seniors. Repeal regulatory barriers that rural health care providers face regarding reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid.
3. Support medical malpractice tort reform to limit awards for non-economic damages.
4. Support health care reforms to allow small scale, private, provider owned, health care facilities that specialize in treating narrow ranges of ailments effectively to open and operate in rural communities.
5. Support measures that assure access to modern pharmaceutical technologies for rural families.

6. Promote Practical and Effective Immigration Reform

The tide of illegal immigration into our nation increases daily and, along with it, the burdens on our nation to provide public and governmental services, as well as the risk of increased criminal activity, the danger of a public health crisis, the creation of a permanent underclass, the potential for foreign terrorist attack and the diminution of our national sovereignty. At the same time, the need for temporary workers to meet unfulfilled labor needs in our economy grows more critical. Yet little constructive progress has been made to secure our nation’s boarders or to provide for an orderly flow of legal foreign guest workers. Stop gap measures such as erecting physical barriers along the boarders, shifting the enforcement burden to private employers and turning a blind eye to the problem through de facto amnesty that requires taxpayers and consumers pick up the bill for this crisis, have clearly failed. The primary responsibility to secure our boarders, protect our sovereignty and assure the orderly supply of legal guest workers rests with the government at all levels. Increased efforts to patrol our boarders, including the deployment of military resources, increased cooperation among federal, state and local law enforcement officials in responding to public safety threats by undocumented individuals including authorization to detain illegal individuals pending investigation of their status, uniform verification of eligibility for individuals to receive any government services, revoking the automatic rights of citizenship to the children of illegal aliens and comprehensive reform of outdated work guest worker visa application requirements are all practical, cost effective measures that should be implemented. Requiring private employers to be responsible for enforcement of federal immigration law is vigilantism and places at risk the civil rights of both foreign guest workers and U.S. citizens. Requiring taxpayers to finance government services for undocumented individuals who flaunt our laws is contrary to the principal of democratic accountability and popular sovereignty.

Action Plan

1. Support increased efforts by the U.S. government to patrol our borders to prevent the illegal entry of aliens into our nation, including the assignment of military resources to assist boarder control agencies.
2. Support a prohibition on general amnesty for illegal aliens. Support requiring proof of citizenship and/or legal residence to receive any government benefits. Support legislation to restrict the automatic granting of citizenship for children born to illegal immigrants, until the parents have obtained U.S. citizenship for themselves.
3. Support allowing law enforcment or immigration officials to detain any foreigners who are in the country illegally, including individuals with expired visas, for the duration of their investigation to facilitate orderly deportation.
4. Support enactment of practical and enforceable foreign guest worker visa programs, including expedited processing of foreign workers employed in the agricultural sector. Support reform of the H2A program so that the wage costs to farmers more closely reflect prevailing local wages. Support the expansion of the H1B and related visa programs for professionals to enter the United States in order to provide services in areas, such as rural communities, where there is a documented need.
5. Support legislation to assure that agricultural employers are not responsible for verifying the authenticity of migrant or seasonal worker documentation at the time of employment. Support legislation to assure that employers who unknowingly hire illegal aliens will not be taxed or fined.