Priority Issues of Concern to Rural Americans and our Nation’s
Family Farmers and Ranchers in the Year 2007
The National Grange has developed a six-point program to revitalize rural America and build U.S. agricultural prosperity. As in previous years, the Blueprint for Rural America is the foundation of National Grange’s legislative program, and is recognized by many groups and legislative leaders as the primary focus of rural life. Below is a synopsis of those six issues and the National Grange’s action plan for obtaining those goals.
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 capital and financing, their use of farm labor, geographic location, environmental challenges, marketing decisions and annual revenues derived from their farming operations. The Grange supports federal farm programs that 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. We advocate structuring farm programs to assure that today’s family farmers can eventually transfer their operation to a new generation of farmers and rural entrepreneurs including a n extension of the existing $500,000 per couple federal capital gains tax exclusion for private residences to agricultural land. Additionally we support estate tax reform and accelerated depreciation of capital assets for farms and rural businesses.
The National Grange supports 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. We support innovative practices like part-time, new uses, low investment/expense, direct-to-consumer, and organic farming. We acknowledge that farmers need protection from market manipulation through restrictions of agribusiness mergers that reduce competition or farm prices. We support country of origin labeling and animal identification regulations that minimize costs for U.S. farmers. National Grange supports an extension of regional dairy programs to all U.S. dairy farmers and consumers and support financial assistance programs such as the MILC program, for moderate-sized dairy farms. We support biotechnology property rights giving farmers legal ownership to the seeds they save and the offspring animals they produce.
2. Reform Eminent Domain Authority and Protect Private Property Rights
Our Nation’s Founding Fathers 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 landowners. 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. National Grange supports federal, state, and local legislation prohibiting all government agencies or authorities from exercising its power of eminent domain for 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. Finally we support legislation requiring any property acquired through eminent domain for a temporary public purpose be returned to the original owner or their rightful legal heirs after the public use is no longer necessary.
3. Expand Telecommunications Services in Rural Areas
Universal access to affordable, reliable and competitive telecommunications technologies 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. Cell phones 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. 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. The Grange supports programs such as the Universal Service Fund to guarantee that every rural community will have affordable local telephone service, cell phone, dial-up Internet and broadband Internet access. We also 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, providing adequate education and financial resources for a transition to digital television in 2009. We support legislation that protects children from inappropriate materials, combats incidents of Internet fraud, reduces spam and increases privacy and security for individuals who use the Internet. Finally, we support the 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. Bio-fuel and renewable energy production from our nation’s farms and rural communities is grossly underutilized and faces both government regulatory and private industry driven hurdles to further integration into our national energy mix. The Grange promotes bio-diesel, ethanol, biomass, solar and wind energies derived from America’s family farms. We support tax and other incentives to increase the use of “blended” renewable/conventional fuels and the development of energy resources on public lands on and off shore in an environmentally sound manner. Proven reserves of traditional domestic energy should be developed. The Grange supports legislation in Congress to promote critical infrastructure improvements that will increase efficiency and reduce energy costs in rural areas. We also support legislation to provide energy saving infrastructure improvements in rural areas, such as streamlined approval processes and authorization for improved roads, rail and water transportation as well as additional electricity transmission capacity. 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. Finally, National Grange supports 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.
5. Improve the Quality and Availability of Rural Health Care
National Grange supports a 100% tax deduction for all health and insurance costs as well as long-term care insurance, medical savings accounts, and medical flexible spending accounts. Rural Americans 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. The Grange supports the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefits. We also support government negotiation for prescription drug prices offered under Medicare part D without sacrificing the successful, market-based approach of offering the widest variety of Medicare Part D prescription drug programs to rural seniors. The Grange supports the repeal of regulatory barriers that rural health care providers face when they seek equitable reimbursement for treatments provided under Medicare and Medicaid. We support medical malpractice tort reform to limit awards for non-economic damages. We support reforms allowing small scale, private, provider owned “specialty” health care facilities that focus on treating a narrow range of ailments effectively to operate in our rural communities as well as a means of offering consumers of medical services greater choice and more competition in the market.
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. The Grange supports increased efforts to patrol our borders, 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. We support a prohibition on general amnesty for illegal aliens. Finally we 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.  |
