 |
|
MAY 2003 |
|
WA
Grange Addresses Transportation Issues
The Washington State Grange recently
contacted Washington Governor Gary Locke to voice their concerns regarding a state
transportation package known as Referendum 51. Referendum 51 is a statewide measure
that would raise $7.8 billion for transportation projects, such as road maintenance,
public transportation and highway safety. This legislature would form a committee
consisting of 12 Democratic and 12 Republican legislators whose purpose would
be to ensure accountability by monitoring how tax dollars are spent on new transportation
projects. A Transportation Accountability Board consisting of nine members appointed
by the Governor would also be created to assist in determining how transportation
funds are distributed.
Although
the Washington State Grange recognizes the need for transportation legislation,
they are concerned that certain provisions would prove detrimental to farmers
and other related businesses. The main issue of concern for Grange members is
the Gross Weight Surcharge, which adds a 15 percent gross surcharge on trucks
weighing over 10,000 pounds. These gross weight fees would apply to trucks operating
in the state but not interstate freight movers, creating a greater burden to local
businesses and farmers. If the gross weight surcharge is enacted, the average
farmer can be expected to pay an additional $300 per year each 80,000 lbs of product
shipped to market.
In
a recent survey conducted by the Washington State Grange, 68 percent of respondents
objected to this tax and responded more favorably to alternatives such as a gas
tax or supporting tolls on roads and highways. State Master Terry Hunt proposed
an increase in the gas tax by six cents, which would generate revenue equal to
the proposed gross weight surcharge, yet not unfairly burden Washington's agriculture
producers.
President
Bush Signs Child Protection Bill
The National Grange is pleased to announce
that President George W. Bush has signed bill S. 151, otherwise known as the "Prosecutorial
Remedies and Tools Against the Exploitation of Children Today" or the "PROTECT
Act of 2003." The purpose of this legislation is to assist law enforcement in
prosecuting those who commit crimes against children. Protecting the rights of
children has always been a major priority for the National Grange. This bill accomplishes
that goal by addressing issues concerning the abduction, exploitation and murder
of America's most vulnerable citizens. This
bill will formally establish the federal government's role in implementing the
Amber Alert system, which currently exists in 41 states. This act will facilitate
other states to adopt these types of programs by providing grants and formally
establishing the government's role in the development of these systems. It will
also ensure that punishment for child abductors would be more severe. Attorney
General John Ashcroft appointed a coordinator to set uniform standards applying
to Amber Alert programs, creating what he describes as a "seamless" system throughout
the nation. Amber
Alert systems utilize radio, television, roadside electronic billboards and emergency
broadcast systems to disseminate information about kidnapping suspects and their
underage victims soon after an incidence is reported. According to police authorities,
most abducted children are either seriously injured or even murdered within hours
after an abduction occurs. Last November, the National Grange Convention adopted
a resolution supporting this system at the state and federal level. The 2003 National
Grange Blueprint for Rural America priority issues statement also contains the
following "Action Item" under the issue # 6, Enhancing Homeland Security and Public
Safety in Rural Areas: "Support efforts to coordinate abducted children "Amber
Alert" notices among all 50 states."
The
PROTECT Act of 2003 also addresses one of the most heinous forms of exploitation
- child pornography. Prosecuting child pornographers have become an even greater
challenge in this age of advancing technology. For instance, virtual depictions
of children that are indistinguishable from real children can be created. Features
of different children can be used to create an unidentifiable image or actual
photos of children may be altered to appear computer generated. Regardless of
whether not actual children are involved, those creating these images promote
this kind of behavior. Failure to criminalize all depictions of child sexual abuse
would leave open a loophole in which perpetrators can avoid prosecution. Under
this new law, ALL images falling under this category will be classified as illegal.
Other
provisions under the PROTECT Act include closer supervision of newly released
child sex offenders and provide non-profit organizations with the means to conduct
detailed background checks on volunteers. The signing of this bill proves a major
victory to Grange members and to families throughout the United States.
top National
Grange Joins Coalition to Promote Agricultural Exports
In order to better
serve agricultural producers in the U.S., the National Grange has joined forces
with over 80 agricultural, non-profit, public interest and trade organizations
to form the Coalition to Promote U.S. Agricultural Exports. The purpose of this
coalition is to ensure that U.S. policies and programs allowing agricultural producers
to compete in the global marketplace are properly maintained and utilized. Agricultural
exports are vital to this nation's economy; they account for at least one-third
of domestic production, provide jobs for millions of Americans and contribute
to our overall trade balance. Although agricultural exports are expected to reach
$57 billion, it is a decrease in comparison to previous years. This can be attributed
to factors such as the subsidization of foreign competitors and other trade barriers.
According
to the USDA, the European Union (EU) currently spends between $2 and $5 billion
annually on agricultural export subsidies while the US spends less than $100 million.
The US is being outspent by a factor of 20 to 1 by the EU alone! Other information
compiled by the USDA shows that what the US typically spends on export subsidies,
the EU and other countries are spending just to promote sales. With
passage of the 2002 Farm Bill, Congress approved increases in funding to the Market
Access Program (MAP) and the Foreign Market Development (FMD) programs in order
to encourage trade expansion. For the fiscal year 2004, the Farm Bill authorizes
funding for the MAP program at $125 million and the FMD program at $34.5 million.
Both of these programs are administered on a cost-share basis with agricultural
producers required to contribute up to 50 percent of their own resources, right
now over 70 agricultural groups are sharing the costs to implement these programs.
With the USDA reducing funds, agricultural producers have increased their contributions
to these programs, which will support the continued expansion of U.S. agricultural
exports, protect jobs and increase farm income.
top National
Grange Submits Comments to Bureau of Land Management
Earlier this month,
the National Grange submitted their comments to the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) regarding changes in regulation regarding livestock grazing. The BLM is
in the process of developing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in connection
with proposed rulemaking to amend its regulations related to livestock grazing.
This legislation would reinstate the provisions set forth in the Taylor Grazing
Act of 1934, which was passed in order to protect grazing resources and to stabilize
the Western livestock industry. The
Taylor Act allows for the preservation and protection of grazing lands by issuing
permits and determining which lands would be used for grazing purposes. Permits
were originally given based on "preference" meaning those who historically lived
and ranched in these areas. For close to 60 years, this system worked reasonably
well, until BLM Secretary of Interior Babbit change it as part of "Rangland Reform" in 1995. As a result, private property rights were undermined when range improvements
were taken away from permittees while new grazing allotments were often awarded
to non-profit entities showing neither incentive nor responsibility in maintaining
or improving rangeland conditions for the intended purpose of livestock grazing.
Many permittees under the original act were stripped of the benefits of their
forage allotments and faced with surcharges when they decided to sublease to their
neighbors.
In
conjunction with other organizations, the Grange is encouraging the BLM to use
the concept of Reserve Common Allotment (RCA) that would hold non-economic use
grazing lands in reserve for both conservation and for emergency livestock grazing.
Under the proper circumstances, an RCA would provide greater flexibility to both
the BLM and to livestock permittees. However, the Grange insists that RCA's should
only be drawn from vacant allotments and not created by removing permittees from
existing ones. The only exceptions to that rule would be limited to those allotments
given to non-profit entities for non-livestock grazing purposes. The
National Grange believes that farmers and ranchers who pay for and construct range
improvements should own them, make improvements and receive the necessary funding
to do so. Promoting ownership of range improvements will serve the best interests
of both conservation and range management goals by promoting responsible land
stewardship.
top National
Grange Questions Congressional Language on Climate Change
The National
Grange, in partnership with several other non-profit organizations, wrote to US
House Foreign Relations Chairman Rep. Henry Hyde expressing concern over the language
recently adopted by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee regarding climate change.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee resolutions are based on scientific evidence
and findings that are questionable as well as based on speculations that cannot
be counted as accurate predictions. Legislation based on these findings, the Grange
argues, would entangle the U.S. in ineffective international agreements regarding
energy consumption. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee resolutions on climate change are based
on a series of "findings" from independent scientific sources that are often taken
out of context. For example, although some evidence does exist supporting the
first finding that manmade greenhouse gasses could contribute to global change,
scientific consensus is that the effects are minimal. The second finding of a
connection between greenhouse gasses and climate change quotes from the "Summary
for Policymakers of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC): Third
Assessment Report" that was produced by foreign governments and assisted by the
U.N. scientific officials to specifically support adoption of the Kyoto Protocol.
When the Report is read in its entirety, non-partisan analysts claim that significant
increases in global temperature are very unlikely. The
third finding used by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee quotes a U.S. National
Research Council (NRC) panel endorsing the IPCC's conclusions. However it then
quotes the same panel as to the "considerable uncertainty" about these conclusions.
The full NRC report contains other similar uncertainties and more recent NRC reports
on climate identify even more problems with the science of climate change.
The
fourth finding pointlessly observes that the IPCC has stated that sea levels have
risen, etc. Not mentioned is the fact that the IPCC reports have never attributed
a sea level rise to rising greenhouse gas emissions. Sea levels have been rising
since the last Ice Age, and most scientists believe they will continue to rise
until the next Ice Age. The
fifth scientific finding relies on the National Assessment on Climate Change,
which has been thoroughly discredited in the scientific community and was disavowed
by the Bush Administration. It is not, as the finding claims, "a United States
Government report." The computer models used to forecast the impacts of climate
change cannot make reliable regional forecasts according to one of the modeling
teams employed. The
Senate Foreign Relations Committee resolutions based on these findings contain
seriously flawed policy recommendations. The first two resolutions recommend that
the U.S. adopt Kyoto-style policies to limit energy use by Americans. The third
resolution urges the U.S. to extend the Kyoto Protocol by negotiating a second
round of binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions. The National Grange believes
that Kyoto Protocol, along with similar mandatory approaches to cutting carbon
dioxide emissions, will be a dead end until developing nations are required to
share a greater proportion of the burden. Adopting such policies unilaterally
would levy excessive costs on U.S. farms and businesses and make no significant
difference in the reduction of greenhouse gas levels. Therefore, it is important,
as the coalition letter signed by the Grange told Chairman Hyde that the U.S.
adopt resolutions regarding climate change policy that are based on "careful consideration
and thoughtful debate, and not on speculation. "
top Pennsylvania
State Grange Hosts Legislative Program
On April 28, 2003, the Pennsylvania
State Grange hosted a legislation luncheon in honor of Grange Month. Hosted by
Legislative Director Brenda Shambaugh, the luncheon consisted of a variety of
speakers that included Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Secretary, Dennis
Wolff, Senator Michael Waugh, Representative Sheila Miller and John Hines, the
acting Deputy Secretary of Water Management. The
underlying theme of this legislative day was on change. Change is inevitable;
in order to survive it must be accepted. Dan Gard who handles dairy operations
for Monsanto encouraged members to prepare themselves for greater consolidation,
he said, "the best defense is the best offense" in dealing with these challenges.
The event ended with State Membership Director, Carl Meiss, who giving a very
entertaining presentation based on the bestseller "Who Moved My Cheese?"
top
|
