Federal Budget, Jobs, & the Economy

ALBANY, GA – On Friday, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), member of the Friends of Jobs Corps Congressional Caucus, addressed the 2012 Graduating Class of Turner Job Corps Center in Albany, Georgia. A unique national program with 125 centers across the country, Job Corps offers at-risk youth varied academic opportunities and career pathways in business and industry.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA) and Congressman Rick Crawford (R-AR), Co-Chairs of the Congressional Chicken Caucus, welcomed advance notification of the Mexican government’s decision to delay the implementation of anti-dumping duties on U.S. chicken leg quarters. In June 2012, the Congressional Chicken Caucus sent a letter to Ambassador Ron Kirk, the U.S. Trade Representative, expressing its concern that antidumping duties would have a devastating economic impact on the U.S. Chicken Industry and supporting industries.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) released the following statement today announcing the awarding of five new and continuing grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to assist socially disadvantaged farmers, ranchers, and landowners in Georgia. A total of 70 grants were awarded throughout the United States through the Outreach and Assistance to Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers (OASDFR) Competitive Grants Program, also known as the “2501 Program.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) supported H.R. 6233, the Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act, which would authorize assistance to farmers affected by drought, wildfires, and other natural disasters that occurred in fiscal year 2012.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), who serves on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, joined 62 of his colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives in sending a letter the House Leadership urging them to bring H.R. 6083, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act, or Farm Bill, to a vote before the August District Work Period, scheduled to begin on August 4, 2012.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, stood in support of Georgia’s tomato industry in regards to unfair trade practices. In a letter to the Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce Rebecca Blank, Congressman Bishop called for the withdrawal of the 1996 antidumping petition and the termination of the 2008 Suspension Agreement governing the importation of tomatoes from Mexico.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) supported the bipartisan passage of H.R. 4348, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21^st Century Act (MAP-21).

The legislation extends for one year (through July 1, 2013) the current 3.4 percent loan rate on need-based student loans. Under current law, the rate would have doubled to 6.8 percent on July 1, 2012. The vote was 373 to 52. The Senate also approved the legislation today by a vote of 74-19. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law this afternoon.