Bishop Speaks at Crawford County Young Farmers Tour
Roberta, GA – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-2) reaffirmed his unwavering commitment to farmers and the agricultural industry in his remarks at Cooley Farms, Saturday, June 19, as part of the Crawford County Young Farmers Association’s 2010 Summer Tour.
Congressman Bishop, noting that the average age of young farmers continues to rise, saluted the youths there for taking on that challenge and facing it head-on with this tour.
He also made note of the challenges he is addressing on behalf of Georgia farmers. Chief among them is the Department of Transportation’s proposed ban of peanuts on airplanes.
“How ridiculous can you get,” Congressman Bishop said. “I had to send the Secretary [of Transportation] a letter to remind him that in 1999 we passed a law which is still in effect that would prohibit anybody from banning peanuts on airlines, unless they’ve done a scientific study – peer review – and it has been submitted to Congress. None of that has happened, so I think we’re going to have to wait awhile for the Secretary [of Transportation] to get the egg off his face in that regard.”
He also shared with the audience that he is working with colleagues to push the Administration to resolve issues that result in delays of agriculture exports. Congressman Bishop is co-sponsoring a bill supporting increased market access for exports of United States beef and beef-products to Japan. This week he wrote a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ronald Kirk expressing his concern regarding the ban imposed on U.S. poultry exports to Russia, a situation that severely impacts Georgia’s poultry industry.
Bishop said he has made the funding for the research labs in nearby Byron a top priority as he and his colleagues work on agricultural appropriations, and he is working with the University of Georgia to secure funding to ensure this research continues.
Another example of how Bishop is looking out for farmers was his vote in support of the Tax Extenders bill. This bill, which is presently stalled in the Senate, provides agricultural relief assistance to farmers.
Yesterday, Congressman Bishop called for the Senate to move forward to pass the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010, commonly known as the Tax Extenders bill. In addition to closing tax loopholes, the measure provides assistance for 2009 agricultural losses, including specialty crops, livestock, sugar, aquaculture, cottonseed, and poultry.
The Tax Extenders bill also supplies supplemental direct payments, emergency loans, and grants to states for crop or livestock producers including: a $42 million supplement for cottonseed assistance; $25 million in grants for aquaculture assistance; a $21 million payment to an agricultural transportation cooperative; $75 million in emergency loans for poultry producers; a $50 million payment for livestock producers who had grazing losses; $150 million in grants to states for specialty crop producers affected by drought; and $150 million in grants to states for specialty crop producers affected by excessive rainfall.
No later than 90 days after the measure's enactment, the Department of Agriculture would be required to make grants to states to provide such assistance. The maximum grant made to a state could not exceed $40 million. In addition, the measure provides $10 million for administrative cost.
“This important legislation provides much-needed agriculture disaster assistance to our farmers,” said Congressman Bishop. The Senate may feel that they can take their time with this, but our farmers are hurting and cannot continue to wait for financial relief.”
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