Cap and Trade:
Well, as I've said in the past, I'm certainly concerned about what the... what has come out of the House in terms of cap and trade, um, both in terms of the cost and what it means to agriculture... uh, but also, the un-answered questions. What is it going to mean to consumers in terms of the increased costs of food? For our producers...um, you know, the concerns we have about... what kind of offsets that are going to be available to them in order for them to remain competitive... um, you know, on top of the types of input costs they're going to see increases in, so there's some big concerns out there and I think there are some winners and losers in what the House has done.
I certainly believe that the Ag Committee in the Senate wants to have a role to play here and that we're gonna have a say and work with Chairman Boxer and Chairman Baucus to come up with something that's more balanced, that really does answer the questions that exist out there in terms both cost for everybody... whether it's producers, whether it's consumers... um, you know... and what we're going to see happen there.
I was pleased to hear the majority leader [Harry Reid] indicate yesterday or the day before that he felt like that it was going to be very tough for us to get this done this year. I've said that for a coupla months now. And I do believe there was an excellent energy bill that was produced out of the Senate Energy Committee that gets us moving in the right direction, and couple that with what Chairman Baucus could do and has said he will do when that energy bill moves with incentives, tax incentives, we could do an awful lot in a way that I think is much more productive...
At this point, the show host asked her if she thinks cap and trade will pass this year, and she said she does not think it will pass the Senate this year.
Translation: Blanche isn't really concerned about reducing emissions or peak oil. She doesn't mind a bill that gives incentives to farmers, but she doesn't want to punish anybody for wasteful and filthy behavior.
On subsidies:
Well, first and foremost, we've [she and Sen. Byron Dorgan] had difference of opinions but that doesn't mean we can't work together. One of the things I think is so important to point out is that over the last - over the last TWO farm bills, which I have worked on and conferenced with, we have made more reforms for producers in the payment systems than in the entire history of this country. We have worked so diligently to put reforms in there. We have minimized to a tremendous degree the amount of money or resources that exist in a farm bill that actually go to production agriculture vs. the money that goes for things like conservation, which all of our farmers love. They love to be able to take marginal land out of production and to be able to be more efficient and productive for the environment and everything else, but we also know - particularly as we look at cap and trade that incentive is greater to plant that land in trees than it is to plant it in commodities that people need to sustain themselves. You know, there's a big issue there in terms of the price of food and where we point ourselves.
After a commercial break, she continued...
Well, there have been tremendous adjustments, and one of the things that's important to recognize is that we are a diverse country and I don't think it's better represented anywhere than it is on the Senate Ag Committee. We all find that much can be attributed to the regional differences in the crops we grow and the production methods we use, but I've always said that farmers in Arkansas, and Iowa, and North Dakota have more in common than they have different, and that's why you see efforts in the committee to work together to solve those problems and to figure out those differences to come to a reasonable balance and a compromise. As I said, in the last farm bill, we had more reforms than ever before. You saw a farm bill that passed with well over 80 votes and that is unheard of in the Senate in this day or even before [laughs].
Um, but I think it is critical to recognize that we're all very different. I do represent my Arkansas farmers on the committee and I work hard. I've worked to ensure that there's a strong safety net that our farmers can depend on. Crop insurance isn't a big tool for us, but it is a tool for midwesterners, and that's why I support 'em on it. Um, but I also know that we are capital intensive crops. We grow what we're suited to grow because that's what smart farmers do. Our farms are larger because they have to be an economy of scale that allows them to spread that risk out of that capital investment over a larger area of business. Um, and it is critical, we know that our payments and our safety net programs follow production... our farms are bigger, that means our safety net and production assistance is gonna be bigger because our farms are bigger. So, it's a tough issue. We've worked hard, I think our southern growers that grow capital intensive crops come to the table time and time again to provide reforms.
We've got a good farm bill that's come out. We're gonna work hard, I'm gonna work hard in the Ag Committee to ensure that the agreement we made in the farm bill is implemented...again, 80+ Senators voted for it... as it was intended... We'll be working with the administration and others, with some of the concerns they may have... but, again, usually a lot of Senators come together and try to find a balance on that. I'm gonna continue to fight for my growers just like the other members fight for theirs. I think we've made a good argument, I think we've made good concessions and we've been willing to bring to the table reforms that are tougher on our farmers than they are on other growers across the country, and our farmers have been willing to do that. I think people will see that.
Translation: During the last farm bill debate, Senators Dorgan and Grassley previously tried to cap subsidies at a maximum of $250,000. The measure narrowly failed. In this rambling response, Lincoln is trying to justify her opposition to payment limits on subsidies by saying that (a) Arkansas farms are bigger because they have to be and they get a lot of subsidies as a result and (b) she has worked for a lot of reforms and the last farm bill was a good bill. Lincoln represents cotton and rice interests as well as Tyson Foods.
On Trade:
Well, our hope is is that we will hear more [from the Obama administration] on trade. Much of what we have heard has mostly been about enforcement. Enforcement is critical. It doesn't matter what agreements we negotiate, if they're not enforcin' them and making sure people are abidin' by those agreements... but trade is critical. One of the things we'd like to ask - and I made a call to the USTR [U.S. Trade Representative] Ron Kirk, who's a great guy and I think will be really good for us, is to really speed up the efforts of getting a ag negotiator over there at USTR, that's going to be critical as we move forward.
Certainly making sure that we open up some of these pathways to marketplaces where we've opened our markets to their products, opening up their markets to our products is critical. Columbia's a good example there.
And also making sure that overall that we are implementing trade agreements, that we are enforcing...you know, you look at what happened with the Brazilian cotton case. They wanted a $4 billion injury award, they got $230 million, indicative of the fact that it just wasn't there that we were putting a downward pressure on their markets. Their acreage has grown while our acreage has decreased. So there are a lot of things we have to talk about and make sure that people are aware about. We've gotta stay focused on the trade agenda and what's going on but we've got to stay focused on the enforcement, and I hope the Obama Administration will help us do that and I'm gonna have a... certainly I've already contacted Ron Kirk and will continue to work with him and will continue to see a good working relationship between Agriculture and USTR.
Translation: She's pro-free trade and wants the US to sign a free trade agreement with Columbia. |
