ALERT: Congressional Anti-Regulatory Crusade
It is likely that the House of Representatives will take up HR 4078, the "Red Tape Reduction and Small Business Job Creation Act", this week. This bill would shut down the entire regulatory system, endangering the health, safety and economic stability of every American. HR 4078, which includes several anti-reg sister bills [Regulatory Freeze For Jobs Act, Midnight Rule Relief Act of 2012" & Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2012] includes a number of harmful provisions that are far-reaching, extreme and dangerous.
The Regulatory Freeze for Jobs of 2012, would prohibit any federal agency from taking any significant regulatory action until the Secretary of Labor reports that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) average of monthly unemployment rates for any quarter is 6% or less. This sweeping and unprecedented bill defines "significant regulatory action" as any regulatory action that is likely: (1) to have an annual cost to the economy of $100 million or more or to adversely affect the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, small entities, communities, or state, local, or tribal governments; (2) to create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with another agency's action; (3) to materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients thereof; or (4) to raise novel legal or policy issues.
Even if you believe that the regulatory system could be improved, this bill is extreme. Congress wants to throw the baby out with the bath water. The only purpose of HR 4078 and its companion bills is to send our regulatory system of safeguards and environmental protections down the toilet.
To contact your U.S. Representative click on
www.house.gov to find out his/her DC and district office phone numbers and email addresses. You can also call the Capitol Directory at 202-224-3121. Please urge her/him to
OPPOSE this dangerous legislation that will place the American public at risk.
Representative Hastings (Fl) is introducing an amendment to exempt drinking water from the grasp of HR 4078. To read the amendment click HERE. Please urge your representatives to SUPPORT this amendment to safeguard our nation's drinking water supplies.
Click on the link below to read about the current anti-regulatory battle taking place in our nation's Capital.
2012 House and Senate FARM BILL Updates:
Farmers Deserve Better!
As we have previously reported, the House Agriculture Committee approved 35-11, their version of the 2012 Farm Bill., the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act (FARRM). Their version includes 35 billion in 10-year savings achieved through major cuts in the food stamp and commodity programs. For the first time since the 1985 (since the conservation programs were established in the Farm Bill), Congress is making huge cuts to these programs, to the tune of $6 billion.
To read CWN's new fact sheet on the House Farm Bill please click HERE.
The Farm Bill, which is reauthorized every five years, expires on September 30. It is not clear if Congress will be successful at reauthorizing it by the deadline. Read the recent article in Politico HERE, detailing the unprecedented congressional roadblocks to getting the Farm Bill finished before the lame duck session. We will keep you apprised of any and all developments on this front.
In addition to the mammoth conservation program cuts the House bill also cuts significant acreage from the Conservation Stewardship Program. The same dangerous pesticides amendment (HR 872) that was introduced initially on the Senate side, is now part of FARRM in sec.10017. This section would overturn the Clean Water Act requirement that entities obtain permits before spraying pesticides directly into or near waters. This would axe all Clean Water Act protections for pesticides that are sprayed directly into streams, rivers, lakes, and other waters. Supporters of this pro-pesticide industry amendment want to eliminate the Clean Water Act safety review.
As if that were not enough, FARRM also weakens the link between federal support and conservation compliance. This basic covenant between farmers and taxpayers assures that in return for receiving federal subsidies, including crop insurance subsidies, farmers should meet some basic eligibility requirements including protecting erodible soils and not draining wetlands on their property. This covenant between farmers and taxpayers is critical for reducing soil erosion, protecting wetlands, reducing downstream flooding risk, and decreasing nutrient pollution into rivers, lakes and streams. With the farm subsidy system set to shift away from direct payments, it is critical that conservation compliance be linked to taxpayer subsidized crop insurance, which is now largest of the federal benefits farmers receive.
CWN and others supported the Soil and Wetlands Conservation Amendment, championed successfully by Senators Chambliss (GA) and Ben Cardin (MD) in the Senate. The amendment would modernize the soil and wetland conservation provisions by reattaching highly erodible land (HEL) and wetland conservation to the receipt of federal crop and revenue insurance premium subsidies. This important Amendment would ensure that taxpayer funds are not rewarding agricultural producers who are draining wetlands or farming highly erodible land without conservation measures. Unfortunately a companion amendment for the House bill did not successfully materialize.
It is also critically important that a sodsaver provision be a national, rather than a regional provision. A national sodsaver provision was included in the final Senate bill, but the House bill only includes a regional provision. A sodsaver provision would limit the amount of federal subsidies a farmer can get on native prairie that they decide to convert to cropland. This provision is critical for protecting remaining native grasslands. Native grassland is one of the most quickly declining ecosystems, and the wildlife that depend on grasslands are declining at alarming rates.Many of the areas of remaining grassland outside of the Prairie Pothole Region are in drought prone areas. Including a national sodsaver in the Farm Bill will help to strengthen the farm safety net by assuring that limited federal funds are used to sustain the most productive acres, not to incentivize production on lands that are too dry, marginal or flood-prone to produce good crops.
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Links to Articles and Reports:
A copy of an article from Politico on the U.S. House Farm Bill Agriculture Committee passage of their Farm Bill version can be accessed HERE.
To access an excellent blog post from our friends at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, on the House Agriculture Committee's Markup click HERE.
For a complete update on Senate Floor action on all amendments that were offered to the Farm bill click HERE.
To access an excellent update on the House Farm Bill discussion draft from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition click HERE.
To access a statement from the National Family Farm Coalition on the Senate bill Click HERE.
An article, Conservation Efforts fail can be found through this link: http://ecowatch.org/2012/speak-farm-bill/
A FARRM statement from Food and Water Watch: http://ecowatch.org/2012/house-fails-farmers/
General article from the NYT about FARRM cuts/new provisions:
Johns Hopkins Center for Livable Future recently released a great science brief on the link between conservation compliance and public health: https://filemanager.capwiz.com/filemanager/file-mgr/livablefuture/1_Protect_Environmental_Compliance_Programs.pdf
CWN is compiling another fact sheet outlining key environmental provisions in the House Farm Bill. Stay tuned for more updates.
Additional Farm Bill Resources & Information:
Click HERE to download NWF's Fact Sheet on Conservation Compliance
Click HERE to see a collection of Farm Bill fact sheets, articles & sign-on letters on CWN's website.
New GAO Report on Non-Point Source Pollution Published
This report was started in the waning days of Transportation and Infrastructure former Chairman James Oberstar (MN), and has some compelling findings regardingwater quality impacts of farm bill programs. To access the report click on the following link:
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-335
NEW GAO Report on TMDL's to Start:
GAO Requests help from clean water community!
Congress recently asked GAO to review EPA's TMDL Program. GAO was asked to (1) identify the roles and responsibilities of EPA and the states in developing and implementing TMDLs, (2) assess the status of long-established TMDLs, and (3) evaluate the extent to which long-established TMDLs helped states achieve water quality standards. They are beginning the project now and are interested in speaking with environmental community experts who can share experiences with the TMDL program on the state and local levels. The clients for this report are Senators Boxer (CA) and Cardin (MD). To contact Nathan email him at AndersonN@gao.gov. We will also be providing the GAO project team with a list of names of CWN members who have considerable expertise in this area.
House and Senate Voting Charts 2012
Click HERE to access the House of Representatives' chart and HERE for the Senate chart, to see how your members of Congress voted on key environmental issues. We are also including key committee votes as well. This is a work in progress. Will continue to add to these charts as the year progresses.
Thanks for all you do to protect our nation's waters! Have a happy and safe summer enjoying your local waterways!
