Blue Print for Rural America 2008 Contains the Following:
Introduction-
The National Grange, the nation’s oldest general farm and rural public interest organization, has developed a nine-point program to revitalize rural America and assure U.S. agricultural prosperity. The Grange has provided a grassroots voice for individuals, families, farmers and rural communities since 1867. Today, Grange members, affiliated with more than 3,000 local, county and state Grange chapters across the nation, are leaders in developing and advocating policies that benefit their communities.
1. Build a Solid Foundation of Prosperity for America’s Family Farmers, Ranchers, and Foresters
America’s family farmers, ranchers and foresters are a highly diverse and constantly evolving group of entrepreneurs who differ greatly in the size of their operations, the products they produce, their ownership structure, their needs for capital and financing, their use of farm labor, geographic location, environmental challenges, marketing decisions and annual revenues derived from their agricultural operations. Fewer than 15% of farms today are commercial scale, farming-only businesses. These farms produce 75% of all domestic agricultural production. The remaining 85% of farms in the United States incorporate non-farm income as part of their business plan. Federal farm programs should foster increased participation in the agricultural sector as well as the broadest practical distribution of agricultural production by actively encouraging more Americans to include farming or ranching as part of their entrepreneurial business or personal lifestyle goals. A majority of the farmers in our nation are over 55 years old and 35% of our farmers are over the age of 65. Farm programs must assure that today’s family farmers can retire with dignity and that their productive resources will be transferred to a new generation of farmers and rural entrepreneurs. Farm programs should reward innovative practices, encourage sound conservation techniques, preserve prime agricultural land, assure compliance with existing international trade agreements, respond quickly to natural disasters, and facilitate the introduction of cost saving and environmentally beneficial new technologies for all segments of the agriculture sector. Finally, farm programs must protect farmers from risks that are beyond their control or from the undue concentration of market power that restricts competition or entry into the agriculture sector.
Action Plan-
- Support farm programs that make available credit, risk management, income support, and environmental stewardship for family farmers and ranchers, regardless of the crop or livestock they produce. Support sustainable practices like part-time, new uses, low investment/expense, aquaculture, agri-tourism, direct-to-consumer, and organic farming.
- Protect farmers who rely on commodity markets or contract production from monopoly and market manipulation. Allow all farmers in a designated disaster county to be eligible for federal or state agriculture disaster assistance programs. Support country of origin labeling, food origin traceability , and voluntary national animal identification programs that protect the privacy of participating farmers.
- Enact regional dairy programs for all U.S. dairy farmers and consumers. Support direct financial assistance, such as the MILC program, for moderate-sized dairy farms and a Safety Net Program that establishes a minimum price for milk paid to all dairy farmers .
- Support biotechnology property rights, publicly disclosed biotechnology product contract terms and use of “tech fees” to give farmers legal ownership of the seeds they save and the offspring animals they produce. Supports legislation to protect farmers from nuisance suits that arise from incidental occurrences of “patented DNA”. Require foreign farmers to pay the same biotechnology fees as U.S. farmers. Support using sound science during the approval processes for new biotechnologies to assure their safety.
- Combat trade distorting practices instituted by foreign governments, such as currency manipulation and unilateral repudiation of sovereign debt, that make it more difficult for U.S. farmers and manufacturers to export their products.
- Facilitate the generational transfer of assets to a new generation of family farmers, ranchers and foresters by: extending the existing $500,000 per couple federal capital gains tax exclusion for private residences to agricultural land and/or to the sale of development or water rights on agricultural land; supporting federal programs for agricultural land use preservation and conservation practices on private land; supporting tax simplification for family farmers; supporting reform and eventual elimination of the estate tax and supporting accelerated depreciation of capital assets for farms and rural businesses.
2. Protect Private Property Rights by Reforming Eminent Domain Authority
Property rights are central to our liberty and our prosperity. The Founding Fathers realized the fundamental importance of property rights when they codified the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which requires that private property shall not be taken “for public use, without just compensation”. Many state constitutions contain similar language. In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Kelo v. City of New London, abuse of eminent domain solely for private economic benefit is a threat to the civil rights of all private property owners, including rural landowners. Private ownership rights in rural land are fundamental building blocks of our nation's agriculture industry. Farmland and forest land owners require long-term certainty regarding their property rights in order to make the commitment to invest in these properties and preserve them for future generations. The use of eminent domain to take farmland and other rural property for private economic benefit threatens our liberty, the social fabric of rural communities, and the economy of the United States. Americans should never have to fear that their government will arbitrarily take their homes, farms, or businesses. Governments should never use the power of eminent domain to force rural property owners from their land in order to develop rural land into industrial or commercial property.
Action Plan-
- Support federal legislation prohibiting any agency of the Federal Government from using or delegating its power of eminent domain to be used for private economic development.
- Support federal legislation to prohibit all state or local governments from using or delegating their power of eminent domain for the purpose of private economic development. Any State or political subdivision that exercises the power of eminent domain for private economic development should be ineligible for all federal economic development funds for at least two years.
- Support state legislation and local ordinances to strictly prohibit local political subdivisions from exercising their powers of eminent domain for the purpose of private economic development.
3. Expand Telecommunications Services in Rural Areas
Universal access to affordable, reliable and competitive telecommunications technologies such as telephone, cellular, wireless, digital broadcast television, radio, Internet, satellite and competitive video services must be available to rural communities at affordable costs. Advanced telecommunications technologies and services are converging. Therefore, national, state and locals laws that givern these technologies should be reformed to remove the regulatory uncertainty that has deterred advanced telecommunications investment in rural America. The Internet delivers information, services and products efficiently, irrespective of geographic location. Rural telecommuters enjoy rewarding careers and lifestyles while conserving energy and reducing traffic congestion. Cell phones increase personal security in remote areas and offer cost effective service to low income individuals. Telemedicine and tele-education both bring vital new services to rural communities. Global positioning satellites improve productivity on America’s farms. Even with these benefits, we must protect children from inappropriate materials and we must reduce incidents of spam, fraud and loss of privacy from these technologies. Expanding access to advanced telecommunications technologies and services in rural areas will spark the creation of new service providers, new innovations and new applications that will become more affordable to rural communities.
Action Plan-
- Support programs such as the Universal Service Fund to guarantee that every rural community will have affordable local telephone service, cell phone, dial-up Internet and broadband Internet access. Support extending “Lifeline” service to include cell phone companies.
- Support legislation to assure that every rural community has access to free, over-the-air broadcast radio and television services, as well as competitive video, fiber optic, fixed wireless or satellite services. Assure that satellite TV companies give rural consumers access to more than one predetermined set of local channels.
- Provide educational and financial resources for a transition to digital television in 2009.
- Protect children from inappropriate materials, combat incidents of fraud, reduce spam and increase privacy and security for individuals who use the Internet. Update “Do-Not-Call” registry programs to include computer dialed and live political telemarketing calls.
4. Achieve Energy Security for Rural America
Imported energy and high prices threaten our national security. High energy costs can force farmers to abandon crops in their fields or sell their livestock at a loss. Renewable energy from our nation’s farms, along with better utilization of traditional domestic energy sources and enhanced energy conservation are the keys to reducing our dependence on imported energy. However, existing national energy policies often contradict this effective three-pronged strategy. Biofuel and renewable energy production from our nation’s farms and rural communities is grossly underutilized and faces government regulatory and monopolistically driven hurdles to further integration into our national energy mix. High natural gas prices, driven in part, by Wall Street speculators taking advantage of the deregulation of natural gas commodity markets, have crippled our nation’s fertilizer and chemical production capacity. Proven reserves of domestic energy cannot be developed because of unscientific, ecological prejudices while other environmentally marginal policies increase energy costs without benefits. Legislation languishes in Congress to promote critical infrastructure improvements that will increase efficiency and reduce energy costs in rural areas, such as streamlined approval processes and authorization for improved road, rail and water transportation as well as additional electricity transmission capacity. Voluntary and effective energy conservation programs, such as long and short distance passenger rail service, regional air transportation service, telecommuting, car/van pooling and affordable inter-community bus service, are under utilized and lack financial support in rural areas. Regulations determining the location of terminals to import liquefied natural gas do not adequately consider the overall economic impact on a region before a site is approved. Rural consumers, especially those served by rural electric cooperatives and public utility districts, must benefit from electricity restructuring, pricing and reliability programs as much as other consumers.
Action Plan-
- Promote the goal of generating at least 25% of domestic energy needs from renewable resources derived from America’s family farms such as biodiesel, ethanol, biomass, solar and wind energies by January 1, 2025.
- Develop traditional sources of energy from public lands and off shore in an environmentally sound manner.
- Support legislation to make energy saving infrastructure improvements in rural areas, such as streamlined approval processes and authorization for improved road, rail and water transportation as well as additional electricity transmission capacity. Strengthen regulations regarding the location of liquefied natural gas terminals by giving consideration to the overall economic impact on the region before any site is approved.
- Support effective energy conservation in rural areas such as passenger rail service, regional air transportation service, telecommuting, public transportation and car/van pools.
- Support the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s efforts to reinstate its market oversight authority over the natural gas market and other energy markets.
- Support electric industry restructuring proposals that preserve the special relationships that rural electric cooperatives and rural public utilities have with their customers.
5. Improve the Quality and Availability of Rural Health Care
Rural citizens need 100% tax deductions for health insurance and their long-term care insurance costs, for medical savings accounts, and for medical flexible spending accounts. They need competitive priced health insurance choices such as nationwide association sponsored health plans and Medicare Advantage. Yet, health insurance has no value if there are no health care providers in rural areas. We must preserve access to modern pharmaceutical technologies for all rural families. Rural seniors expect the Medicare Part D program to provide a wide choice of affordable prescription drug benefits that meet their individual needs at prices they can afford. Most U.S. farmers over the age of 65 receive greater direct financial benefits from the Medicare Part D program than from farm programs. Rural health care providers face regulatory barriers when they seek equitable reimbursement for treatments provided under Medicare and Medicaid. Rural health care providers also face a financial burden from medical malpractice litigation. Small, private, provider owned “specialty” health care facilities, that focus on treating a narrow range of ailments effectively, could be a source of economic development in many rural communities as well as a means of offering consumers of medical services greater choices of care. But these facilities are effectively banned from operating in underserved rural areas under laws that favor giant corporate or “non-profit” hospitals and hospital chains that prefer to serve urban and suburban marketplaces.
Action Plan-
- Provide rural residents the means to address their medical financial responsibilities through 100% income tax deductions for health and long-term care insurance, medical savings accounts, medical flexible spending accounts, nationwide association health plans and competitive Medicare Advantage plans.
- Support Medicare Part D prescription drug benefits. Allow the government to negotiate prescription drug prices under Medicare Part D, but only if it doesn’t sacrifice the successful, market-based approach of offering the widest variety of Medicare Part D prescription drug programs to rural seniors. Repeal regulatory barriers that rural health care providers face regarding reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid.
- Support medical malpractice tort reform to limit awards for non-economic damages.
- Support health care reforms to allow small, private, provider owned, health care facilities that specialize in treating narrow ranges of ailments to operate in rural communities.
- Support continued access to modern pharmaceutical technologies for rural families.
6. Promote Practical and Effective Immigration Reform
The tide of illegal immigration in our nation increases daily and, along with it, the burdens on our nation to provide illegal immigrants with basic public and governmental services, as well as the risk of increased criminal or terrorist activity, the danger of a public health crisis, the creation of a permanent underclass, and the diminution of our national sovereignty. At the same time, the need for legal guest workers to meet unfulfilled labor needs in agriculture and other parts of our economy is critical. Little constructive progress has been made to secure our nation’s borders or to provide for an orderly flow of legal guest workers. Stop gap measures such as erecting physical barriers along the borders, shifting the enforcement burden to private employers and ignoring the problem through de facto amnesty that requires taxpayers and consumers pick up the bill for this crisis, have clearly failed. The primary responsibility to secure our borders, protect our sovereignty and assure the orderly supply of legal guest workers rests with the government at all levels. Increased efforts to patrol our borders (including the deployment of military resources); increased cooperation among federal, state and local law enforcement officials to respond to public safety threats by undocumented individuals; authorization to detain undocumented individuals pending investigation of their status; uniform verification of eligibility for individuals to receive any government services; repealing the automatic rights of citizenship to the children of illegal aliens and comprehensive reform of outdated guest worker programs are all practical, cost effective measures that should be implemented immediately. Requiring private employers to be responsible for enforcement of federal immigration law is vigilantism that places at risk the civil rights of both foreign guest workers and U.S. citizens. Requiring taxpayers to finance government services for undocumented individuals who flaunt our laws is contrary to the principal of democratic accountability and popular sovereignty.
Action Plan
- Support increased U.S. control of our nation’s borders to prevent the entry of illegal immigrants, including deploying military resources to assist with border control missions.
- Support a prohibition on general amnesty for illegal aliens. Require proof of citizenship and/or legal residence to receive government benefits. Repeal automatic citizenship for children born to illegal immigrants, until their parents become U.S. citizens.
- Allow law enforcement or immigration officials to detain any foreigners who are in the country illegally, including individuals with expired visas, to facilitate orderly deportation.
- Support enactment of practical and enforceable foreign guest worker programs, including expedited processing of foreign workers in the agricultural sector. Support reform of the H2A program so that the wage costs to farmers reflect prevailing local wages. Support the expansion of the H1B visa for foreign professionals to enter the United States in order to provide services in rural communities, where there is a documented need.
- Support legislation to assure that agricultural employers are not responsible for verifying migrant or seasonal worker documentation at the time of employment. Support legislation to assure that employers who unknowingly hire illegal aliens will not be taxed or fined.
7. Support Transportation Improvements that Protect the Freedom of Mobility
Freedom of mobility is vital to rural life. Transportation is the lifeblood of our nation’s economy. Federal transportation investments promote healthy economic growth. However, our highways, railroads, airports and waterways are deteriorating from failure to support and maintain transportation infrastructure. Since 1970, Americans have increased the miles they drive by more than 148%, while new roads have increased by just 6%. Gridlock costs $67.5 billion a year and wastes 3.6 billion hours. Grain literally rots on the ground waiting to be transported. The number of grain railroad cars has fallen by 24%, and 68% of the remaining railcars are at least 20 years old. Our nation’s commercial waterways are threatened by environmental regulations and deterioration. For decades, rural airports and general aviation has been a lifeline for small towns. Major airlines concentrate 88% of their activity at only 67 major airports nationwide while 2,574 airports across the country primarily serve general aviation. Local airports, home to 40% of the nation's general aviation fleet, are the primary source of passenger air transportation for about 19% of the U.S. population. They are the fastest transportation option to emergency medical facilities in rural areas. They are indispensable for our forest fire-fighting capabilities, aerial pesticide applications, traffic enforcement on rural highways, wilderness search and rescue, just-in-time package delivery and other services critical to maintaining a healthy rural and small town economy.
Action Plan-
- Support comprehensive, multi-year, federal surface transportation legislation that would benefit rural America through highway construction, rural highway and bridge maintenance, highway safety and mass transportation. Support a Highway Trust Fund funded by dedicated motor fuel taxes. Support keeping Interstate Highways toll free.
- Encourage railroads, trucking and barge shipping companies to provide reliable and competitive bulk commodity transportation. Restrict mergers that further concentrate transportation resources.
- Support federal expenditures to upgrade and maintain all inland waterways and commercial ports. Resist efforts to shorten transportation seasons on rivers for marginal environmental reasons.
- Support appropriate national aviation fuel user fees paid by all commercial aviation businesses to assure that the Federal Aviation Administration will continue to be able to oversee commercial passenger, freight air, and economically critical general aviation services at the 2,574 rural airports in the U.S.
8. Strengthen Civic Participation in Our Society
The challenges of September 11 th 2001 continue to test the durability of our liberties and our duties of civic participation. Common frames of reference, such as language, expressions of faith and patriotism are fundamental prerequisites for individual liberties and vibrant civic participation. These shared references reinforce our national traditions of religious and social tolerance. Modern technology also facilitates civic participation through more open elections and direct communication with policy makers. Strengthening civic participation in our society by acknowledging the roles of language, faith, patriotism and technology is the most effective means to guarantee our liberties and maintain our way of life.
Action Plan-
- Support technology to increase civic participation through voter registration, absentee voting, nomination petitions, referendum petitions, jury selection, registering for selective service or other civic responsibilities. Increase penalties for fraud regarding voting or other civic responsibilities.
- Support efforts to make English the official language of the United States. Support legislation to assure that everyone living in the United States can learn English.
- Support teaching about the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States and basic civic values in all schools.
- Support adoption of a Religious Freedom Amendment to the United States Constitution to guarantee the right to practice religion without fear of prejudice or persecution. Support legislation to allow references to a divine presence at school and public events.
- Support legislation or constitutional amendments to protect the flag of the United States and to maintain the current wording of the Pledge of Allegiance.
9. Enhance Public Safety and Homeland Security in Rural Areas
Grange members cherish living in communities free of crime and fear. Public safety in rural communities, including Homeland Securityis a top national priority. Bioterrorism that could destroy the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of family farmers and ranchers is a real threat via the importation or domestic transportation of invasive pests and diseases. Consumers are at risk from imported food and manufactured products that often fail to face the same strict scrutiny that domestically produced products face. Family farmers face blatant threats of fear and intimidation from FBI recognized, violent, domestic, extremist groups such as the Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front who attack private property as the means of imposing their radical agendas on society. Well funded, ancillary, legal propaganda networks also support this extremist agenda and commonly blame violent, extremist attacks entirely on the victims. Traditional crime is also increasingly making its way to our rural communities. Urban gangs recruit members in rural areas. Criminals use rural locations to manufacture and distribute illegal drugs, such as methamphetemine, and leave landowners with toxic waste sites. Laws regarding criminal penalties for the use of firearms during the commission of a crime are not adequately enforced or applied. The basic rights of crime victims in rural areas go unprotected. Rural law enforcement agencies are often unprepared to address these challenges because they lack the latest technologies needed to communicate with each other and other first responders.
Action Plan-
- Support legislation to combat the manufacture and distribution of methamphetemine and other illegal drugs in rural areas.
- Combat bioterrorism by preventing the importation or domestic transportation of invasive pests and diseases. Support legislation to require that all imported food and manufactured products must meet the same standards for consumer health and safety as domestic products.
- Support efforts to disrupt domestic terrorist activities initiated by extremist environmental or animal rights organizations and their ancillary propaganda networks.
- Support programs to protect the rights of victims of violent crimes in rural areas.
- Support the strict enforcement of all existing laws pertaining to the use of firearms during the commission of a crime in lieu of additional restrictions on the right to bear firearms.
- Support programs to provide every rural law enforcement agency in the U.S. access to advanced telecommunications technologies that interface with all other first responders.
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