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JUNE 2002 |
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National
Grange Supports Compromise Farm Bill Recently Signed into Law
On May 13, Kermit W. Richardson, president of the National Grange, the oldest
agricultural and rural advocacy organization in the nation with more than 300,000
members, sent a letter of appreciation to President Bush congratulating him for
signing the 2002 Farm Bill into law. The 2002 Farm Bill was recently approved
by both the House and the Senate.
The
Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (the 2002 Farm Bill) is considered
a compromise--but necessary--piece of legislation that will direct federal farm
programs for the next six years. It is currently budgeted to spend more than $173
billion on farm programs, conservation, rural development, and energy security
programs vital to farmers, ranchers and rural Americans. The
National Grange regards the new farm bill as an important part, but not exclusive
answer, for achieving our national goal of revitalizing rural America and returning
U.S. family farmers to prosperity. "The
Grange looks forward to working closely with Congress and the administration to
ensure other critical legislation gets passed," said Grange Legislative Director
Leroy Watson. "The Grange continues to be an important voice of rural and farm
communities across the nation, as well as a continued source of information for
the policy makers and the media."
Mr.
Watson added that other legislation important to the Grange included the Trade
Promotion Authority, a national Broadband Internet policy to bring high speed
Internet to all Americans, rural health care reform, including continued access
to both new and generic prescription medications to rural Americans, and comprehensive
tax reform.
Click
here for a Summary
of the Farm Bill, a Section-by-Section Analysis
of the Bill, or a copy of the final legislation
text. top The
Broadband Regulatory Parity Act of 2002
On April 30th, Senator John B.
Breaux (D-La) and Senator Don Nickles (R-Ok) introduced new legislation that could
play a major role in closing the gap created by the digital divide between urban
and rural areas. "The Broadband Regulatory Parity Act of 2002", also known as
the "Breaux-Nickles" bill was established "to provide for parity in regulatory
treatment of broadband services providers and of broadband access services providers,
and for other purposes." Most rural areas rely exclusively on dial-up Internet
service, attainable primarily through telephone companies. Provisions set by this
bill will relieve phone companies of the excessive restrictions currently placed
on them; phone companies would be subject to the same regulations set for other
telecommunications service providers, enabling them to go beyond digital subscriber
lines (DSL) and invest in high-speed data networks supporting broadband services. At the moment,
cable companies comprise up to seventy percent of the broadband market. Because
cable companies typically limit their services to more profitable and heavily
populated urban and suburban areas, rural America is often neglected. What little
broadband access exists in rural communities is minimal, totaling less than one
percent of all access. Considering the rate at which this technology continues
to advance, dial-up connections will soon become antiquated, relegating rural
America to unpaved back roads far removed from the nearest on-ramp to the information
super highway. By lifting restrictions and leveling the playing field, thereby
spurring competition, cable and telephone companies would be motivated to expand
their customer base to rural areas.
Having
access to and the ability to keep up with advances in Internet technological development
is vital to the functioning and prosperity of our rural communities. Some examples
of the possible benefits of broadband to rural areas, and in particular farmers,
include obtaining knowledge on the latest farming programs, ability to monitor
the weather and most importantly, ability to assess the needs and desires of agricultural
consumers, allowing family farms and rural businesses to compete in the marketplace.
Passage of this
legislation would be a real victory in helping the National Grange to meet its
objectives, particularly those set forth in "The National
Grange Blue Print for Rural America 2002." It would enable rural communities
to improve the quality of health care, public safety, government services and
education. In addition to the expansion of telecommunications services benefiting
the consumer, the "Breaux-Nickles" bill would allow the National Grange to achieve
other objectives set forth in the ten-point plan, such as providing high-speed
Internet access to places such as rural classrooms, law enforcement agencies and
health care facilities.
On
May 17th, the National Grange had the opportunity to address these issues at the
congressional briefing "Consumers Speak Out on the Promise and Benefits of Broadband."
The event was hosted by Verizon Communications with Leroy Watson, Legislative
Director for the National Grange, serving as one of the panelists. Speaking to
a diverse audience including many different policy makers from the U.S. Senate,
the House of Representatives, the Federal Communications Commission, the National
Telecommunications and Information Agency along with several other public interest
organizations, Mr. Watson expressed the importance of broadband availability in
ensuring economic survival and enhancing the quality of life in rural America.
"The Grange is fighting for a policy that makes universal access to broadband
internet services a national goal by establishing clear and consistent rules for
all of the broadband providers. Leveling the playing field will spur true competition
among all broadband providers. It will encourage cable operators, telephone companies,
satellite providers and wireless businesses to accelerate the deployment of broadband
networks to rural areas. The future of rural America's small businesses, farmers
and families depends on it."
top Joanne
Manelli Joins the National Grange as Legislative Program Assistant
The
National Grange is pleased to announce that Joanne L. Manelli has joined the staff
as Legislative Program Assistant. Ms. Manelli is a Washington DC native and a
graduate of Catholic University. Her responsibilities include responding to requests
for basic information regarding the policies and positions of the organization;
collecting and organizing facts and data to support organizational policy positions,
assisting in grassroots policy development activities; researching complex issues;
developing written, informational and advocacy products including press releases
and newsletter articles; tracking, monitoring and reporting on the status of legislation
and other public policy initiatives of interest to the organization. Manelli noted
that her strong interest in the non-profit sector is what initially attracted
her to come to work for the National Grange. "I welcome the opportunity to contribute
my skills and experience towards helping the National Grange meet it's objectives
of maintaining the quality of life in rural America, providing legislative representation
and serving as an extensive community for it's members," Manelli said. Joanne
Manelli, Legislative Program Assistant can be reached by phone at (202) 628-3507
(x105), by fax at (202) 347-1091 or by e-mail jmanelli@nationalgrange.org.
Chil-Sook
Hwang Joins The National Grange as Legislative Research Analyst
The National
Grange is also pleased to announce that Chil-Sook Hwang has joined the staff as
Legislative Research Analyst. Ms. Hwang is a graduate of Graduate School of Political
Management at George Washington University. Her major was lobbying and public
affairs. "This job is my first step into a career in the United States. I'm highly
inspired by National Grange's mission of building better life for rural America
and this is the best opportunity to contribute my knowledge and experience," Hwang
said. Her responsibilities include conducting research on all the issues of rural
society focusing on the positions taken by Congress, Government, and media; collecting
and organizing facts and data to support organizational policy positions; developing
written, informational and advocacy products including press releases and newsletter
articles; tracking, monitoring and reporting on the status of legislation and
other public policy initiatives of interest to the organization; responding to
requests for basic information regarding the policies and positions of the organization;
assisting in grassroots policy development activities. Chil-Sook Hwang, Legislative
Research Analyst can be reached by phone at (202) 628-3507 (x109), by fax at (202)
347-1091 or by e-mail chwang@nationalgrange.org.
top National
Grange Joins the Biodiesel Alliance
The National Grange has accepted
the invitation to join the Biodiesel Alliance. The Biodiesel Alliance was founded
as a means to allow health, environmental, and agricultural organizations to focus
on their mutual objectives of creating a safer, healthier environment through
the use of clean-burning biodiesel fuel. The National Grange recognizes what a
valuable resource the Biodiesel Alliance will be in furthering the mutual goals
of better human health, environment and more prosperous farming and rural communities.
Biodiesel is
a fuel made from vegetable oil, which has been characterized as "liquid solar
energy." According to the Biodiesel Alliance, it reduces emissions associated
with cancer and other negative health conditions. It also reduces emissions associated
with the greenhouse effect and global warming because using biodiesel produces
no sulfur dioxide emissions and no net gain in carbon dioxide emissions. The
National Grange is pleased to join the efforts to promote the commercialization
of biodiesel fuel and raise the awareness of its benefits.
National
Grange Endorses the Continuation of J-1 Visa Waiver Program
Health and
agriculture organizations including the National Grange are concerned with the
USDA's immediate withdrawal as an Interested Government Agency of the J-1 visa
waiver program. The J-1 visa waiver program recruits qualified medical doctors
from other nations to come to the United States to practice in underserved rural
areas. In exchange these doctors gain access to U.S. medical procedures and make
valuable professional contacts with other U.S. doctors. The J-1 visa waiver program
has provided needed physicians in underserved rural areas since the mid-1990's.
In many areas, J-1 visa doctors are the only access to primary care. In a letter
to Secretary of Agriculture, Ann Veneman, the organizations urged the USDA, the
Department of State and the Immigration and Naturalization Service to complete
the process on current J-1 visa waiver applicants. They also encourage USDA, the
Department of State, INS and Office of Homeland Security to find a solution to
security concerns so that the program may continue within USDA.
top National
Grange Opposed the Carper-Specter Amendment
The National Grange participated
in opposing the Carper-Specter Amendment with other organizations. In a letter
sent to Senator Akaka (HI), they asserted that the amendment sets an arbitrary
target to reduce the amount of oil consumed in our passenger cars and light trucks
in 2015 by 1,000,000 barrels per day. "The Carper-Specter amendment," the letter
explained, "would lead to dramatic Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) increases
which would harm jobs, consumer choice and highway safety." The Carper-Specter
Amendment has defeated on the Senate floor. National
Grange Supports Increase in Funding for USDA's Export Programs
The Coalition
to Promote U.S. Agricultural Exports including National Grange urged Chairman
and Ranking Minority Member in the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture,
Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies to support
for maintaining and strengthening funding for USDA's export programs, including
the Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) program when
the subcommittee considers the FY 03 agriculture appropriations bill. They urged
that MAP should be funded at no less than $110 million and FMD be funded at its
full authorized level of $34.5 million, as provided in the new Farm Bill for FY
03. They explained in their letter sent to the Chairman and Ranking Member that
these programs are among the few tools specifically allowed under the World Trade
Organization Uruguay Round Agreement to help American agriculture and American
workers remain competitive in a global marketplace still characterized by subsidized
foreign competition.
The
U.S. Department of Education's Federal Student Aid (FSA)
The U.S. Department
of Education's Federal Student Aid (FSA) programs are the largest sources of student
aid in America making education beyond high school financially possible. They
include grants, loans, and work study. More information can be found at www.studentaid.ed.gov
or by calling 1-800-4-FED-AID.
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