Thursday, May 9, 2013

Senator Chuck Grassley released the following statement after the Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee today released her "mark" that will be the baseline for debate when the committee begins consideration of the bill on Tuesday.  The bill includes payment limit reforms proposed by Grassley.  Click here for information about Grassley's payment limits reform package that he introduced in the Senate.  Click here for information about the support for Grassley's provisions during the budget debate.

"I appreciate Chairwoman Stabenow's continued commitment to farm program payments reform.  When two-thirds of the farm payments go to the wealthiest 10 percent of farmers and there are loopholes that allow farm payments to go to non-farmers, Americans lose confidence that we're using taxpayer money responsibly.  By including my reforms, Chairwoman Stabenow is putting forward a mark that is defensible and effective in this area.

"I was also pleased to see Congressman Fortenberry introduce companion legislation to my payment limits reform bill in the House today.  As the House Agriculture Committee considers a farm bill it would send a strong message if the House included the common sense and meaningful payment limit reforms in Congressman Fortenberry's bill and that Senator Stabenow has included in her mark."

WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley is pressing the Secretary of Agriculture and the U.S. Trade Representative to engage U.S. trading partners in high-level discussions on breaking down barriers to biotechnology.  Grassley is the former Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over international trade policy.

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that as much as 90 percent of commodity crop acres utilize seeds improved through modern biotechnology.  Trade disruptions caused by barriers to biotechnology derived crops hurt both American farmers and the international customers they serve," the senators wrote to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Acting U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis.

Grassley was joined by Senators Debbie Stabenow, the Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Roy Blunt of Missouri, John Boozman of Arkansas, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, Chris Coons of Delaware, Dan Coats of Indiana, Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Joe Donnelley of Indiana, Al Franken of Minnesota, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Johnny Isakson of Georgia, Mike Johanns of Nebraska, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Pat Roberts of Kansas, John Thune of South Dakota, and Mark Udall of Colorado.

A copy of the text of the letter is here.  A signed copy of the letter can be found by clicking here.

 

May 7, 2013

 

Secretary Thomas Vilsack

U.S. Department of Agriculture

1400 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20250

 

Ambassador Demetrios Marantis

Acting United States Trade Representative

600 17th Street NW

Washington, DC 20508

 

Dear Secretary Vilsack and Ambassador Marantis:

American agriculture has made significant advancements in the last 100 years. We have seen vast improvements in how farmers grow crops, raise livestock, manage risk, and conduct their operations. American farmers are constantly looking for new tools to maximize efficiencies and productivity.  Biotechnology has been one of these tools.  Biotechnology helps farmers better manage droughts, pests, and weeds with fewer resources.  Biotechnology provides a major boost to American farmers that face an increasingly competitive international market.  Biotechnology has also helped feed a growing world population with abundant, nutrient rich crops.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that as much as 90 percent of commodity crop acres utilize seeds improved through modern biotechnology. Trade disruptions caused by barriers to biotechnology derived crops hurt both American farmers and the international customers they serve. Regulatory asynchrony, zero tolerance policies, and re-registration requirements are among the most prevalent and costly regulatory hurdles.

We know and appreciate how both of you and your offices have given priority to these international regulatory challenges, and work extensively with our trading partners to find long term solutions.  For instance, USDA has been engaged in efforts to launch a pilot project with China which aims to address, bilaterally, some asynchrony issues.  We also understand that the U.S. government is engaging trading partners in multilateral efforts to discuss how to best address other critical issues, including unintended low-level presence.

Given the widespread adoption of biotechnology by American farmers, it is imperative you further raise the priority of these regulatory issues in discussions with our trading partners, emphasizing the importance of facilitating robust international trade.  We appreciate your attention to this important matter, and we look forward to working with you to address these important and complex issues.

Sincerely,

Former State Ward Observes National Foster Care Month in May

She's Helping Launch a Program to Replace Trash Bags with New Duffel Bags

We have some positive changes to applaud as the nation observes National Foster Care Month in May, says former foster child Margaret Iuculano.

"In Ohio, $3 million from a mortgage settlement the state won will help foster kids pursue higher education and expand court-appointed advocates. And in Florida, a new law is going to make it much easier for foster kids to do normal things like sleepovers with their friends and school field trips," she says.

"In Nebraska, they're close to boosting the pay for foster parents, which will mean the state can retain and attract more and better foster parents."

But Iuculano, spokeswoman for Duffels for Kids (www.floridafapa.org/duffelsforkids), and founder of Angels for Foster Kids, says that sometimes, it's the smallest things foster children remember most.

"I was in foster care from age 11 to 16, when I aged out, and I was moved to 15 different homes in that time," she says. "Every time I moved, I had to pack my few belongings in a black trash bag.

"When you're already feeling abandoned, wondering whether anyone will ever want you or care about you, that trash bag seals it: No, they won't. You're a throwaway."

While workplace groups and communities have banded together and charities have sprung up across the country to address this problem, more foster care children than not continue to cart their belongings in trash bags.

"There just hasn't been enough," Iuculano says. "And often, the organizations gather used luggage. I know the intention is good, but we'd like to give these children something brand new; something all their own."

To that end, another positive to celebrate will be the first Duffels for Kids Walk, sponsored by the Florida State Foster/Adoptive Parent Association on May 18 in Miami.

It's the kickoff to the association's drive to provide new duffel bags to every child in that state's foster care system. As the program grows, its leaders hope to have new duffel bags for each child entering the system, Iuculano says.

Duffels for Kids will initially focus on Florida, but organizer LaShaun Wallace, who's on the board of the National Foster Parents Association, hopes it will eventually go nationwide.

It's in everyone's best interests to protect the most vulnerable in our society, children without the protection of loving, caring families, Iuculano says.

"When you look at the numbers, you quickly see why we desperately need more positive changes to applaud," she says.

These were compiled from various sources:

• In recent years, there have been more than 500,000 children in foster care nationally; per one annual count, 22 percent were available for adoption.
• In that year, 18 percent of children were adopted after waiting an average 42 months in foster care.
• More than half of the children who age out of foster care will be unemployed adults.
• Almost a third will be homeless.
• One in five will be incarcerated within two years.

To support Duffels for Kids by attending the walk or making a donation, visit the website.

Some of the supporters scheduled to participate in the May 18 walk include Esther Jacobo, regional director for Miami-Dade and Monroe counties for the Florida Department of Children and Families and Children's Trust board member; Dr. Kalyani Gopal, licensed clinical psychologist and author of "Foster Parenting Step-by-Step," to be released in May, which tackles the day-to-day issues in raising foster children; and Sidarth Singh and Shifali Singh, siblings who founded the former Duffels for Angels - renamed Duffels for Kids -- and Aid for Change to provide duffel bags for foster children in Indiana.

About Duffels for Kids

Duffels for Kids is a new program coordinated by the Florida State Foster/Adoptive Parent Association, which will coordinate distribution of new duffel bags with the help of the Department of Children and Families, private investigators, guardian ad litems and local foster parent groups. Caregivers will be able to request a duffel bag for a child by calling the state foster parent associations 800 line or request an online form.

Friday, April 26, 2013

WASHINGTON - In a weekly video address, Senator Chuck Grassley described his efforts to make sure immigration reform legislation avoids mistakes made in the 1986 legalization by making border security the top priority, giving American workers the first opportunity at jobs, holding employers accountable for their hiring practices, and leaving policy decisions in the representative branch of government.

Click here for the audio.

Here is the text of Grassley's address:

The Senate Judiciary Committee has held hearings during the last week on the immigration bill proposed by a bipartisan group of eight senators.

As the debate moves forward, I'm committed to making sure legislation doesn't repeat mistakes made in the legalization program that was part of the 1986 immigration overhaul.  Congress voted then to legalize the one million people who were in the country illegally with the assurance that doing so would fix the problem once and for all.  Decades later, there are 11 million people illegally in the country.  So, the legalization in 1986 didn't fix the problem.  Instead, it led to more illegality.

I'm working to make sure that unintended consequences are avoided in other areas of immigration reform, as well.  Congress should have learned with Obamacare that lawmakers need to legislate more and delegate less authority to the executive branch.  Even so, the proposed immigration bill contains waivers that would give unchecked power to the Secretary of Homeland Security to unravel any law that elected representatives of the people might pass.

Immigration policy also is a key component of America's national security apparatus, and every consideration should be given to how changes in the immigration system impact security of the homeland.  Securing the border needs to be the first priority.  Border security is fundamental to national sovereignty.  Any immigration reform must require accountability for border security.

We also need to fix the flaws in the current system in order to recognize the benefits of legal immigration - including the need for agricultural workers - while at the same time protecting the interests of U.S. citizens.  I'm also working to make sure American graduates and workers are given the first opportunity at jobs in science, technology, engineering and math here in this country, and that employers are held accountable for their hiring practices.

America's immigration system is broken.  Any repairs that are made and new policies pursued need to be both effective and respectful of the rule of law that safeguards the tremendous opportunities and freedoms found in America, a country based upon immigrants.