WATERLOO, IA -- Today, Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) will join Jan Laue, Iowa President of the Alliance for Retired Americans, and local retirees at a press event in Cedar Rapids where he will sign a petition opposing the Paul Ryan-Ben Lange plan to turn Medicare into a voucher program.  Ben Lange has embraced this plan to end Medicare as we know it and turn Medicare into a voucher program.

Braley and Laue will speak, then Braley will sign the petition.  The Alliance for Retired Americans has over 35,000 members in Iowa.


WHAT:      Press Event on Ryan-Lange Medicare Plan

WHO:        Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01)
Jan Laue, Iowa President, Alliance for Retired Americans 

WHEN:     TODAY, Wednesday August 29th, 2012
1:00pm 

WHERE:   Mays Island Memorial Plaza
51 2nd Ave.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
(across from Veterans Memorial Building)

Washington, D.C. - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) today released the following statement after reports that UNI President Ben Allen has announced his retirement:

"I want to congratulate Ben Allen on his retirement.  I have a great deal of respect for the work Ben did at UNI and the sacrifices he's made.  Throughout all the difficult challenges he faced, I always respected Ben's love for the University and his contributions to higher education at both UNI and Iowa State."

 

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Group of four urges colleagues to commit to signing discharge petition

Washington, D.C. - Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA) today led a bipartisan coalition of Rick Berg (R-ND), Chris Gibson (R-NY), and Peter Welch (D-VT) to launch an all-out effort to recruit members to sign a discharge petition that could force a House vote on the 2012 Farm Bill in September.

Rep. Braley said, "Producers battered by this summer's drought are counting on the Farm Bill to help them through this tough time.  It's time to get this important bill moving forward.  Rural America is depending on the Farm Bill for our future and can't wait forever to know the path forward."

In a letter sent to House colleagues, the bipartisan group urged a commitment to signing the discharge petition as quickly as possible:

"Please join us in committing to sign a discharge petition to bring H.R. 6083, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act to the House Floor for a vote," the letter reads.  "As you know, the Farm Bill has yet to be brought up and it is unclear whether it will come up prior to the Farm Bill's September 30^th expiration date."

A bill must receive an up or down vote in the House if at least 218 members sign a document known as a "discharge petition."  On July 24^th, Braley took the first steps to initiate a discharge petition on the Farm Bill by introducing a resolution outlining a process to circumvent House leaders' hold on the bill.

Because House rules require a waiting period between the time a bill is referred to a committee and when members can sign a discharge petition on it, Braley's Farm Bill petition won't be officially opened for signatures until after members depart for an August recess.

The Farm Bill is critically important for America's farmers and the economy and would provide certainty and a safety net for farmers struggling through this summer's drought.  The hot weather and lack of rain have left farmers vulnerable to weak crops and struggling livestock.  Over half of the counties in the United States have been declared disaster areas due to the drought.

Text of the letter follows; a scanned copy can be downloaded at the following link: http://go.usa.gov/GXD

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Commit to the Farm Bill; Commit to Discharge Petition

Dear Colleague:

Please join us in committing to sign a discharge petition to bring H.R. 6083, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act to the House Floor for a vote. As you know, the Farm Bill has yet to be brought up and it is unclear whether it will come up prior to the Farm Bill's September 30^th expiration date.

The House Agriculture Committee approved the FARRM Act by a vote of 35-11 with bipartisan support, but it has yet to be reported. We have heard from various agricultural groups and their message is loud and clear - they want and need a five-year Farm Bill.

According to House Rules, for unreported legislation a discharge petition cannot be filed until 30 legislative days after it has been referred to the committee of jurisdiction. In the case of the House Farm Bill, it was referred on July 9^th, so the discharge petition will be able to be filed on or around September 13^th, since pro forma days during the August work period will count towards the 30 day requirement.

This petition will move to discharge the Committee on Rules from the consideration of H. Res. 739 entitled, a resolution providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 6083).

Because the discharge petition cannot be filed until after the August work period, we are taking the step of simply seeking commitments from those who are willing to sign it once it becomes available at the Clerk's desk.

The need to extend assistance for farmers gets more urgent every day, given the worsening drought that is blanketing more than half the country. Just like millions of small businesses across the country, farmers need certainty and confidence in the federal programs that affect their lives. Failure to provide certainty will have a devastating impact on the agriculture industry.

Please show your support to our nation's farmers by committing to sign on to this discharge petition. Feel free to contact todd.wolf@mail.house.gov in Rep. Braley's office if you have any questions or your boss would like to commit to signing this discharge petition. Thanks for your consideration.

Sincerely,                    

Bruce Braley               

Member of Congress                      

 

Rick Berg                          

Member of Congress

Chris Gibson                        

Member of Congress                      

 

Peter Welch

Member of Congress

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Braley sends letter to Ag Committee Chairman Lucas urging him to report Farm Bill

Washington, D.C. - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) today requested that House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas push harder to get a multi-year Farm Bill to the House floor for an up-or-down vote.

In a letter sent to Lucas, Braley requested that he immediately "report" the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act from the Agriculture Committee.  The Committee passed this version of the Farm Bill on July 11^th.  However, Chairman Lucas has refused to "report" the bill, a crucial procedural step that is necessary before the House can begin consideration of the bill on the floor.

"Iowa farmers need the certainty of a multi-year Farm Bill, especially given the worsening drought," Braley said.  "The longer the House waits to vote on a new Farm Bill, the more farmers risk losing the farm safety net when the current Farm Bill expires on September 30^th.  I urge House leaders to act immediately to allow a vote on the Farm Bill."

House Leadership has refused to take up the FARRM Act, meaning Congress likely will not consider a multi-year Farm Bill before a month-long August recess.  Continued delays could allow the Farm Bill to expire on September 30^th, meaning the Farm Bill would revert to the outdated 1949 version of the law.

Braley has led the charge to pressure House leadership to allow a vote on the Farm Bill as soon as possible by taking steps to launch a 'discharge petition.' If 218 members sign the petition, House Leadership would be forced to hold a vote on the Farm Bill.

Braley's letter to Chairman Lucas can be downloaded at the following link: http://go.usa.gov/Ga1

Below is the text of Braley's letter to Chairman Lucas:

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July 30, 2012

 

The Honorable Frank Lucas

Chairman

House Committee on Agriculture

1301 Longworth House Office Building

Washington, DC  20515

 

Dear Chairman Lucas:

As you know, House Leadership has recently announced they will be bringing up a one-year extension of the Farm Bill this week. While a short-term extension is preferable to no action at all, I have heard serious concerns from many agricultural groups in my state about taking this approach. We need to continue to push for consideration of a multi-year Farm Bill on the House floor.

I was pleased when on July 11^th of this year your Committee approved the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act by a vote of 35-11 with bipartisan support. Although I don't agree with all of the provisions in this bill, I was encouraged that there was progress on moving this. I was looking forward to having an open debate on the House Floor on this bill and then having this go to conference to come up with the best language possible.

What concerns me is that although your Committee ordered this bill to be reported almost three weeks ago, the Committee report has yet to be completed. House Rule XIII, clause 2(b), makes it "the duty of the chair of each committee to report or cause to be reported promptly to the House a measure or matter approved by the committee and to take or cause to be taken steps necessary to bring the measure or matter to a vote."

In your July 11^th press release on the approval of the FARRM Act, you were quoted as saying, "Today marked an important step forward in the development of the next Farm Bill." I would appreciate an explanation as to why after the passing of almost three weeks, you have yet to fulfill your duty to report this for Floor consideration. While I understand you can't control what Leadership decides to bring up on the House calendar, you can show your commitment to our nation's farmers and ranchers, who need the certainty of a five-year Farm Bill.

 

The need to extend assistance for farmers gets more urgent every day, given the worsening drought that is blanketing more than half the country. Just like millions of small businesses across the country, farmers need certainty and confidence in the federal programs that affect their lives. In the United States some sixteen million jobs depend on the success of American agriculture, and the Farm Bill has a huge impact in my home state of Iowa. Agriculture and related industries account for one in six jobs there and contribute $72 billion into the state's annual economy. Failure to pass a long-term Farm Bill will have a devastating impact on the agriculture industry.

As the agriculture industry across the country faces the worst drought in decades, I'm particularly concerned that failure to act on a five-year Farm Bill could only exacerbate the current challenges faced by thousands of farmers. Farmers feed our nation, and we need to make sure to provide them the tools they need so that they can continue to deliver safe, affordable food to the table. Every American has a stake in this bill.

Please respond to my office promptly on when the FARRM Act committee report will be released. I stand prepared to work with you in a bipartisan manner to pass a bill that provides long-term certainty.

Sincerely,

Bruce Braley

Member of Congress

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