[cgfc] Action Alert for Ag issues...esp. minority and american indian farmers (farmwork

[Jeanne Higgs]

I think this is really important if you've got the time to call your 
representative. It affects farmworkers (many migrant) as well as farmers and 
extension to benefit minority communities.

Jeanne


Title: HOUSE 2501 AMENDMNT PASSED: SIGN-ON TO SENATE LETTER ASAP


ACTION ALERT


HOUSE AMENDMENT PASSED: SIGN-ON LETTER TO THE SENATE: INCREASE FUNDS FOR 
MINORITY FARM OUTREACH AND AMERICAN INDIAN EXTENSION!


Report: The Butterfield Amendment passed the House of Representatives, 
increasing funds for the Minority Farm Outreach program to $7,810,00. The 
full House then passed their version of the FY 06 Agriculture Appropriations 
Bill. Now the bill will move to the Senate side.  The week of June 20, the 
Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee will consider their version 
of the bill

Action Needed: As soon as possible and by Wednesday noon (we will keep 
accepting sign-ons for delivery to full committee and the full Senate), sign 
your organization on to the attached letter recommending a comprehensive 
package of funding for minority and low-income farmers, farmworkers and 
communities.


ACTION:  Please respond to this email or contact lpicciano at ruralco.org 
<mailto:lpicciano at ruralco.org>  to add your organization to the list.  
Please send organization name, city and state.


BACKGROUND: The sign-on letter below outlines recommended funding levels for 
various Agriculture programs serving minority and Indian farmers and 
farmworkers and will be shared with the Senate Agriculture Appropriations 
Subcommittee as soon as possible.

These funding increases are a matter of equity and we urge your rapid 
support!

SIGN-ON Letter: SUPPORT MINORITY, AMERICAN INDIAN AND OTHER SMALL FARMERS 
AND FARMWORKERS IN AGRICULTURE APPROPRIATIONS!

For More information, contact Lorette Picciano, lpicciano at ruralco.org 
<mailto:lpicciano at ruralco.org>  or Quinton Robinson, qrobinson at ruralco.org 
<mailto:qrobinson at ruralco.org>  at 202-628-7160.

June 14, 2005

The Honorable Robert Bennett
Chairman
U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Agriculture Rural
Development, and Related Agencies
431 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Herb Kohl
Ranking Member
U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Agriculture Rural
Development, and Related Agencies
113 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Bennett and Ranking Member Kohl:

On June 8, 2005, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2744, 
legislation making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food 
and Drug Administration for FY 2006. H.R. 2744, as passed in the House, made 
appreciable attempts to increase FY 2006 funding for USDA programs which 
target farm workers and small and limited resource farmers and ranchers who 
form the membership of the Rural Coalition and our many allies in the 
minority and family farm, farmworker and sustainable agriculture 
communities.

While we are thankful of the increased funding provided in the House version 
of H.R. 2744, we are convinced that additional funding should be allocated 
to farm workers and small and limited resource farmers and ranchers since 
farm workers and limited resource producers play a vital role in sustaining 
rural communities and make substantial contributions to the food and fiber 
production of our country and world.

Federal funding for USDA programs that target our farmers should be given a 
high priority during your markup of legislation for Agriculture 
Appropriations for FY 06. Below, we are providing a concise list of program 
funding levels that we believe will adequately meets the urgent needs of 
farm workers and small limited resource farmers and ranchers.

·  Minority Farmer and Rancher Outreach and Technical Assistance Program 
(Section 2501) – USDA promotes the Section 2501 programs as the most 
effective means of addressing the many civil rights issues confronted by the 
agency. Congress, in the 2002 Farm Bill, recognized the importance of this 
outreach program and increased its budget authority to $25 million. As you 
will recall, the FY 05 Agriculture Appropriations bill provided for $6 
million. The House passed version of H.R. 2744 provides 7,810,000 for FY 06. 
Despite the urgency of the needs, this funding level has still not reached 
the original authorized level of $10 million, established in 1990. We hope 
the final bill will provide no less than this amount for FY 2006.

While we appreciate the efforts of the House to increase funding for this 
program, previous experience indicates that possible grantees under this 
program will once again be eliminated from receiving the resources they need 
to provide critical services small, minority and limited resource farmers 
and ranchers.

The program is the only one that supports the efforts of minority farm 
organizations and educational institutions to help minority farmers develop 
viable and sustainable farm operations. Minority farmers have over time 
received far less support and technical than other farmers to make their 
operations viable. For example, a study by the Rural Coalition and its 
members earlier this year found that only 16.3% of more than 700 minority 
farmers surveyed filed schedule F - the farm schedule-of their tax return, 
despite the fact that more than 40% used a tax accountant. Existing programs 
have not provided adequate information to minority farmers on how and why 
filing this form is critical to their operation.

The some two dozen grantees of the 2501 are working in a handful of 
communities to strengthen capacity and increase farm income security by 
providing unique and timely technical assistance in many critical areas 
including production, financial management, produce marketing, pesticide 
safety and credit management. As a result of the 2501 technical assistance 
grants, organic producers in California’s central valley have increased farm 
income through marketing fresh, high quality produce directly to local 
restaurants and consumers. Former tobacco farmers in North Carolina and 
South Carolina have captured new high value fresh vegetable markets as far 
away as Maryland, New York and Boston. In Michigan, Arkansas and on the 52 
reservation communities, producers are improving and reducing their 
pesticide use through integrated pest management training.

Additional funds are urgently needed to expand technical assistance programs 
for the thousands of farmers who do not yet have access to these specialized 
and effective services.

The grantees of this program help to increase farm income security by 
providing unique and timely technical assistance in the areas of pesticide 
management, produce marketing and credit management.  As a result of the 
2501 technical assistance grants, organic producers in California’s central 
valley have increased farm income through marketing fresh, high quality 
produce directly to local restaurants and consumers.  Former tobacco farmers 
in North Carolina and South Carolina have captured new high value fresh 
vegetable markets as far away as Maryland, New York and Boston.  In 
Michigan, Arkansas and on the 52 reservation communities, producers are 
improving and reducing their pesticide use through integrated pest 
management training. Therefore, we request your leadership to assure the 
subcommittee provide not less than $12 million for 2501 Minority Farm 
Outreach and Technical Assistance Program in the Senate Agricultural 
Appropriation for FY 06.


·  Extension Indian Reservation Program (EIRP) – This program provides 
funding for extension agents on some, but not all, Indian reservations. 
Congress mandates and funds research and extension services in every county 
in the nation except on Indian reservations.  This policy failure has a 
profound impact on Native American life since agriculture production remains 
a critical basis for the economic security, health and nutrition of Native 
Americans. The USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension 
Service (CSREES) administers EIRP in a manner that does not equitably meet 
the extension and research needs of Native American farmers and ranchers.   
>From a national perspective, the administration of EIRP strains individual 
extension agents who are required to cover more than 500 miles of territory 
and at least 600 farmers or ranchers.  Currently the program has 28 projects 
on 27 reservations in 15 states nationwide.

Regrettably, these efforts reach only 4% of all reservations and tribes.  
American Indian producers should receive the same level of service as those 
producers who are not reservation-bound. H.R. 2744 provides $1,996,000 for 
this program for FY 06.  In order to correct this grave inequity, we urge 
your committee to appropriate no less than $10 million for this program in 
the FY 06 Agriculture Appropriation legislation.

·  Minority-serving Educationalnstitutions have not achieved equity in 
research and program funding in any way comparable to the support their 1862 
Land-Grant counterparts receive. The 1862 Land Grants receive far greater 
support to work with populations that face far fewer challenges then those 
served by the minority serving educational institutions. Therefore, we 
recommend the following levels for minority serving institutions:

o H.R. 2744 provides $37,704,000 for FY 2006 for payments to the 1890s land 
grant colleges, including Tuskegee University and West Virginia State 
University as authorized under (7 U.S.C. 3222). We recommend that the Senate 
legislation provide $38,704,000.

o H.R. 2744 provides $12,312,000 for the 1890 capacity building program 
$12,312,000,  (7USC 2209b). We recommend that the Senate legislation provide 
$12,312,000.

o H.R. 2744 provides $1,000,000 for the 1994 Indian Tribal Colleges for 
research activities under section 536 of public law 103-382. We recommend 
that the Senate language provide $2,000,000.

o H.R. 2744 provides $2,250,000.00 for payments to the 1994 institutions 
pursuant to section 534a1 of PL 103-382. We recommend that the Senate 
language provide $3,250,000.

o HR. 2744 provides $1,853,000.00 for Hispanic Serving Institutions pursuant 
to 7 USC 3241. We recommend that the Senate language provide $2,853,000.


·  Provide Slight Increases for Partnership Activities for the Office of the 
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights – USDA still has a long way to go to 
assure fair service through the Office of Civil Rights. Continued support at 
current levels for this office remains critical. But in order to make 
forward progress in achieving equity, it is critical that the USDA Office of 
Outreach work closely in conjunction with its community based organization 
and minority serving institution partners. We urge you to provide a slight 
increase of $600,000 in funding to provide more resources for the 
coordination of the USDA Outreach function in partnership with community 
based organizations.  H.R. 2744 provides $811,000. We recommend that the 
Senate add $600,000 for use by the Assistant Secretary of Civil to enhance 
the partnership activities of the USDA Office of Outreach, for a total of 
$1,411,000.

·  Emergency Grants to Assist Low-Income Migrant and Seasonal Farm workers - 
Unlike farmers, farm workers affected by disaster typically do not receive 
any direct benefits when their wages are affect by natural disasters. 
Section 10102 of the Farm Bill authorizes emergency funding to public 
agencies and non-profit organizations that serve migrant and seasonal farm 
workers during times of disaster. Farm workers across the country were 
negatively affected by recent droughts and the Florida hurricane disasters. 
We request that the Senate provide not less than the $32,728,000 for FY 06 
provided in the H.R. 2477 for emergency grants.

·  Grants to Train Farm workers in New Technologies and in Specialized 
Skills Necessary for Higher Value Crops – This new program (section 6025 of 
the 2002 Farm Bill) authorizes $10 million dollars for grants to provide 
training in new technologies and specialty skills necessary for high value 
crops. The rapidly changing agriculture industry requires a skilled 
workforce that can meet the demands of specialized industries. This program 
received zero funding in FY 2003. While programs exist to train seasonal 
laborers in skills in order to remove them from seasonal work, there is no 
such program available to provide them with training to meet the seasonal 
demands of specialized agriculture industries. We urge you to appropriate 
the full $10 million for farmworker training in the FY 06 Agriculture 
Appropriation legislation.

·  Rural Housing Grants for Farm worker and Poor Communities – The 
administration’s budget request cuts funding for USDA’s Rural Housing 
Service's Low-Income Rental Housing Program. The President’s budget also 
recommends restricting any new housing under this program.  This drastic 
policy change will have severe negative impact on the rural poor, and we 
urge Congress to reject these changes. We request that the Senate provide an 
FY 06 appropriation of $150 million for Rural Housing Grants.

·  The administration has also suggested zero funding for the HUD Office of 
Rural Housing and Economic Development, which is used almost entirely by 
grassroots organizations to build and improve low-income housing.  We urge 
this committee to support the FY02 and FY03 funding level of $25 million.

·  The Section 515 Multi- family Housing Loan Program provides direct loans 
to construct and maintain multi family rental projects that serve low and 
very low-income families.  Projects receive payment assistance in order to 
make rents affordable.  The average annual income of a Section 515 tenant is 
about $7,900.  Direct loans have a rate of 1 percent, and most projects 
receive rental assistance payments to make them affordable to very 
low-income tenants.  The FY06 budget includes $27 million for Section 515 
direct loans. These loans would be used only for repairs and rehabilitation 
of existing projects.  The administration does not support the use of direct 
loans for new projects until the needs of the existing portfolio are 
properly addressed.  This proposal will have a severe negative impact on 
poor rural people. We recommend that new housing be permitted and that the 
Senate legislation comports with the funding provided in H.R. 2477, 
$45,880,000 million for FY 2006.

·  Shared Priorities with the Sustainable Agriculture and Community Food 
Security Communities: In addition to these specific requests, we want to 
express our strong support the efforts of our allies to increase funding in 
FY for the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) and the 
Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA) programs; the 
Farmers Market Nutrition and Promotion programs; the Expanded Food and 
Nutrition Education Program; and the Beginning Farmer and Rancher 
Development program.

·  H.R. 2477 provides $64,000,000 in FY 06 for the Rural Cooperative 
Development Grants Program.  We recommend that the Senate adopt the House 
funding levels and language providing for $1,000,000 for cooperative or 
associations of cooperatives whose primary focus is to provide assistance to 
small, minority producers and whose governing board and/or membership is 
comprised of at least 75 percent.

·  Preserve legislative language designed to prohibit efforts to privatize 
any part of the Rural Development and Farm Loan Program through “competitive 
sourcing,” loan asset sales, or other means.  These programs and all 
associated activities should remain inherently governmental functions.  They 
were put in place because socially disadvantaged, limited resource, and 
low-income rural citizens, farmers, and communities are not, and cannot, be 
adequately served through private sector for-profit institutions. Currently, 
the FSA Loan Operations Division, the Rural Housing Centralized Servicing 
Center, and other Rural Development loan support activities are included in 
solicitations for bids from private contractors because of a quota imposed 
upon these agencies to “compete or convert” 15% of their “commercial” 
activities during FY 2003.  These actions contradict report language from 
the FY 2002 Agriculture Appropriations Act and language included in the FY 
2003 Omnibus Appropriations Act.

The comparatively small amount of money we are requesting on behalf of our 
diverse members and allies will assure that the poorest of the poor in rural 
and urban communities have the same access to programs and quality of life 
as other farmers and members of the larger society. We thank you in advance 
for your support for these important programs.


Sincerely,

1.   Rural Coalition/Coalición Rural, Washington, DC



****Please Note*****


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