Quote:

Dear Pika-Steph:


I thought you might be interested in knowing about the Food and Energy Security Act (Farm Bill, H.R.2419), which Congress enacted into law over President Bush’s veto.

On May, 22, 2008, the Senate voted to override the veto of the Farm Bill by a margin of 82 to 13. Since the House of Representatives had previously voted to override the veto, it now becomes law.

The Food and Energy Security Act contains a number of provisions that will benefit Michigan’s farmers and American consumers. As leading producers of traditional crops, such as corn, wheat and soybeans, as well as specialty crops, such as apples, asparagus, beans, blueberries and cherries, Michigan’s farmers have a variety of needs. This legislation contains a wide range of measures that will benefit both specialty and traditional crop farmers across Michigan.

I am especially pleased that assistance to farmers of specialty crops was increased. Too often, past Farm Bills have ignored the needs of specialty crops growers. The increased support for the specialty crop community will result in a more assured supply of U.S. grown fruits and vegetables, which is so important to America’s nutritional needs.

I have long worked to ensure environmental stewardship in farming, and I am pleased the Farm Bill contains increased funding for conservation programs. This legislation expands the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), increases funding for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and reauthorizes the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) to protect environmentally sensitive lands.

I am also pleased this bill will strengthen food and nutrition programs by providing critical funding over the next five years. The Farm Bill includes a significant increase in funding for these critical programs on which our nation’s least fortunate and most vulnerable citizens rely. In Michigan, over 500,000 households will benefit from this increased nutrition assistance. This bill will also help to alleviate some of the stress local food banks across Michigan are experiencing at this time.

While this bill includes modest reforms to some producer protection programs, it does not go far enough. It was my hope that this bill would have included more reforms, such as lower caps for subsidy payments to high income and part time farmers. I am hopeful Congress will work to enact additional reforms when it next considers farm legislation.

Finally, the Farm Bill contains an important provision I worked hard to enact that will help reign in some of the speculation in energy commodity markets, hopefully helping to reduce prices at the pump. For the past several years, both as Chairman and as Ranking Member and of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), I have led a number of investigations examining U.S. energy markets and rapidly rising oil and gasoline prices. As a result of the findings of these investigations, I have been advocating a number of measures to address the rampant speculation and lack of regulation of energy markets, which have greatly contributed to the recent run-up in fuel prices.

While the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the main federal regulator charged with policing U.S. energy commodity markets, has the authority to regulate certain commodity markets, it cannot police one of the biggest energy markets due to the “Enron loophole,” a provision in law that exempts electronic energy exchanges from government oversight. In September 2007, I introduced legislation (S.2058) that would close the Enron loophole and regulate electronic energy markets. A version similar to that bill was adopted as an amendment to the Farm Bill and is now part of the new law. The provisions in the law are designed to put the cop back on the beat in all U.S. commodity markets to protect against price manipulation and excessive speculation.

Though this bill is not perfect, on balance, I believe provisions such as additional assistance to specialty crops growers, enhanced conservation spending, and increased nutrition funding will set our country on the right path toward a stronger farm policy. If you are interested in viewing my full statement on the Farm Bill, please click on the following link: [http://levin.senate.gov/newsroom/release.....]
Sincerely,
Carl Levin

Well, uh....at least he still writes to me. Anyone want to help me formulate a response to enlighten him about the Federal Reserve's part in our inflation problem?