Sens. Chambliss-Isakson Urge USDA to Stop Plans to Change Peanut Program Loans

U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Ranking Republican Member on the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) today sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary Dr. Mark Keenum urging the Department to continue using the current peanut loan differential method for 2008 and 2009. The proposal made by USDA last month would result in a significantly lower marketing loan rate for the Runner variety, which makes up almost 100 percent of Georgia production. Georgia produces nearly 45 percent of all the peanuts produced in the United States, making it the number one peanut producing state.

Text of the letter is below:

July 10, 2008

Dr. Mark Keenum
Under Secretary
Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services
Room 205 Whitten Building
United States Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20250

Dear Dr. Keenum:

Now that the 2008 farm bill has finally been enacted into law the responsibility of implementing the legislation consistent with Congressional intent falls on the Department of Agriculture. This task can be as daunting as crafting the legislation and we are appreciative of the efforts you have taken to expedite the implementation process.

However, we are concerned about proposed changes to the peanut program. Shortly after the passage of the farm bill, a white paper was distributed at the direction of Deputy Under Secretary Floyd Gaibler highlighting proposed changes to the method of determining marketing loan differentials for peanuts. The proposal to move to a market-based loan differential for peanuts was met with little to no support within the peanut industry. We find it very disturbing that since Congress made minimal changes to the Peanut Title of the 2008 farm bill that USDA would make such a drastic proposal, which was never discussed during the many farm bill meetings attended by the Department.

Recently you held an industry wide meeting to discuss the peanut market-based loan differential proposal. You made it clear to the industry that the proposal would not be implemented for the 2008 crop of peanuts, but that a decision for the 2009 and subsequent crop years has not yet been made. We are appreciative of the fact there will be no changes for the 2008 crop and that you assured the industry there would be an open dialogue on the subject before a final decision is made for the 2009 and subsequent crop years.

After the industry wide meeting, we both received a letter from the American Peanut Council (APC). The APC is the trade association representing all segments of the U.S. peanut industry. The letter stated that APC members, at your request, reviewed the proposal again and still determined that if enacted the proposal, “…will harm the peanut industry and subject the federal government to the risk of increased financial losses.”

Dr. Keenum, we respectfully request that the peanut market-based loan differential proposal not be considered and that the Department continue to use the existing peanut loan differential method. The proposal is not supported by any segment of the industry and we are fearful that if the Department continues to pursue this proposal there will be a significant deterioration of USDA’s relationship with the peanut industry.

Please do not hesitate to contact us or our staff if you have any questions about our request.

Very truly yours,

Saxby Chambliss
Johnny Isakson

Chambliss Applauds Decision to Postpone Changes to Peanut Loans

U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Ranking Republican Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today applauded the decision made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to not make any changes to the manner in which they establish marketing loan differentials for peanuts for the 2008 crop year. Maintaining the current practice for determining differentials for 2008 benefits Georgia peanut producers as the recent USDA proposal would have resulted in a significantly lower marketing loan rate for the Runner variety, which makes up almost 100 percent of Georgia production. Georgia produces nearly 45 percent of all the peanuts produced in the United States, making it the number one peanut producing state.

“This is good news for peanut producers in Georgia,” said Sen. Chambliss. “This year’s crop of peanuts has been in the ground for weeks and 2008 production contracts were signed months ago. Changing the loan differential formula after the peanut crop has been planted would have been detrimental for our growers. Domestic demand for peanuts and peanut products has increased and the federal government should allow growers to respond to this demand without interrupting current systems in place. I applaud USDA for recognizing the importance of maintaining the historically recognized practice of establishing loan differentials for the 2008 crop year.”

The farm bill recently approved by Congress contains several provisions that benefit peanut producers such as: maintaining a separate subtitle for peanuts; preserving the target price, direct payment rate and marketing loan rate established in the 2002 farm bill; providing for a mechanism to ensure handling and associated costs are not deducted from a producer’s loan rate; maintaining separate payment limits for peanuts; and including Conservation Security Program incentives for producers moving towards an optimal crop rotation.

Chambliss, Isakson Urge Democratic Leader to Strip Agricultural Worker Provisions from Emergency War Supplemental Bill

U.S. Senators Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today, along with eight other Republican senators, sent a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., urging the removal of language that would grant legal status to over 1 million illegal agriculture workers and their families in the emergency war supplemental spending bill.

“A bill to provide funding for our servicemen and women should not be bogged down by a debate over immigration policy,” said Chambliss. “I strongly disagree that this amendment would serve to provide stability in the agricultural industry and would in fact harm U.S. farmers and ranchers and U.S. workers. Nobody is more interested in the well-being of American agriculture than me, and this proposal is simply the wrong policy at the wrong time.”

“There’s no greater domestic issue in this country than illegal immigration, and the American people will not stand for this attempt to grant amnesty on a bill designed to give our soldiers the resources they need in the War on Terror,” Isakson said. “The war supplemental is not only the wrong vehicle to deal with this issue but I firmly believe this is absolutely the wrong approach in regards to agricultural workers.”

On May 15, the Senate Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment to the emergency war supplemental spending bill that would give a five-year visa to 1.35 million workers plus their spouses and dependent children to live and work in the United States. For almost all legal purposes, the amendment requires that the illegal aliens who qualify for the proposed visa be treated as lawful permanent residents. Illegal aliens would qualify for the proposed five-year visa by proving they have performed agricultural employment for 863 hours or 150 work days or earned $7,000 from agricultural employment over the course of a four-year period. Once granted the proposed five-year visa, the illegal aliens would be authorized to work in any job other than agriculture-related jobs for the rest of the year and would be treated as U.S. workers for hiring purposes.

Adding the amendment to the appropriations bill also violates Senate rules because it legislates on an appropriations bill. As such, it will be subject to a point of order on the floor and 60 votes will be needed to keep this language in the bill. Chambliss and Isakson strongly oppose the amendment and will vote against it.

The text of the letter to Senator Reid is below. The letter was also signed by Senators Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, David Vitter, R-Louisiana, Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, Elizabeth Dole, R-North Carolina, and Jim Bunning, R-Kentucky.

May 20, 2008

The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington D.C. 20510

Dear Majority Leader Reid:

We write to express disappointment that the Senate Appropriations Committee chose to include in the War Supplemental more than 100 pages of immigration language that would grant legal status to more than one million illegal alien agriculture workers and their families. We urge you to remove these controversial provisions from the bill so we can enact essential funding for our troops without delay. If these provisions remain in the bill, you can expect a vigorous debate on immigration policy.

Isakson Praises Passage of Farm Bill

U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today (May 15, 2008) praised the Senate’s passage of a new five-year Farm Bill that continues to provide a safety net for farmers, increases conservation programs, provides incentives for renewable energy production and establishes a permanent disaster program.

“This Farm Bill is a win for rural America and for farmers in Georgia, where agriculture remains the number one industry in the state,” Isakson said. “I commend Senator Saxby Chambliss for his strong work in crafting this legislation and for making sure that we continue to meet the needs of farmers in Georgia and the Southeast.”

The conference report for the Farm Bill passed the Senate by a vote of 81 to 15. The conference report passed the House on May 14 by a vote of 318 to 106. President Bush has threatened to veto the legislation. Isakson will vote to override the veto.

CHAMBLISS: CHANGES TO TEMPORARY WORKER PROGRAM ARE WELCOME NEWS, LONG OVERDUE

The U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security today announced plans to modernize the existing H-2A Temporary Agriculture Worker Program by improving the application process and strengthening worker protections. Today’s proposed reforms are the first in 20 years. After the proposals were announced, U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., made the following statement:

“I’ve been working on H-2A reform since I got to Congress. Georgia’s farmers are among the heaviest users of the program, and their experience with the H-2A program has made it is clear to me the current program is cumbersome and difficult to use for farmers and ranchers trying to do the right thing.

“With agriculture being Georgia’s number one industry, it is imperative that we streamline and modernize this program. We know that there are currently about 1.2 million agricultural workers in the U.S. We also know that an estimated 50 to 70 percent of that agricultural workforce is undocumented. If you consider that the H-2A program is uncapped, but less than 80,000 H-2A workers were utilized last year, it is clear there is a problem, because there is a legal avenue for employers to use and they are not doing it. As enforcement efforts continue to increase around the country, I believe more and more farmers will turn to the H-2A program, and we need to make sure it can work for those trying to use it.”

“As many farming operations have modernized and diversified to year-round work, the current H-2A program has not been able to accommodate the needs of all of America’s farmers. It has been costly, litigious, and difficult for employers to navigate to obtain legal workers in a timely manner. I have underscored the importance of making necessary changes to both Secretary Chao and Secretary Chertoff, and I am pleased the administration is taking action. I look forward to working with them on a final product.”