Hi guys, remember the farm bill? Wait, don't fall asleep. I swear, I won't talk about it! It's over. Done. Finito. We finished the 2007 2008 farm bill last spring when Congress overrode Bush's veto. And - great news - we got TONS of extra cash for organics!!!
So here's the next step. This is where we need you, or else all of our gains in the farm bill are meaningless. The Farm Bill authorized the money. Now the Appropriations committee actually doles out the money by creating the 2009 budget.
And... small surprise, that rat Bush who vetoed the entire farm bill is trying to get his way anyway in the budget process. He wants to cut $8 million from organics. The Senate's bad but not so bad. They want to cut $2 million. Will you join with me to tell them not to do that?
The message to your Congresscritters:
Please keep funding for OREI (Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative) and $18 million for 2009.
This is most important to say to members of the ag approps committees, secondarily of the rest of the appropriations committees, and then to the rest of Congress. Another group that we should focus on is the House Organic Caucus. These groups are all listed below.
Senate Ag Appropriations:
Chair: Herb Kohl (D-WI)
Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Tim Johnson (D-SD)
Jack Reed (D-RI)
Ben Nelson (D-NE)
Ranking Member: Robert Bennett (R-UT)
Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Arlen Specter (R-PA)
Christopher Bond (R-MO)
Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Larry Craig (R-Men's Bathroom)
Sam Brownback (R-KS)
Other Senate Appropriations Members:
Chair: Robert Byrd (D-WV)
Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
Pat Leahy (D-VT)
Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Patty Murray (D-WA)
Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Ted Stevens (R-AK)
Pete Domenici (R-NM)
Richard Shelby (R-AL)
Judd Gregg (R-NH)
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
Wayne Allard (R-CO)
Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
* = House Organic Caucus Member
House Ag Approps Sub-committee:
Chair: Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
Sanford Bishop (D-GA)
*Allen Boyd (D-FL)
*Sam Farr (D-CA)
*Maurice D. Hinchey (D-NY)
Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)
Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
Steven R. Rothman (D-NJ)
Ranking Member: Jack Kingston (R-GA)
*Tom Latham (R-IA)
Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)
Ray LaHood (R-IL)
Rodney Alexander (R-LA)
Other Members of House Approps Committee:
Dave Obey (D-WI) - Chair
Marion Berry (D-AR)
Ben Chandler (D-KY)
Robert E. "Bud" Cramer, Jr. (D-AL)
Norman D. Dicks (D-WA)
Chet Edwards (D-TX)
Chaka Fattah (D-PA)
Michael Honda (D-CA)
Steve Israel (D-NY)
Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI)
Carolyn C. Kilpatrick (D-MI)
Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Nita M. Lowey (D-NY)
Betty McCollum (D-MN)
Alan B. Mollohan (D-WV)
James P. Moran (D-VA)
John P. Murtha (D-PA)
*John W. Olver (D-MA)
Ed Pastor (D-AZ)
David E. Price (D-NC)
Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX)
Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)
C.A "Dutch" Ruppersberger (D-MD)
Tim Ryan (D-OH)
José E. Serrano (D-NY)
Adam Schiff (D-CA)
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)
*Tom Udall (D-NM)
Peter J. Visclosky (D-IN)
Ranking Member: Jerry Lewis (R-CA)
C.W. Bill Young (R-FL)
Ralph Regula (R-OH)
Harold Rogers (R-KY)
Frank R. Wolf (R-VA)
James T. Walsh (R-NY)
David L. Hobson (R-OH)
Joe Knollenberg (R-MI)
Rodney P. Frelinghuysen (R-NJ)
Todd Tiahrt (R-KS)
Zach Wamp (R-TN)
Robert B.Aderholt (R-AL)
Kay Granger (R-TX)
John E. Peterson - (R-PA)
*Virgil H. Goode, Jr. (R-VA)
Dave Weldon (R-IL)
Michael K. Simpson (R-ID)
Mark Steven Kirk (R-IL)
Ander Crenshaw (R-FL)
Dennis R. Rehberg (R-MT)
John Carter (R-TX)
Ken Calvert (R-CA)
Jo Bonner (R-AL)
Membership of the Congressional Caucus on Organic Agriculture (110th Congress)
Co-Chairs
Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR 4th)
Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA 17th)
Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD 1st)
Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI 3rd)
Rep. James Walsh (R-NY 25th)
Members:
Rep. Tom Allen (D-ME 1st)
Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI 2nd)
Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA 31st)
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR 3rd)
Rep. John Boozman (R-AR 3rd)
Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-IA 3rd)
Rep. F. Allen Boyd, Jr. (D-FL 2nd)
Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA 23rd)
Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA18th)
Rep. Ed Case (D-HI02)
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX 10th)
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA 14th)
Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA 5th)
Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA 4th)
Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY 22nd)
Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ 12th)
Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-OR 5th)
Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA 1st)
Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI 5th)
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH 10th)
Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA 2nd)
Rep. Tom Latham (R-IA 4th)
Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA 7th)
Rep. George Miller (D-CA 7th)
Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO 4th)
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY 8th)
Rep. John Olver (D-MA 1st)
Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA 16th)
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA 9th)
Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE 3rd)
Rep. Fortney Stark (D-CA 13th)
Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA01)
Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO 2nd)
Rep. Tom Udall (D-NM 3rd)
Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI 6th)
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD 8th)
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA 30th)
Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA 6th)