Vilsack to APLU: Help pass farm bill, educate about rural America
November 13, 2013 | 06:23 PM
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack asked the nation’s land grant university leaders Tuesday to help him convince Congress to pass the farm bill this year and to educate the people in their states about the importance of rural America and its needs.
In a speech to the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities, Vilsack noted that the farm bill is a research bill and an energy bill and covers many programs besides the farm safety net and food stamps.
“You have many reasons for wanting a farm bill,” he said. “I am here to today to ask for your help and assistance in conveying that message to Congress.”
Vilsack noted there are still differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill, but said those differences “are dwarfed by the importance of passing the bill” so that it can be used to reverse trends toward poverty and population decline in rural America. “The answer to those questions lie in whether we get a farm bill done,” he said.
He noted that the sequester has affected discretionary programs and that 50 percent of the discretionary spending in the Agriculture Department is for food safety, fighting wildfires, rental assistance and the Special Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children known as WIC.
Agricultural research funding is part of that other 50 percent, Vilsack said, pointing out that agricultural research has had to take big cuts because it is impossible to reduce funding for the first four items. Only a new farm bill and a budget deal that addresses future sequester cuts can resolve these problems, he said.
Vilsack also asked the university administrators “to better educate America about the importance of rural America,” which he called “a forgotten piece” of the country whose contribution is not appreciated enough.
“You have tremendous megaphones in your communities,” he told the university leaders. “You can create opportunities for folks who support the universities to understand why it is important to continue to invest in rural America.”
He noted that people know much more about football team records than they do about the research that goes on in the universities, acknowledging that he had known more about The Ohio State University’s football team than he did about its research program until he visited the campus.
“I know you work hard, but we need to do a better job,” Vilsack said. “If we don’t, it gets harder and harder to have a farm bill. The result is less and less investment at a time when we need more and more investment.”
In a speech to the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities, Vilsack noted that the farm bill is a research bill and an energy bill and covers many programs besides the farm safety net and food stamps.
“You have many reasons for wanting a farm bill,” he said. “I am here to today to ask for your help and assistance in conveying that message to Congress.”
Vilsack noted there are still differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill, but said those differences “are dwarfed by the importance of passing the bill” so that it can be used to reverse trends toward poverty and population decline in rural America. “The answer to those questions lie in whether we get a farm bill done,” he said.
He noted that the sequester has affected discretionary programs and that 50 percent of the discretionary spending in the Agriculture Department is for food safety, fighting wildfires, rental assistance and the Special Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children known as WIC.
Agricultural research funding is part of that other 50 percent, Vilsack said, pointing out that agricultural research has had to take big cuts because it is impossible to reduce funding for the first four items. Only a new farm bill and a budget deal that addresses future sequester cuts can resolve these problems, he said.
Vilsack also asked the university administrators “to better educate America about the importance of rural America,” which he called “a forgotten piece” of the country whose contribution is not appreciated enough.
“You have tremendous megaphones in your communities,” he told the university leaders. “You can create opportunities for folks who support the universities to understand why it is important to continue to invest in rural America.”
He noted that people know much more about football team records than they do about the research that goes on in the universities, acknowledging that he had known more about The Ohio State University’s football team than he did about its research program until he visited the campus.
“I know you work hard, but we need to do a better job,” Vilsack said. “If we don’t, it gets harder and harder to have a farm bill. The result is less and less investment at a time when we need more and more investment.”
