Monday, December 10, 2007
Governor Culver Takes Lead On Urging Congress To Pass Farm Bill
Governor's Culver (D-Iowa) and Hoeven (R-North Dakota) send letter to House and Senate leaders to move forward with 2007 Farm Bill
(Des Moines)- Today, Iowa Governor Chet Culver (D) and North Dakota Governor John Hoeven (R) co-authored a bi-partisan letter to the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, encouraging a compromise on the important 2007 Farm Bill. After several weeks of procedural impasse, the Senate is set to take up the Farm Bill this week. Governors of the 17 following states also signed the letter: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin.
The letter reads, “As Governors of states with prominent agriculture economies, we have vital interest in the status and progress of legislation affecting farmers particularly the 2007 Farm Bill currently under consideration by the Congress.
“This legislation is important to our agriculture producers, our rural businesses, our communities and our states. On behalf of our farmers and ranchers, we urge you to pass this significant farm policy as soon as possible.”
Governor Culver held a joint press conference in Washington D.C. last week with Iowa Senator Tom Harkin (D). That meeting underscored the necessity of the Farm Bill to move forward and for Congress to pass it as soon as possible. Governor Culver quickly acted on that meeting by organizing his colleagues in this bi-partisan letter – in total, 19 governors signed the letter (15 D, 4 R).