Letter to the Editor:
I am very appreciative of Bill G. Wilson's letter to me, published in the Pittsburg Morning Sun on Wednesday, August 20, 2008. Mr. Wilson wrote to express his concerns over agricultural subsidies as well as our nation’s current energy policy. I share his concern over these matters.
I’ll begin by addressing Mr. Wilson’s first point about agricultural subsidies. During the Farm Bill negotiations, I pushed for stronger payment limitations on Big Agribusiness and non-farmers who receive subsidies. Our final bill lowered, by $2 million, the income limit for payments – from $2.5 million in annual adjusted gross income to $500,000 for non-farmers. It also put a cap on direct payments if a farmer’s adjusted gross income exceeds $750,000.
Could we have pushed for a lower income limit? Sure, but legislators representing southern farm interests objected to lower payment limits and would not have supported the final bill. I, for one, would have liked to see a lower cap on the amount of payments someone can receive from the federal government. This didn’t happen. No one got everything they wanted from this bill, but in the end it was a compromise necessary for rural Kansas. The bill was supported by all the major agricultural groups, including the National Farmers’ Union, American Farm Bureau Federation, Kansas Cattlemen’s Association, Kansas Livestock Association and other producer groups.
I also share Mr. Wilson’s concerns regarding energy. He is correct that it is more expensive to produce oil off the coast of the U.S. than in any other region of the world. Compared to the Middle East, it is five times more expensive to produce domestic oil off our coasts. His idea to impose tariffs on imported oil would raise the price of gasoline and would lower consumption even further, thus reducing our dependence on foreign oil. However, this comes at too high of a cost.
Energy is the lifeblood of the U.S. economy, and too many people already have to choose between driving to work and paying for food or healthcare. Making gasoline more expensive is not the right solution. What does work, and what I have supported in Congress, is making the alternatives to oil cheaper. This includes reducing tax breaks to Big Oil and using that money for renewable fuel production and research for ethanol. It also includes extending tax breaks for people to produce and purchase plug-in hybrid electric vehicles so we keep our money at home and help our auto industry thrive.
I want Mr. Wilson to know that I truly value his input and I agree that it’s time to end the partisan fighting over this issue. Members of Congress must set aside partisan differences and come together on a good, common-sense energy plan that works for today and tomorrow. America’s energy future depends on it.
Sincerely,
Nancy Boyda
Member of Congress
