APS LEGISLATIVE ALERT EMAIL


TO:              Plant Pathologists
FROM:         National Plant Pathology Board
                    Anne Vidaver, Chair
SUBJECT:    Agricultural Research Funding

The House Appropriations Committee passed a supplemental appropriations bill for FY 2000 (the Federal funding year we are now in) which deletes the $120 million Initiatives for Future Agriculture and Food Systems as well as the $60 million Fund for Rural America. These are both significant funding initiatives that would benefit agricultural research in general and agricultural producers through the targeted research. In fact, a call for proposals for the Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems was issued on March 6, 2000, just three days prior to the House committee vote to delete the funding.

The Appropriations Bill is scheduled to be voted on by the full house this Wednesday or Thursday, 29 or 30 March, respectively. There have been a number of alerts such as this sent to Land Grant Deans, by members of other scientific societies, and by various commodity groups. The National Plant Pathology Board feels that these funding initiatives are of such importance to agricultural science, that the US members of APS should be asked to "write your members of the House." President Neal Van Alfen concurs with this action.

A modified example follows that you can use as a pattern. Obvious form letters are better than nothing but even better would be statements about how this funding would benefit your state. If you plan to submit a proposal to the Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems, then by all means you need to write a letter now telling how much money you would bring into the state and what benefit your research will make to your state producers.

Take 10 minutes! Your congressional member contact information is available at http://www.congress.org/ Email or FAX your letter now!

You are a scientist and as such, an informed constituent. Take advantage of this right, indeed obligation, as a US citizen to inform your congress members of your opinion.


*The $120 million Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems promises to help address some of the most critical issues facing American agriculture. The lnitiative, authorized by Congress in 1998, will fund competitive research, education, and extension grants that focus on production agriculture, natural resource management, and consumer issues. The Initiative's priorities include agricultural genomics and biotechnology risk assessment; food safety and the role of nutrition in health; new uses for agricultural products, including biomass fuel sources; natural resources management, pest management and precision agriculture; and farm efficiency and profitability, with a n emphasis on small and mid‑sized family farms.


* $20 million in Fund for Rural America grants will be shared over four years among the following Projects:


The remaining $40 million from the Fund for Rural America will be allocated for these projects: $28 million for water and waste water disposal systems projects, which will support approximately $140 million in financing for about 200 projects in low‑income rural communities; $2.5 million for farm labor housing projects at three or four high priority locations; $2 million for community facilities grants that may include health, child care, and emergency equipment facilities; $1.3 million for business and industry loan guarantees, which will support about $40 million in loans, creating or saving approximately 1,600 jobs in rural America; and $1 million in Rural Business or Rural Business Opportunity Grants, which can help small, emerging businesses in rural area with technical aid and planning.


SAMPLE LETTER:

The Honorable (full name) United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative (last name):

The House will meet this week to consider the FY 2000 supplemental appropriations bill. There will be an attempt to prohibit funding in FY 2000 for important agricultural research. I am writing to state my support for the Initiative for Future Agricultural and Food Systems (TEATS) Fund for Rural America (F RA).

I support the IFAFS and the FRA. These programs will fund competitively awarded agricultural research grants to support large, multi-disciplinary, multi‑institution programs. The IFAFS is unique, in that it relies heavily on stakeholder participation in each research proposal; therefore, this research will be actively solving problems for farmers and producers, and transferring technology to communities and consumers across the United States.

I strongly urge you to support these two research programs as an investment in the future. Agricultural research is vital to all Americans because through the scientific discoveries, we feed the world, reduce environmental pollution, provide safe foods, improve nutrition and promote the competitive position of U.S. agriculture in the global marketplace.

Please vote against the language to prohibit funding for the IFAFS and the FRA.

Sincerely,


Your name
Your address
Your City, State, ZIP.