The Conaway Chronicle

The Conaway Chronicle
November 7 , 2005 - Volume 1, Issue 16

Thank you for reading The Conaway Chronicle, a weekly review of my activities in Congress. I use this newsletter to let you know what's going on in Washington and what important issues are being debated in Congress.

We had a busy week in Washington as we continue to work on our 2005 agenda. With an appropriations bill and other important legislation on the floor, we were able to get a great deal accomplished this week.

cowsOn Wednesday, I, along with eight other members of Congress, sent a bipartisan letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns urging him to normalize cattle trade with Canada. Currently, many U.S. beef packers that specialize in the slaughter of older animals are struggling economically because cattle more than 30 months of age are not permitted entry from Canada. The North American beef industry is most productive and best served by removing barriers to trade. We are all better served when trade decisions are based on sound science and adopting a science-based approach to agricultural trade for the North American market puts us on much stronger ground to insist that our other trading partners do the same.

Also on Wednesday, I participated in a hearing in the House Committee on Agriculture with Secretary Johanns and U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman. They testified before the Committee regarding the status of the current negotiations in the World Trade Organization's Doha Development Round. I strongly support free trade as long as it is also fair trade. With 95% of the world's population residing outside of the United States, and over a quarter of our domestic cash receipts in agriculture coming from export markets, trade is, and will continue to be an extremely important component of American Agriculture. However, I have concerns with the manner that free trade is being sold by some to the American public. As I have said, I am in favor of, and will continue to support free trade, but, I also believe that if we were, at some point, able to successfully eliminate all tariffs, trade barriers, and export subsidies in the world, we would still have a need for a safety net for our producers in addition to good trade policies.

scaleOn Thursday, Congress passed H.R. 4128; the Private Property Rights Protection Act. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court issued a decision that allowed the expansion of traditional eminent domain powers and gave local governments the ability to seize private property if another use of the land could bring in more tax revenues. H.R. 4128 clarifies the eminent domain rules and protects American's right to own property. While the 5th amendment has long been used to allow governments the right to seize or force the sale of property for "public use", never before has the court included "promotion of economic development" in its list of public uses. This legislation is a bold plan that enhances the consequence for states and localities that abuse their eminent domain power. I am confident that this legislation will satisfy the rights of all Americans, while keeping the traditional use of eminent domain intact.

Next week, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 is expected be on the House Floor. This bill aims to find federal budgetary savings of nearly $54 billion over the next 5 years. The Deficit Reduction Act is vital to the fiscal health of our nation and we must be committed to our current spending control plan to responsibly address spending. This bill will provide a good first step in reducing the deficit and will put us back on the path towards fiscal responsibility.

http://conaway.house.gov/newsletter/simple11-07-05.htm