Farm Bill Update

Statement

Farm Bill Update

I am pleased to report that the Senate Agriculture Committee finally reported a Farm Bill out of committee last week. Currently their version of the Farm Bill is likely to be debated by the full Senate the week of November 5.

While there are some things in the Senate bill I have concerns with, the good news is that the 2007 Farm Bill is again making forward progress. Congress certainly can't complete a Farm Bill this year if the Senate does not move on a bill, so the Committee's work last week was a big step in the right direction.

One of the provisions of concern in the Senate bill is an optional "Average Crop Revenue" (ACR) program after 2010 that farmers can choose. Based on comments I've received, it sounds like this program may not work very well for Texas. Congress needs to make sure this optional program doesn't drive planting decisions or have other unintended consequences. I still believe a simpler and more affordable means of improving farmers' risk management is through crop insurance reforms that I have worked on. My proposal would allow farmers to purchase county yield or revenue coverage in addition to individual yield or revenue coverage, providing extra revenue coverage and disaster coverage.

If and when the Senate passes its Farm Bill, House and Senate members must work together in a bipartisan manner to get a final Farm Bill. You can be assured I will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure that the interests of farmers, ranchers and consumers in the 19th District in Texas are represented.

Trillion Dollar Tax Increase Proposed - The Largest In American History

Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY), the Chairman of the Ways & Means Committee, has recently released his vision for a new tax plan. While I am in agreement with Chairman Rangel that our tax system needs a major overhaul, a proposed trillion dollar tax increase is certainly not the answer.

The government does not have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. While Republicans have offered several solutions to overhaul our tax system, they have been prematurely dismissed by the Majority.

Time and again, tax cuts have shown to grow the economy. Revenues coming into the federal government have increased each of the last three years by large amounts, leading to the lowest deficit in five years. The federal government certainly does not need further increases in taxes that simply get plowed into new federal spending. I firmly believe that the folks back home know how to spend their money better than the federal government.

One example of the effect on the American taxpayer by this proposed trillion dollar tax increase is that there would be a four percent surtax on Americans earning more than $150,000 a year ($200,000 for couples). That is on top of the scheduled expiration of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. So, under Democrats' plan, over the next few years, the top individual income tax rate in the United States will rise from 35% to 44%.

This proposal will have a direct impact on small businesses, the lifeblood of the American economy, since many small businesses and family farms pay their income taxes as individuals. The bottom line is that if such a tax increase is implemented, our nation's competitiveness would be diminished, and more American jobs will be shipped overseas, leading to a higher unemployment rate.

To propose a trillion dollar tax increase is reckless, unfair to the taxpayers and will only send our currently strong economy into a downward spiral.

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