Lincoln: Strong Energy and Rural Development Farm Programs Will Create Jobs, Strengthen Our National Security, and Empower Rural Communities

Press Release

U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today called for strong energy and rural development Farm Bill programs in order to create jobs and improve Arkansas's rural economy. Today's hearing is the second that Lincoln has held as she leads the Committee in reauthorizing the 2012 Farm Bill. General Wesley Clark, Mayor JoAnne Bush of Lake Village, Arkansas, and Dennis Sternberg of Lonoke, Arkansas, were among those who testified.

"Arkansans know firsthand that rural America is often the first to feel the impact of economic downturns, and is often the last to reap the rewards of economic recoveries. The development and deployment of renewable sources of energy produced in rural America presents an opportunity to create jobs, put our economy back on track, and reduce our dangerous dependency on foreign oil. The Farm Bill energy programs provide a model which should be the basis of our national energy policy. In May of this year, we sent $27.5 billion overseas to purchase oil -- much of that to hostile foreign governments. In Arkansas if we used only a fraction of that money to build just 10 cellulosic ethanol facilities, we would create 2,090 long-term jobs, generate $216 million in economic activity and reduce Arkansas's need to import oil by 50%. That sounds like a good investment to me," said Lincoln.

"Today's hearing was an opportunity to discuss the potential to grow the rural economy through cleaner, greener energy," said Growth Energy co-chair Gen. Wesley K. Clark. "With fossil fuels getting dirtier, costlier and riskier to extract, now is the time we should move on expanding the production and consumption of clean, renewable fuels like ethanol. I am proud to join my fellow Arkansan Chairman Lincoln in her effort to empower rural communities through sound renewable energy policy."

"Small town mayors rely upon rural development programs to help meet community and infrastructure needs. I'm pleased that Chairman Lincoln and the Agriculture Committee are working to ensure that these programs continue to be effective, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to participate in this hearing," said JoAnne Bush, Mayor of Lake Village, Arkansas.

"Improving rural water infrastructure is not just about putting pipes in the ground. As Chairman Lincoln knows, these investments protect jobs and provide a catalyst for economic and community growth while at the same time enhancing and maintaining community health. The $55 million in funding Chairman Lincoln helped secure for the Ozark Mountain Public Water Authority is a perfect example of a project that provides safe water to 22,000 residents in North Central Arkansas and creates over a thousand jobs," said Dennis Sternberg, Executive Director of the Arkansas Rural Water Association.

Others who testified at today's hearing included Dallas Tonsager, USDA Undersecretary for Rural Development; Dave Tenny, President of the National Alliance of Forest Owners; Glenn English, Chief Executive Officer of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association; and Eric Zuber, a New York dairy producer. Lincoln questioned the witnesses on the success of current Farm Bill energy and rural development programs and discussed ways to improve the programs.

As Chairman, Lincoln is charged with leading the Committee through the multi-year process of writing and passing the nation's next farm bill. Lincoln plans to hold multiple hearings over the next few months, focused on various issues that will be addressed in the legislation, covering the scope of American agriculture.

Lincoln, who hails from a seventh-generation Arkansas farm family, became the first woman and the first Arkansan to serve as Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee on September 9, 2009. She has served on the Committee since first joining the Senate in 1999.

Lincoln's opening statement from today's hearing can be viewed at http://ag.senate.gov/site/news.html.

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