Issue Position: Agriculture

Issue Position

Agriculture is a key component of Michigan's economy. After all, agriculture is the second largest industry in Michigan and the state is also the second most agriculturally diverse in the country. During the challenging economic times that have plagued the Michigan economy, the steady growth of our agricultural sector has kept our economy afloat. To maintain this edge, I believe we must:

Prevent Undue Regulations
The safety of our food supply can benefit from standard rules and practices, and our farmers are committed to producing safe and affordable food for consumers. However, our farmers need to have fair and commonsense rules to live by, and I oppose excessive regulations that hinder the agricultural community. To that end, in March 2013 I introduced H.R. 1304, the Flexibility to Farm Act, which protects farmers from the EPA's one-size-fits-all approach by entrusting our states with appropriate flexibility to opt-out of overly burdensome regulations.

More recently, small family farmers have faced new regulatory threats from the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). In response to this unprecedented intrusion into family farms, I joined my colleagues on the Education & Workforce Committee in leading a January 14, 2014 letter to OSHA demanding an end to this overreach, and chaired a hearing on February 4, 2014 to look at OSHA's troubling actions. In response to the oversight and concerns raised by the committee, OSHA withdrew their controversial enforcement guidance against family farms on February 11, 2014. Additional background and a copy of OSHA's letter may be found here.

Provide Greater Certainty
Farmers and agricultural producers carefully plan over the long-term to provide our nation and the world with an abundant, healthy food supply. For too long, Congress promoted uncertainty in the countryside through short-term extensions of our agricultural policy. On January 29, I voted in support of H.R. 2642, the Agricultural Act of 2014, which was signed into law on February 7. This five-year farm bill makes common-sense reforms to our nation's agriculture policy, saves $26 billion, and allows our farmers to manage risk with long-term certainty.

Expand Markets
Not only does south-central Michigan produce the widest array of agricultural products, it produces some of the best. It is important that we adopt policies that allow our farmers and producers to look outside our region and beyond to sell food and agricultural products.

Source