Support Amendments to Stop Wasteful Ag Spending

June 15, 2011 

The Support Amendments to Stop Wasteful Spending in FY12 Agriculture Appropriations

Dear Representative,

Taxpayers for Common Sense Action (TCS Action) urges you to support several amendments to cut wasteful spending from H. R. 2112, the FY12 Agriculture Appropriations bill. Staring down the barrel of a $1.65 trillion budget deficit, lawmakers have to stop wasteful program spending. We urge you to support the following amendments:

· Kind-Flake Amendment to Stop Subsidizing Brazilian Cotton Farmers – This amendment would cancel the nearly $150 million bribe to stop Brazil from enforcing the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling that U.S. cotton subsidies are trade distorting.

· Flake-Kind Amendment to Not Provide Subsidies for Non-Trade Compliant Cotton Programs – This amendment would defund the cotton programs that got the U.S. in hot water with the WTO.

· Campbell-DeFazio Amendment to Eliminate Funding for Livestock Protection Program – This amendment would cut the $11 million corporate welfare program that has Uncle Sam killing predators that could harm livestock – protecting livestock is private responsibility.

· Flake Amendment to Cut Funding for Market Access Program – The Market Access Program provides subsidies to trade associations and other groups to advertise and build markets for American goods overseas. This corporate welfare is clearly a waste of taxpayer money.

· Blumenauer Amendment to Cap Agriculture Subsides – This amendment caps the amount of farm support subsidies to any one entity at $125,000.

· Flake Amendment to Limit Eligibility for Commodity Payments – This amendment tightens existing rules (ridden with loopholes) limiting commodity payments to operations with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of less than $1,250,000 in on-farm and off-farm income. Under the amendment only farms with AGIs of less than $250,000 will be eligible.

· Flake Amendment Prohibiting Funds to be Used for Ethanol Blender Pumps – This amendment would stop USDA from providing yet another subsidy for the ethanol industry (they already have a tax credit, a mandate of use, and a protective tariff) for blender pumps and ethanol storage tanks.

Again, we urge you to support these and other fiscally responsible amendments to at least begin to make a small dent in the federal deficit. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact me or Steve Ellis, steve [at] taxpayer.net or 202-546-8500 ext. 126.

Sincerely,

Ryan Alexander

President