Congressman TRENT KELLY: Expanded water law threatens farms
Farming is hard enough without federal bureaucrats making it harder. If people are going to be incentivized to either continue to farm or go into farming, we must get the government out of the way. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is attempting to expand federal jurisdiction of our nation’s waters under the Clean Water Act. Farmers in Mississippi and across the country have registered their concerns against the rule because they fear their farming practices will be delayed or completely altered to meet the EPA’s new requirements. Farmers should not have to get a federal permit to conduct basic farming operations on their own land. I will continue to fight against this and other unnecessary and overly burdensome rules handed down from federal agencies like the EPA.
In discussing agriculture policy in the context of national security, the House Agriculture Committee has invited veterans-turned-farmers to share their unique perspective. Along with a small farming population, less than one percent of the American population is active military personnel. These veterans-turned-farmers make up a small group of citizens and their insight is invaluable as we discuss how to protect U.S. interests and assist other nations seeking to become more food secure. Their testimony reflected the need to view national security and food security as mutually linked. In their lives as both military personnel and in the agriculture industry, they have visited countries that have failed to invest in infrastructure, research, and rural development. The United States has made smart investments in agriculture and defense, which is part of the reason we are the most independent and powerful country in the world. Mississippians know the importance of both, and I look forward to continuing the discussion at home and on the Agriculture Committee.
Daily Journal
7/18/16
