Lays Out Greater Minnesota Agenda, Promising To Keep Rural Tradition Alive

Accepts Endorsement In Conference Call With Minnesota Farmers Union President Doug Peterson, Senator Tony Lourey

SAINT PAUL [09/29/08] – DFL U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken today accepted the endorsement of the National Farmers Union Political Action Committee. Franken was joined on a conference call by Minnesota Farmers Union president Doug Peterson and Senator Tony Lourey to announce the endorsement.

Minnesota Farmers Union President Doug Peterson:

“Al Franken will be a Senator rural Minnesota can count on. He knows the important role agriculture plays in Minnesota’s economy, but he also understands what it means to make a living off the land. And I’m confident that Al has what it takes to keep the rural economy strong for generations to come, working to build roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals — and helping to keep our young people in our communities. Family farmers need a reliable and strong advocate in the Senate, and I can tell you that’s exactly what they’ll get in Al Franken.”

Al Franken:

“I am honored by this endorsement and proud of all the support I’ve received from the family farmers who make Minnesota a national leader in agriculture. I will work hard in Washington to protect and strengthen the farm safety net, support trade policies that help our family farmers, and create jobs in rural Minnesota by making it the epicenter and engine of a renewable energy economy. Norm Coleman hasn’t always stood up for Minnesota farmers – but I’ll be a Senator they can count on.”

On the call, Franken discussed his agenda for rural Minnesota:

1. Address the energy crisis. Rural Minnesotans can’t afford $4/gallon gas, and farmers can’t afford the skyrocketing input costs brought on by the Bush-Coleman energy plan.

Fortunately, rural Minnesota can be the epicenter and the engine of a renewable energy economy, and one of Franken’s top priorities in Washington will be to make sure that happens – and to make sure that farmers get their share of the benefits.

• fight for wind credits that farmers can actually use on their earned income.
• build on Minnesota’s success in ethanol and biodiesel, and fight to ensure that Minnesota is a leader in the next generation of biofuels – cellulosic ethanol.

2. Support the recently-passed Farm Bill and work with Chairman Peterson on important updates:

• Commodity prices: A year ago, when the farm bill was being written, no one could have predicted the spike in the cost of inputs or the volatility of commodity prices. Al Franken will work to add provisions that protect farmers in volatile times. Al Franken wants triggers in the farm bill to automatically raise target prices and loan rates when input costs go up. As Senator, Franken will work with banks and the Farm Credit System to plan for changing credit needs that farmers and grain elevators have when prices change frequently and unpredictably.
• Payment reform: Franken supports Amy Klobuchar’s proposal to prevent non-farmers from getting farm bill payments, and the Dorgan-Grassley proposal to limit payments to any one farmer to $250,000. Ted Turner should not be getting farm payments when real farmers need help.
• Livestock: Times are hard for our livestock producers; feed costs have skyrocketed, but the price they’re getting on the market hasn’t. Franken will fight for emergency assistance for livestock producers, based on the feed cost adjuster in the MILC program. As Senator, Franken will push for immediate implementation of COOL, “split state” status through the USDA to spare producers from being hindered by bovine TB outbreaks, and a common-ground solution to open up some CRP acres to grazing. And Franken won’t burden Minnesota’s livestock producers, the best stewards of the land in the country, with additional regulations on waste.
• Trade: Franken favors a balanced approach to trade that recognizes the importance of opening up markets for our products but protects our farmers as well as our workers, our consumers, and our values. Frankly, the Bush-Coleman approach gives away too much for too little – CAFTA, for example, sold out Minnesota’s entire sugar industry for access to six markets with the combined size of Columbus, Ohio. As Senator, Al Franken will support fair trade agreements, but won’t sell out our farmers in a bad deal like CAFTA.

3. Increase investments in rural communities:

• Fund physical infrastructure like roads and bridges: this can be part of a new stimulus package, creating jobs and putting money into the economy while also improving our infrastructure.
• End unfunded mandates in education so that the burden of funding our schools doesn’t fall on the backs of property owners – and so that we can end the problems of school district consolidation and crumbling physical resources.
• To help keep young people and commerce in rural communities, Franken work to ensure that every family and every business has access to broadband Internet.
• Propose increased funding to states and counties to avoid having to lay off police, fire fighters, teachers, nurses, and other essential service providers.

For a complete list of our partners, including labor organizations, elected officials, constituency groups, and others, please visit http://www.alfranken.com/endorsements/.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 29th, 2008 at 12:51 and is filed under Press Releases. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.