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Urgent: Farm Bill Can Help End Food Crisis
Target: U.S. Congress
Sponsored by: Oxfam America
Sponsored by: Oxfam America
BREAKING NEWS, 16 MAY 2008: The Farm Bill has now passed both in the House and Senate. Thank you to everyone spoke out on this issue.
The world is faced with a global food crisis. The prices of wheat, rice, and maize are skyrocketing.
Don't let Congress pass up a major opportunity to help address the food crisis by shifting payments for wealthy farmers to desperately needed funding to help the hungry around the world. Congress is in final negotiations on the Farm Bill and this legislation could make a difference. Some farmers making up to a million dollars a year receive support from the farm bill, but the poor affected by the food crisis do not. Does that sound right to you?
The farm bill could come to a final vote as early as Wednesday, May 14. Your urgent action is required!
Even a small cut in subsidies to rich farmers could provide funds to help millions who are hungry. Poor people around the world cannot wait any longer. Please tell Congress to address the food crisis today.
Send Letter see who signed this
We took action on “Urgent: Farm Bill Can Help End Food Crisis”!
# 7,750:
9:47 pm PDT, May 13,
Kenna Scott, California
# 7,749:
9:45 pm PDT, May 13,
Tamara Lynn, Kentucky
# 7,748:
9:45 pm PDT, May 13,
Robert Diehl, Wyoming
# 7,747:
9:45 pm PDT, May 13,
James Thomas, California
# 7,746:
9:44 pm PDT, May 13,
Jeanne And Winston Seetoo, Maryland
# 7,745:
9:44 pm PDT, May 13,
Gisele Bryce, Oklahoma
# 7,744:
9:42 pm PDT, May 13,
Name not displayed, Ohio
# 7,743:
9:40 pm PDT, May 13,
Lisa Pence, Illinois
# 7,742:
9:40 pm PDT, May 13,
Curtis Beardsley, Arizona
# 7,741:
9:37 pm PDT, May 13,
Patti Thompson, Oregon
# 7,740:
9:35 pm PDT, May 13,
Kirsten Elms, California
# 7,739:
9:35 pm PDT, May 13,
Name not displayed, Indiana
# 7,738:
9:34 pm PDT, May 13,
Sharon Archambeau, Michigan
If I have to explain to these people why poor people need to be helped in a food crisis they shouldn't be in congress.
If I have to explain to these people why poor people need to be helped in a food crisis they shouldn't be in congress.
# 7,737:
9:33 pm PDT, May 13,
Jeff Curtis, Utah
# 7,736:
9:31 pm PDT, May 13,
Roxanna Williams, Arizona
# 7,735:
9:28 pm PDT, May 13,
Theresa Liszkay, Ohio
# 7,734:
9:24 pm PDT, May 13,
Name not displayed, New York
# 7,733:
9:20 pm PDT, May 13,
Nat & Sandee Childs, California
# 7,732:
9:20 pm PDT, May 13,
Anne Barker, California
# 7,731:
9:20 pm PDT, May 13,
Jonathan Silverman, California
# 7,730:
9:20 pm PDT, May 13,
Name not displayed, North Carolina
I would humbly request your urgent action on the 2008 Farm Bill that should have been passed weeks ago. While you are winding up your final draft of the bill that you will present to the whole Congress for the vote, please consider the mounting food crisis affecting not just the poor countries around the world, but also the poor and middle class here at home. As the United States supplies the needs of nearly half of the world's food aid, we have a big role to play in responding to the current situation. You need to support the Administration's initiative to shift one quarter of the US food aid to local and regional procurement, thus making the US food aid program more flexible and faster will save taxpayer dollars and feed more people. We need to keep more of our reserves here at home for our own emergencies than send overseas and that can be built into this bill. Also, any farmer who has income after debts are paid shouldn't be given any subsidies. They should be distributed to new or beginning farmers. You should also bring back the ability for farmers and ranchers who raise horses, and not draft horses for the Amish, to be eligible for loans for barns, land, equipment etc. just like any other livestock animal that a rancher may own and quality for a loan for. Since you have deemed horses as livestock when they are transported for slaughter. But when you go into your local Farm Services offices to try to get a loan to build a barn or whatever and you have horses that are not raised for the Amish, then you deem them "pets or companion animals." The USDA cannot have it both ways. Either they are "livestock" all the time or they're "companion animals" all the time. It was reported in a number 1 rated horse magazine a month or so ago, that the USDA had changed the language in the bill so that horse owners could get loans for those things that I stated above. I do hope that it is true. Thank you for taking the time for reading my email and I pray that you will hurry and pass this bill so that we can get this aid to the hungry people of the world. Sincerely, Tracie N. Swietek
I would humbly request your urgent action on the 2008 Farm Bill that should have been passed weeks ago. While you are winding up your final draft of the bill that you will present to the whole Congress for the vote, please consider the mounting food crisis affecting not just the poor countries around the world, but also the poor and middle class here at home. As the United States supplies the needs of nearly half of the world's food aid, we have a big role to play in responding to the current situation. You need to support the Administration's initiative to shift one quarter of the US food aid to local and regional procurement, thus making the US food aid program more flexible and faster will save taxpayer dollars and feed more people. We need to keep more of our reserves here at home for our own emergencies than send overseas and that can be built into this bill. Also, any farmer who has income after debts are paid shouldn't be given any subsidies. They should be distributed to new or beginning farmers. You should also bring back the ability for farmers and ranchers who raise horses, and not draft horses for the Amish, to be eligible for loans for barns, land, equipment etc. just like any other livestock animal that a rancher may own and quality for a loan for. Since you have deemed horses as livestock when they are transported for slaughter. But when you go into your local Farm Services offices to try to get a loan to build a barn or whatever and you have horses that are not raised for the Amish, then you deem them "pets or companion animals." The USDA cannot have it both ways. Either they are "livestock" all the time or they're "companion animals" all the time. It was reported in a number 1 rated horse magazine a month or so ago, that the USDA had changed the language in the bill so that horse owners could get loans for those things that I stated above. I do hope that it is true. Thank you for taking the time for reading my email and I pray that you will hurry and pass this bill so that we can get this aid to the hungry people of the world. Sincerely, Tracie N. Swietek
# 7,729:
9:19 pm PDT, May 13,
Nora Siegel, Florida
Does'nt anyone have a heart anymore? What has happened to our America under this President? All he cares about are his friends and himself. What a shame!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Does'nt anyone have a heart anymore? What has happened to our America under this President? All he cares about are his friends and himself. What a shame!!!!!!!!!!!!!
# 7,728:
9:15 pm PDT, May 13,
Adina Thompson, California
# 7,727:
9:14 pm PDT, May 13,
Marsha Graff, Arizona
# 7,726:
9:12 pm PDT, May 13,
Jaimee Hammit, Oregon
# 7,725:
9:11 pm PDT, May 13,
Candice Lynn, Maine
# 7,724:
9:11 pm PDT, May 13,
Kathy Kerridge, California
Cut the subsidies for millionairs and help feed the poor.
Cut the subsidies for millionairs and help feed the poor.
# 7,723:
9:10 pm PDT, May 13,
Richard Patenaude, California
# 7,722:
9:06 pm PDT, May 13,
Melissa Kazzee, Texas
# 7,721:
9:03 pm PDT, May 13,
Lois Klezmer, New Mexico
# 7,720:
9:00 pm PDT, May 13,
Leon Muhudinov, New Jersey
# 7,719:
8:59 pm PDT, May 13,
Eliot Kleinberg, California
# 7,718:
8:55 pm PDT, May 13,
Julia Smith, Illinois
# 7,717:
8:55 pm PDT, May 13,
Patricia Mc cain, Texas
# 7,716:
8:54 pm PDT, May 13,
Adam Miller, Pennsylvania
# 7,715:
8:54 pm PDT, May 13,
Eva Winters, Virginia
Everyone in this world should have good food to eat. We have the technology and the resources. Let's do something for our selves. Feed the people!
Everyone in this world should have good food to eat. We have the technology and the resources. Let's do something for our selves. Feed the people!
# 7,714:
8:54 pm PDT, May 13,
Sharon Tilson, West Virginia
How can we let people starve to death?
How can we let people starve to death?
# 7,713:
8:53 pm PDT, May 13,
Vijay Vijay, California
The hungury are your constituency. Do the right thing, the human thing.
The hungury are your constituency. Do the right thing, the human thing.
# 7,712:
8:53 pm PDT, May 13,
Kimberly Banks, California
# 7,711:
8:52 pm PDT, May 13,
Name not displayed, California
# 7,710:
8:50 pm PDT, May 13,
Leslie Cohen, Oregon
# 7,709:
8:50 pm PDT, May 13,
Ro Retzlaff-Pinto, Massachusetts
Farm subsidies should be needs-based, like subsidies granted to consumers for utility bills (gas, electric).
Farm subsidies should be needs-based, like subsidies granted to consumers for utility bills (gas, electric).
# 7,708:
8:49 pm PDT, May 13,
Name not displayed, Colorado
# 7,707:
8:48 pm PDT, May 13,
Sundra Allen, Utah
# 7,706:
8:46 pm PDT, May 13,
Ashley Thomas, California
We cannot, with good conscience, do anything but our best to ensure that everyone, everywhere has enough to eat. Politics, economics, and differences can come later. We need to show the world that America is as generous and benevolent as we all know it to be.
We cannot, with good conscience, do anything but our best to ensure that everyone, everywhere has enough to eat. Politics, economics, and differences can come later. We need to show the world that America is as generous and benevolent as we all know it to be.
# 7,705:
8:42 pm PDT, May 13,
Name not displayed, California
# 7,704:
8:42 pm PDT, May 13,
Shirley Skinner, Missouri
# 7,703:
8:39 pm PDT, May 13,
Name not displayed, Washington
# 7,702:
8:38 pm PDT, May 13,
Karen Ruth Mccarthy, Massachusetts
# 7,701:
8:37 pm PDT, May 13,
Wendy Gladwin, California