C24—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Stptt mber 27,1980
You can help make
staff of the USDA. The USDA
staff may seek ideas and
reactions at public hearings
'or from various
organizations that have an
interest in the subject. This
is one point where citizens
can have input into the
process.
In Congress, agricultural
and food policy is considered
in the House Committee on
Agriculture or the Senate
Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition and Forestry. The
chairperson of the com
mittee has a strong influence
over the legislation.
The original drafting of the
bill under the direction of the
committee chairperson is a
significant stage at which
important ideas can enter
the process.
Since staff members of the
House and Senate com
mittees are directly involved
in drafting bills to be in
troduced, they have become
perhaps the single most
important access for citizens
and organizations into the
legislative process.
Representatives and
Senators depend very
heavily on a committee
staffs recommendations in
the development of
legislation, so getting to
know key Congressional
committee staffers may be
at least as important as
knowing the members of
Congress themselves.
Staff members are always
interested in gaining
knowledge that will help
them improve their
recommendations to
Congress, so they’re usually
very willing to listen to your
views.
Members of Congress and
their staffs also hear from
many professional lobbyists
who have an interest in food
and agricultural policy
issues. Lobbyists are
generally considered
reliable, well-informed
sources of information about
their areas of concern.
While lobbyists may well
be biased in the direction of
their interests, they can’t
overplay their hand without
soon losing credibility and
effectiveness. Thus,
members of Congress often
look to them for information.
Efforts of lobbyists to
influence policy include
testimony beforte
Congressional committees,
letters, direct contact with
LANCASTER - With the
Food aod Agriculture Act of
1977 soon to expire, citizens
and groups who care about
the direction of our national
food and farm policy will
have a number of op
portunities to make their
views known, says Delaware
extension community and
resource economics
specialist Gerald Vaughn.
The Congress will work on
a replacement Act in 1981.
Much of the major food
and agricultural policy is
developed in the U.S. House
of Representatives and
Senate. There are big dif
ferences in the way these
two bodies view such
legislation.
While all 100 senators have
agricultural constituencies
in their states, probably less
than one-fourth of the House
members have significant
agricultural constituencies.
For the most part,- a
Congressman’s voters are
urban and more concerned
about retail food prices, food
quality, and food stamps
than with farm prices and
income. Thus it is possible
for the Senate to pass bills
highly favorable to farm
producers, knowing full well
that the House will alter such
bills until they become more
acceptable to urban con
sumers and the Ad
ministration.
Where does the public fit
into the policymaking
process? It’s the voters, first
of all, who decide who will
represent them in Congress
and as President. But with a
clear understanding of the
policymaking process, says
Vaughn, private citizens can
take a much broader role.
In the formal
policymaking process, the
executive branch (President
and Secretary of
Agriculture) may either
develop its own legislative
proposals or develop them in
cooperation with the
Congressional agricultural
committees*
In either case, Congress
narrows the decisions and
drafts specific bills. Final
approval by both houses
sends the bill to the White
House for the President’s
signature or veto.
When the Secretary of
Agriculture develops
proposals for the Ad
ministration, he is aided
considerably by the research
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the members of Congress
and staff, phone calls,
organizing letter writing
campaigns by the members
of their group, and par
ticipation in hearings called
> by executive departments.
But various farm lobbyists
onen wore'' at cross pur
poses, since members of the
farm organizations they
represent have widely
divergent views.
For example, established
farmers who own their
free and clear are less
dined to push hard for direct
price supports than those
who have recently pur
chased land and machinery
and have large' payments to
meet. Farm groups differ in
their political philosophies,
such as the degree of
government involvement
they want to see influencing
their farming operations.
Different commodity
groups sometimes have
conflicting interests. For
instance, grain producers
want higher prices for their
product, while livestock
producers would like to see
lower feed qosts.
Thus, the Farm Bureau
and the Grange may express
positions that differ greatly
from those of the National
Fanners Union, National
Farmers Organization, or
the American Agricultural
Movement. The diversity of
x views from the various
producer groups may
confuse some legislators and
may give them considerable
latitude in how they dedde to
vote.
Any member of the House
or Senate may introduce a
bill, but to get serious con
sideration it must be in
troduced by a committee
member and usually must be
favored by the chairperson.
After a bill is introduced it
is referred to a committee
for consideration. Both the
Senate and House
Agriculture Committees
have subcommittees to
which thb chairperson may
refer bills. The sub
committee may kill a bill,
amend it, rewrite it, or
combine it with other
legislation.
Hearings are usually held
in the subcommittees,
sometimes around the nation
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agricultural policy
as well as in Washington,
D.C. Hearings provide a
public forum where wit
nesses can support, criticize
or suggest changes. Seldom
will bearings kill a bill, but
they may lead to changes
that will make it more ac
ceptable and improve >its
chances for passage.
If you or your group
wishes to oppose a piece of
legislation, it’s in your in
terest to find out where the
sponsorship of the legislation
originated and what is the
motivation of the sponsoring
group. By doing so it is quite
often possible to attack
legislation by pointing out
someone’s selfish interest in
its passage.
After the hearings,
committee members go to
work on the markup process.
They review each section of
the bill, debate its merits,
change wording and add'
amendments.
Most markup sessions are
open to the public. Interested
persons can see how the
parts of the bill in which they
have a major interest are
handled and may respond to
questions if asked by
members of the committee.
This is an important point
m the resolution of certain
key issues.
After bills pass both House
and Senate they must be
made identical by a con
ference committtee of the
two bodies before going to
the President for signature.
The resulting compromise
bill is then sent back to both
Senate and House for final
passage.
Trade-offs between rural
and urban interests, between
commodity groups and food
assistance concerns, or
between producers, industry
and environmental groups,
bring about the com
promises resulting in bills
that are finally approved by
Congress and the Ad
ministration.
In a system of represen
tative government, says
Vaughn, each citizen has an
opportunity to participate in
the policymaking process.
To have a voice in these
keep informed
about the issues.
(Turn to Page C 25)
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FARMERS
FAIR
OCT. 1,2,3,4
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBERT
“Spectacle of Bands" Parade 7 P.M
THURSDAY, OCT. 2
Baby Beef Juding l:OO P.M. At ABC Groff lot
on South Railroad Ave. Sale at the New Holland
Sales Stables immediately after judging.
Tractor Driving Contest 6:30 P.M.
Fire Co. Tug-Of-War - 8 P.M.
FRIDAY, OCT. 3
Kids Day (After School)
Pet Parade-7:30 P.M.
Tug of War -8 P.M.
SATURDAY, OCT. 4
Baby Parade 4 P.M.
Tug-Of-War Finals - 8 P.M
RIDES & AMUSEMENTS
EXHIBITS ON
NORTH & SOUTH ROBERTS AVE.
Baby Beef and Pig Show Earl’Sauders
Parking Lot.
Corn and Grain A.B.C. Groff Bldg.
Flower Show Boy Scout Home on S.
Roberts Ave.
Elementary School Auditorium Fancy Work
and Arts.
Food-Vegetables-Fruit-Canned and Baked
Goods and Crafts Basement of A.B.C. Groff
Bldg.
.Additional displays in various show windows.
Premium Books can be picked up at various
business places, New Holland.
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