Thread: HEADS UP! Ag Jobs likely to come up in Senate next week

Thanks for the heads up zeezil! I'll be ready.

American Farm Bureau Federation lobbyist Mark Maslyn said the group would be open to adding AgJobs if it would not derail the farm bill.

Let the Agricultural Committee and ALL Senators know that ALIPAC will mobilize it's 25,000 members nationwide to defeat the FARM BILL if Ag Jobs is included!

Yes, please make some calls to the committee members and/or other senators today if you can, as AgJOBS may/will rear its ugly head next week. The GOP committee members offices I spoke with this morning said the senator has "no position" or statement yet on AgJOBS. I stressed again that the American people do NOT want amnesty. Remember, Sen. Sessions said AgJOBS would be amnesty for 3.3 million illegal workers and family members.

List of Agriculture Committee members here:

http://agriculture.senate.gov/sen.htm

I left my list when I visited family , anyone have phone numbers ?

$288 billion farm bill would boost funds for Michigan growers - Stabenow pushes funding for fruit, vegetable programs

Created: 10/26/2007 9:13:12 AM
Updated: 10/26/2007 9:14:51 AM

WASHINGTON - The Senate agriculture committee has endorsed a $288 billion farm bill that would increase money for fruit and vegetable research, a boost that's expected to benefit Michigan growers.

The five-year measure now heads to the full Senate. The House already has approved its version. About two-thirds of the Senate farm bill would pay for nutrition programs, such as food stamps and subsidized public school lunches.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, who serves on the committee, pushed for more money for fruit and vegetable programs. The bill includes $3 billion nationwide over the next five years, one-third of which would go to programs that provide fresh fruits and vegetables in public school cafeterias.

She talked to reporters Thursday, praising the fruit and vegetable funding as "excellent farm and food policy for Michigan," and called the increase a "really important reform in the farm bill."

Some Michigan growers welcomed the news. Fruit and vegetable farmers said increased research funding would help them boost profits in the future. Growers receive government subsidies for wheat and other commodities but no money for harvesting fruits and vegetables.

Avalon Farms in Kalamazoo County grows 1,100 acres of soybeans, corn and wheat. But it grew only about two acres of green beans this year.

"We can't take any more of our acreage without losing some of our farm benefits," said Brigette Leach, co-owner of Avalon Farms, which also operates a greenhouse for tomatoes, salad greens and fresh herbs.

Mike Beck, co-owner of Uncle John's Cider Mill in St. Johns, grows asparagus, blueberries, cherries, pumpkins, apples, cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes and melons on 240 acres. All of his crop is sold at his on-site market.

He called the $3 billion for fruit and vegetable programs "kind of like the salt and pepper on your fries. You don't absolutely need it, but it makes it taste better."

More helpful, he said, would have been an AgJOBS provision, which would have made it easier for U.S. farmers to hire temporary foreign workers.

Stabenow had voted for the AgJOBS provision as part of immigration reform that failed to pass Congress earlier this year. The farmer income limits to receive government payments dropped to $750,000 from $2.5 million.

Contact Mara Lee at malee@ gns.gannett.com.
http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article ... ryid=82756

Originally Posted by MW

Populist wrote:

Thanks LadyStClaire and good thinking zeezil. We should start against this now. I just found something about the Bush administration apparently not supporting AgJOBS. Once I find more, I'll post...

Yeah, I don't believe Bush is that interested in legalizing the millions of farm workers the AgJOBS bill allows. I think he wants them as so-called temporary workers. That is why his administration is currently working on revising the H-2A program. One thing is for certain though, and that is that Bush supports "cheap" farm labor.

I have a feeling you're right about this. If he would veto the DA I think he would veto AGS too.

Same reason. Let's call the Whitehouse too if it looks like its going to really come up.

I heard the Mexican consulate was bombed today. We need to let him know that it is apparent that this country is on the edge. We don't want it to go any further so get illegal immigration stopped, fence built and no pathway to citizenship for anyone who has disobeyed our laws, and stop the anchor baby provision in the constitution.

Originally Posted by NOamNASTY

I left my list when I visited family , anyone have phone numbers ?

Here is a handy, one page list in pdf you can print out that contains senators' phone numbers (note, John Barrasso replaced Craig Thomas in Wyoming):

http://www.informedvoter.info/resources ... rs2007.pdf

Or, here is a toll free number to Congress that can connect you to the offices: 1-800-828-0498.

This warning is now on NumbersUSA homepage:

AgJOBS Amnesty Vote May Be Forthcoming

(October 26) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced today that The Farm Bill Extension Act of 2007 (H.R. 2419) is likely to come up for debate on the Senate floor during the week of November 5. Recently, Leader Reid had promised to attempt to attach the AgJOBS amnesty for illegal farmworkers to the farm bill during floor consideration. Despite the pleas of some open borders senators to forgo debate of additional amnesties this year, it appears another major Senate battle may be in the works as early as next week. CongressDaily is reporting that Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) will "resist" efforts to add AgJOBS to the farm bill...

Click here for more information on AgJOBS and actions you can take now to prevent this bill from coming to a vote next week.

Call your senators to urge them to oppose an AgJOBS amnesty amendment on the farm bill: 202-224-3121.

http://www.numbersusa.com/index

Thanks, Populist! ALIPAC'ers...don't get caught with your pants down...gear up now...start your contacts with Senators on this before the firestorm hits next week. Start now and then we ratchet up the pressure like we did on the DREAM...and Ag Jobs will fall too. NO AMNESTY...NOT NOW, NOT EVER...NOW WAY, NO HOW!!!

AgJOBS would be an even larger amnesty than the Dream Act: (3.3 million)!

Please leave some voice mails this weekend with senators: urge them to oppose an AgJOBS amnesty amendment on the farm bill.

Here are some good, brief points against the Dream Act from the Heritage Foundation:

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Immigration/wm1626.cfm