Well, still no response from Secretary Vilsack as to what are the Administration's priorities for the Farm Bill. In the absence of an explanation, we are left to guess as to what the Obama-Vilsack Farm Bill would look like. If I had to speculate, I would assume that their Farm Bill would do nothing to curb the explosion in food stamp spending and nothing to stop the regulatory encroachment of bureaucrats on to our farms and ranches. I would assume that they would continue to ignore the disaster aid package that the House passed and that would provide some much-needed drought relief for our producers. And, I would assume that they would want to do nothing about the fact that the death tax is set to go up at the end of the year, jeopardizing families’ abilities to pass on their farms to their children. We put together a fun, short video to outline the "likely" priorities of the secret Obama-Vilsack Farm Bill.http://huelskamp.congressnewsletter....ng_linkid=3947
According to this video, the House passed a $383 million disaster aid package before the August work period. Unfortunately, Senator Reid sent the Senate home without allowing them to even vote on it. Meanwhile, the drought continues to worsen, and our farmers and ranchers are running out of time to alleviate the harm of it.
On the Road: Uncertainty Looms
The word of the day on Friday was “uncertainty.” Whether it was at American Packaging in Hutchinson, at a meeting with small businesses hosted by the Hutchinson Credit Union, or at the Hutchinson Clinic, Kansans are legitimately and obviously frustrated with the lack of certainty from Washington right now. The threat of higher taxes, the concern for more regulations, and the full implementation of ObamaCare have our small businesses, entrepreneurs, credit unions, and health care providers unwilling to invest and grow for fear that the economy could get worse, taxes could go up, or regulations could expand.