GRASSLEY: Thursday, as you probably know and I'm reminding you, hosting EPA officials in Iowa. I'll show Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator of the Office of Air and Radiation, and Margo Oge, director of the Office of Transportation and Air Quality, some of the realities of family farming in rural America.
I asked the EPA to come to Iowa for a first-hand look at family farming because I learned that some of these people who head these agencies don't understand farming, and I think it's very important that, when you're making regulations like this, that you ought to have a closer look at American agriculture. And the best place to do that's in Iowa.
I appreciate the EPA taking time to come to Iowa. We'll begin the day in Iowa State Biocentury Farm for an information session. That's 8:30 to 10:15. We're going is to discuss carbon fuel standards and corn and soybean technology.
Following -- and that's going to be followed by an information gathering from local EPA staff about the Ag Star Program. After that, I'm taking them to Kimberly Family Farms near Maxwell so that they can see the real thing and hear about the impact of their rules and regulations directly on the family farmer. That'll be from 11:30 to 1:15 p.m.
From there, we go to presentation from ethanol and biodiesel producers and then tour the Central Iowa Biodiesel Refinery in Newton from 2:00 to 3:00.
The EPA has tremendous power and authority, and the decisions that that agency makes -- any number of issues -- have a major impact on our rural economy. And that doesn't include only the family farm; it includes jobs in value-added agricultural industry especially renewable energy. It's absolutely essential, then, that our government officials understand these issues and the impact of their regulations, directives, and rules that they make.
I'm ready for questions. You call the names.
STAFF: Tom Rider, WNAX?
QUESTION: Good morning, Senator.
Senator, the WTO has set sanctions against the U.S. for illegal subsidies on cotton at $295 million. And I was wondering what that means for the rest of our farm programs.
GRASSLEY: Well, it means that farm programs have been to be WTO compliant. And, presumably, when we passed that legislation, we thought it was WTO compliant as it deals with cotton. And it wasn't.
So, you know, we made some changes in the Farm Bill. Now, you never know until somebody makes another ruling. Most of the time, we win these WTO rulings, but this one, we lost. I don't have any reason to believe we will lose others, but it does at least bring up the issue that America is responsive when we are told we're violating the international rules of trade.
And having international rules are very, very important because if you want to make advancements in trade, sell our products overseas, knowing the rules of the game bring confidence and enhance export opportunities.
QUESTION: Does that mean, sir, we could be subject to more sanctions against our other commodities? Corn, soybeans, et cetera?
GRASSLEY: Only if we lose cases, yes, we could be subject. But we've always tried to be compliant. Now, on the -- on the amber box things, we have not exceeded our allocation, so we ought to be OK on most of our crop support programs.
STAFF: Julie Harker, Brownfield?
QUESTION: No questions.
STAFF: Ken Root, WHO?
QUESTION: Good morning, Senator.
I'm at the Farm Progress Show today, and can you hear me OK?
GRASSLEY: Yes, I can hear you.
QUESTION: Agriculture seems to be splitting its view a little bit on the climate change legislation, as you are dealing with it. Some are still in total opposition to the current bill, and others are moderating. Are you getting that in any of your meetings with farmers or ag organizations?
GRASSLEY: Well, I had four town meetings two weeks ago and 12 town meetings last week. And every meeting I had, if the cap-and-trade issue came up -- and I'd say it came up in more than half of my town meetings -- I heard from agriculture there was complete opposition.
STAFF: Dan Skelton, Spencer?
QUESTION: Good morning, Senator.
Back to your farm visit with the EPA folks, will you take that opportunity to lobby them for the 15 percent ethanol bump-up?
GRASSLEY: Yes. Although, these aren't the folks that are going to be -- that are involved in the decision to some extent, but I'm going to, obviously, bring up how important that is for value-added agriculture and the fact that we're up kind of against a stone wall that if we don't get it, we may not be able to meet our requirements of ten and a half billion gallons for next year.
STAFF: Stacia Cudd, National Farm Broadcasters?
Gary Digiuseppe, ARN?
QUESTION: Senator, it's being reported that the Obama administration will shortly issue its proposals for farm program eligibility requirements in 2010 crop years on out. Have you gotten any inkling of what they're going to say? Whether it's likely to be any tighter or looser than those that were put forth by the Bush administration shortly before they left office in?
GRASSLEY: No, I don't have any indication, but I can say this, that I believe that we'll have stricter enforcement and stricter rules, and we ought to have. But I can't say for sure.
QUESTION: What shape would you say that would take? The stricter rules and stricter enforcement?
GRASSLEY: Well, isn't it a case that we've had some indication out of the Bush administration -- and if I'm wrong, correct me -- but I thought we had some indication that the extent to which we thought we had accomplished certain things in the Farm Bill of 2008, that the administration was -- the Bush administration was moving in the direction that it was not quite as covering as many people and little looser enforcement or at least enforcement progress than what we had indicated.
And I think I spoke to this sometime at the beginning of this year that I had some regret about that and that I was hoping that the new secretary coming in was going to be a little more following congressional intent.
STAFF: OK. I've read through the entire list. Does anybody have a follow-up or did anybody get added late?
GRASSLEY: OK. Thank you all very much. Goodbye.