GRASSLEY: I'll give you some insight into some questions I'll be
asking Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor today. There's real
concern about her rulings in property rights and environmental cases.
I want to be clear on her judicial method because these types of cases
often have a significant impact on farming.
A case I intend to ask about is a 2005 Supreme Court Kelo v. City
of New London decision where the Court expanded the ability of
governments to take individual private property. On this same topic,
Judge Sotomayor has a case of her own in which she expanded even
further the government's rating to take a person's private property.
I'll be asking some detailed questions about whether she understands
the protections provided by the Constitution for individual property
rights.
I'll also look forward to hearing her responses to my questions
about a case before the EPA. In this particular case, the Supreme
Court reversed the decision that she had issued. In her decision,
Judge Sotomayor interpreted the Clean Water Act to hold the EPA so
that the EPA could require upgrades to technology that achieved the
greatest reduction and adverse environmental impact even when the cost
of those upgrades were disproportionate to the benefits.
Second, I wanted to remind everybody that the livestock producers
should start applying for benefits under the provisions of the
Livestock Indemnity Program of the 2008 Farm Bill. This program is
part of the Agriculture Disaster Relief Trust Fund. It will help
compensate livestock owners and contract growers for excessive
livestock death due to adverse weather conditions. Producers have
until September 13th to apply for their 2008 losses.
Dan Looker?
QUESTION: Good morning, Senator.
On a completely different subject, do you think that the USDA
should do anything differently to encourage farmers to sign up for the
acre program? And do you think there's any likelihood that that
program would ever be changed by Congress?
GRASSLEY: I don't see it being changed until 2013 when the Farm
Bill is up pretty much in place. We don't change much in the basic
Farm Bill throughout the five-year period of life of that bill.
In regard to what they should do, they should answer every
question that farmers ask them. Outside of that, I think it's pretty
much a voluntary program. Farmers need to study it. They need to get
all the help they can from FSA. But the decisions have to be the
farmers'.
I know that Iowa State is going to do some sessions to teach
farmers how it's going to work so they can take advantage of that as
well as the FSA office.
QUESTION: Thank you.
GRASSLEY: WNAX, Yankton?
OK. Let's go to Ken Root.
QUESTION: Good morning, Senator.
Tell me if you think that the president is neglecting rural
America because he's not coming forth with this rural summit in the
timeframe that was promised during the campaign.
GRASSLEY: Oh, dear. I don't even know what he promised on a
rural summit and when it was going to be handled. And your point is
that he hasn't made any move at all to have a rural summit?
QUESTION: Well, he gave the indication -- there seemed to be
some in your party beating the drum on this. But he gave the
indication that rural America was extremely important to him. And now
that he's in office, rural America is not as important.
He is sending Secretary Vilsack out to have meetings, but he
himself is not being a part of that. So how do you feel about the
difference in a campaign promise and an administration action?
GRASSLEY: Well, I think it would be good -- I wouldn't expect
the president of the United States to attend -- if they got several
regional summits, but I think it would be a good thing for the
president to attend at least one of them to show that the authority of
the president is behind it and also to show that he's carrying out a
campaign promise.
But I wouldn't expect him to go to every one of them.
QUESTION: Thank you, sir.
GRASSLEY: Dan Skelton?
QUESTION: Good morning, Senator.
Anything new on the request you made a few weeks ago about
assistance for the nation's pork producers?
GRASSLEY: No, we don't have an answer. And, you know, since
this is the second week in a row I've -- I think I've been asked that
question, I will contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture and find
out how come they haven't responded and what they're going to do.
So maybe next week I'll have an answer for you or maybe between
now and then we can put out a press release.
Chris Clayton?
QUESTION: Kind of tied to that, dairy producers are also beating
the drum on wanting some different assistance. It seems USDA is
struggling to find the right answer there. Is it -- is it difficult
for USDA to react to the specific markets and try to provide certain
assistance to help out, like, dairy or pork rather than just kind of
the whole, you know, disaster-type situation?
GRASSLEY: I think so particularly with livestock, we haven't had
a lot of programs only for milk, for other livestock. Throughout 70-
or 80-year history of a farm program, we've never had programs for
just animals. I think that what you have to realize in dairy, within
the existing law, there's a whole-herd buyout that's going on at this
particular time. And there is some help for exports that's going on.
And then, also, don't forget that the House Agriculture Committee
this week or last week either had or is going to have a hearing on the
problems in dairy.
QUESTION: That would be today, Senator.
But it kind of goes back to the issue with pork as well. It just
seems that they're searching for answers on those markets but can't
seem to come to anything that's going to be effective anyway.
GRASSLEY: There is some reports within the last week that the
U.S. Department of Agriculture would be looking for some additional
support for dairy, and it might be as early as this week announcing
something but I don't have the slightest idea what that might be
except that the secretary of Agriculture put a team to work on trying
to figure something out.
Gary in Arkansas?
Jean in Agrinews?
That's everybody I've got circled on my list. Has anybody else
dropped in?
QUESTION: Senator Grassley, this is Michelle Rook at WNAX Radio.
GRASSLEY: Yes. Go ahead.
QUESTION: I was wondering will we see any movement during this
session on the Colombian FTA or any of the other FTAs.
GRASSLEY: Well, it happened that within the last, I talked to
the special trade representative, the ambassador that's a member of
the president's Cabinet on this very point. And we're trying to get
the administration to move with Panama, North Korea -- or I mean South
Korea -- and Colombia. There may be a package deal between now and
the end of the year.
And, also, I spoke to him about the importance of the president
making a speech earlier than later on the important of -- on the
importance of exports and the world -- and the global market.
Hopefully, the president is going to make a very major speech on this.
Hopefully, it will make a difference. Hopefully, there's enough guts
within the administration to stand up to the protectionists in their
own party that's trying to keep all these things from passing.
QUESTION: A follow-up that I would have -- I'm sorry. A follow-
up that I would have is I know the president and the USTR were over in
Russia here just last week. Are we making any headway, do you think,
in terms of getting pork exports open here after the H1N1? And what
is the status of China in that vein too? Do you think we'll get that
open fairly soon?
GRASSLEY: Well, they're two separate questions. In regard to
Russia, the secretary of Commerce was the only Cabinet person over
there with the president, and he made a pitch for poultry and pork.
And there was some indication from Russian leaders that they're not
going to follow along with an announcement that Putin made last month
that they're going to pull out of any efforts towards the WTO. They
were going to concentrate on Kyrgyzstan and Belarus common
market.
And it looks to me like -- like maybe Russia is going to make
application to come back into the WTO. We welcome that application.
It gives us some leverage on pork and -- give us some leverage on pork
and poultry.
And I guess the only thing I can say in regard to China, we've
got a long ways to go with China.
QUESTION: Thank you so much, Senator.
GRASSLEY: Yes. Anybody else want to jump in because I've gone
through the entire list?
OK. Thank you all very much.
QUESTION: Thank you, Senator.