A few weeks ago, I sent questionnaires to both of the major presidential campaigns and their responses were featured in this week's
Capital Press Page One centerpiece. For the paper's purposes, the answers needed to be edited for clarity and space. We don't have space limitations online, so here's how the campaigns responded to us in their own words.
(The one exception is with the question on ethanol, in which I described the Romney campaign's answer to an
American Farm Bureau Federation questionnaire.)
Capital Press: What farm programs and policies do you support?
Obama campaign: President Obama is laying the foundation for a rural economy built to last – one that invests in reclaiming rural middle class security and restoring the basic values of fairness and opportunity that make our country great. He is strengthening the security of the rural middle class by increasing low interest loans for farmers affected by the historic drought, working with insurance companies to extend payment deadlines and opening new lands for livestock farmers to graze their herds.
The president is also urging Congress to pass a 2012 Farm Bill and continues to put forward proposals that would:
·Strengthen the farm safety net, including crop disaster relief and a strong crop insurance program.
·Invest in rural development programs that boost economic growth and create jobs in rural America; increase access to credit for small businesses; invest in rural broadband, water and sewer infrastructure; and make it easier for rural communities to access to health care.
·Supporting farmers and ranchers who invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency improvement projects.
·Eliminate unnecessary handouts to large wealthy farmers to ensure everyone plays by the same rules.
·Plan for a strong agricultural future, by increasing funding for agricultural research and development.
Romney campaign: Governor Romney applauds the success of the agriculture sector and unlike President Obama, will be an advocate for farmers and ranchers. He understands that it is of the utmost importance that America’s food supply is the most secure, affordable, and abundant and will support farm policies the ensure these outcomes. For example, Governor Romney will establish firm limits on the costs associated with federal regulations and restore common sense to the rule making process. He will freeze and review new, pending, or proposed agriculture regulations and eliminate or suspend those that are uneconomically justifiable, duplicative and ineffective.
CP: Do you support direct commodity subsidy payments? If not, what would you put in their place?
Romney: Agricultural policy in this country is evolving, moving away from decades of government intervention and subsidies toward a more market-based system. Governor Romney recognizes that the United States cannot remove government assistance for American farmers in a global marketplace where other nations continue to heavily subsidize their own producers. He will pursue pro-trade policies that encourage all governments to promote free and fair competition, while opening new markets for American farmers around the world.
Obama: Last year, the president proposed a dramatic, yet common-sense reform to terminate direct farm subsidies. In this economy, and in these times of deficit, we need to make sure that our tax dollars are being spent in the most effective way possible. Direct payments are problematic because they are paid out regardless of whether the farmer is currently producing certain crops—or producing any crop, for that matter. As a result, taxpayers are footing the bill for these payments to farmers who are experiencing record yields and prices. In fact, more than half of these payments go to farmers with more than $100,000 in annual income, and both Republicans and Democrats have agreed that these need to go.
Instead of giving big business payments that they don’t need, we support a stronger safety net for family farmers, one that supports the economic growth of rural America. President Obama has called for extending disaster assistance programs – which are all the more important in a drought like we’ve seen this year - and has expanded crop insurance to include more types of crops, expanding the safety net for American farmers.
CP: Do you support subsidies for ethanol production?
Obama: Our rural communities, farmers, and ranchers can increase our energy independence and boost the transition to a clean energy economy. U.S. biofuel production is at its highest level in history. Last year, rural America produced enough renewable fuels like ethanol and biodiesel to meet roughly 8 percent of our needs, helping us increase our energy independence to its highest level in 20 years. We are increasing the level of ethanol that can be blended into gasoline, and the new Renewable Fuel Standard helped boost biodiesel production to nearly 1 billion gallons in 2011, supporting 39,000 jobs.
Romney: "I have a vision for an America that is an energy superpower, rapidly increasing our own production and partnering with our allies, Canada and Mexico, to achieve energy independence on this continent by 2020," Romney told the American Farm Bureau Federation. "The increased production of biofuels plays an important part in my plan to achieve energy independence. In order to support increased market penetration and competition among energy sources, I am in favor of maintaining the Renewable Fuel Standard."
CP: What policies do you support to ensure an adequate farm labor supply?
Romney: Too often, harvest or tourist season passes before temporary worker visas are approved. In 2006 and 2007, nearly half (43 percent) of all applications for temporary agricultural workers were not processed on time. As president, Governor Romney will make the system for bringing in temporary agricultural workers and other seasonal workers functional for both employers and immigrants. We should get rid of unnecessary requirements that delay issuance of a visa, and we should speed the processing of applications.
Obama: A world-class education is the single most important factor in determining not just whether our children can be adequately prepared to be their best at their jobs but whether America can out-compete countries around the world. By investing $2 billion in competitive grants to community colleges that train students and workers in high-skill industries and reinvesting in our rural communities by investing in 50,000 rural small businesses through over 12,000 grants and loans and providing 32,225 farm loans to help family sized farmers and ranchers promote, build, and sustain their farms, just last year (2011), President Obama is investing in future generations of farmers and their employees.
The president says: “To contribute to the vitality of our agricultural economy, we must also design a system that provides legal channels for U.S. employers to hire needed foreign workers. This system must protect the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers and only be used when U.S. workers are not available. I have called on Congress to pass and implement the AgJOBS Act, which allows farmers to hire the workers they rely on, and provides a path to citizenship for those workers. But we cannot wait for Congress to act, which is why my administration is already taking action to improve the existing system for temporary agricultural workers. We are also standing up a new Office on Farmworker Opportunities at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the first office for farmer workers in the Agency’s history. These measures are helping to identify the challenges faced by farmworkers and address the need for a reliable labor force.”
CP: What is your policy on immigration?
Obama: “Our immigration system has been broken for too long. I believe that comprehensive reform that strengthens our economy and reflects our values as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. I support legislation—that until recently had bipartisan support—that would invest in border security, hold employers accountable, demand responsibility from undocumented immigrants while creating a path to legal status, and reform the legal immigration system to attract the best and brightest and keep families together.. And until Congress acts, my administration is taking important steps to secure our borders and enforce our immigration laws in a way that is more fair, efficient, and just. Today, by many measures, the Southwest border is more secure than at any time in the past 20 years. Illegal border crossings are at a 40-year low and the Border Patrol is better staffed than at any time in its 88-year history. For the first time, immigration officials are prioritizing the deportation of criminals, rather than young people who were brought here illegally through no fault of their own and are pursuing an education.”
Romney: Immigration represents another broken promise by President Obama. Candidate Obama promised an immigration reform plan in his first year in office. We are still waiting for a plan. Governor Romney will implement a national immigration strategy to fix our broken immigration system. He will:
--Secure our borders so that drug cartels, human traffickers, and potential terrorists can no longer cross back and forth.
--Strengthen our legal immigration system so that it betters our economy, brings immediate families together, and honors our tradition as a nation of immigrants.
--End illegal immigration in a civil and resolute manner that respects the rule of law and the millions who have patiently applied to come here legally.
CP: Do you support reform in the H-2A visa program?
Romney: Yes. As president, Governor Romney will eliminate unnecessary requirements that delay visa issuance and will accelerate the application approval process. This will provide businesses with the short-term, seasonal labor they require.
Obama: H-2A visas are important to ensure that our farmers are able to continue to bring a plentiful food supply to our nation. As mentioned before, the president believes that while necessary, it is important to make changes to the H-2A program that balances the needs of businesses and workers.
CP: What is your position on federal estate and income taxes?
Obama: “The tax code has become increasingly complicated and unfair. While many tax incentives serve important purposes, taken together the tax expenditures in the law are inefficient, unfair, duplicative, or even unnecessary. That’s why I’m calling for comprehensive tax reform. First, we must extend the middle class tax cuts for the 98 percent of Americans making less than $250,000 for another year. In fact, my proposal extends tax cuts for 97 percent of all small business owners in America. But at the same time, we need to ask the wealthiest to pay their fair share. I remain opposed to the extension of tax cuts for those with household income is above $250,000 and support the return of the estate tax exemption and rates to 2009 levels. These policies were unfair and unaffordable when they were passed, and they remain so today. Governor Romney would take the opposite approach – his tax plan would require an average tax increase of $2,000 on middle class families with kids, to pay for a new round of tax cuts for multi-millionaires, who would get an average break of $250,000.”
The president's proposal would return the top tax rate on estates to 45 percent and reinstate the $7 million per‐couple estate tax exemption, which exempts all but the wealthiest 3 in 1,000 decedents from the tax, but still helps us reduce the deficit. Independent experts estimate that under this plan, only 60 small farm and business estates in the entire country would owe any estate tax in 2013. “I’d also return capital gains taxes to the rates they were when Bill Clinton was president. But I’m calling for the permanent elimination of capital gains taxes on key small business investments.”
Romney: Governor Romney supports fundamental tax reform that lowers tax rates, broadens the base, achieves revenue neutrality, and maintains the progressivity of the tax code. This will help jumpstart an economic recovery that will help create 12 million jobs in his first term in office. A major element of his tax reform plan is cutting marginal tax rates by 20 percent across-the-board, ensuring that fundamental tax reform benefits every single tax-paying American. This bold tax reform will allow middle class families to keep more of what they earn and will help them better afford the rising costs of daily necessities like food, gas, and energy.
Regarding the estate tax, Governor Romney wants to help all working families, including farmers and ranchers, keep more of what they earn. As president, Governor Romney will eliminate the estate tax, helping keep family farms and ranches intact when businesses pass on from one generation to the next.
CP: What is your position on the balance between environmental regulation and farming and ranching interests?
Romney: As president, Governor Romney will look closely at the environmental regulations already in place to make sure that their benefits in fact outweigh their costs. Our laws should promote a rational approach to regulation that takes cost into account, and rules should be carefully crafted to support rather than impede agricultural activities. Governor Romney also thinks that we must improve our environmental review process by setting clear deadlines and statutes of limitations, requiring better coordination between federal agencies, and allowing state reviews to satisfy federal requirements.
Obama: “Americans are interested in ensuring the long-term growth of our agricultural industry while protecting our environment for future generations. Farmers are some of the best stewards of our environment, which is why my administration is working with more than 500,000 farmers and ranchers on more than 30 million acres of land to help conserve our lands and protect our waters. I have seen how we can bolster growth of our nation’s agricultural economy while protecting our environment. I believe that we can work together to safeguard the resources that Americans rely on every day and those that support farming and economic growth.”
CP: Do you support reforms of the Endangered Species Act?
Obama: The Endangered Species Act is an historic piece of legislation that preserves the legacy of numbers species and protects the long-term viability of many of our public lands. As we protect the many animals that inhabit the United States we must reform the Endangered Species Act to best fit the needs of our farming community and the long-term needs of our public lands and communities.
Romney: Governor Romney is a supporter of biodiversity and believes that science and data are vital to protecting any species. Unfortunately, scarce resources are being wasted on litigation driven by a handful of activist groups with little or no real conservation benefits. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is failing to achieve its primary purpose of species recovery and instead has become a tool for litigation that drains resources away from real recovery efforts and blocks job-creating economic activities. The ESA should be modernized and updated to once again focus the law on true species recovery.
CP: Describe how you would increase trade opportunities for American farmers and ranchers.
Obama: President Obama has expanded markets for American goods that help support over a million agriculture jobs here at home. In 2011, American farm income reached the highest point since 1974, with a record number of agricultural exports and a record agriculture trade surplus that means more of our products are being sold in markets around the world. The president signed three historic trade agreements with Panama, Colombia, and South Korea which will create tens of thousands of jobs by further increasing exports. He is also expanding regional food markets and increased the number of farmers markets by 53 percent since 2008.
Romney: Governor Romney realizes that trade is a key factor in the strong prices that are driving agriculture’s success and that agricultural trade creates good jobs in our economy. He would promote policies to open new markets for our agricultural products. He recognizes multilateral trade agreements as the best opportunity for agriculture to address crucial trade issues. By opening new markets and expediting the process, Governor Romney will increase export opportunities and overall economic opportunities.
