Though she has only been the new chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee for a few days, plenty of agriculture interests have voiced their opinions on the choice of Senator Blanche Lincoln (AR) to head the agriculture committee. David Bennett of the Southeast Farm Press has put together an article that articulates these opinions.The National Cotton Council’s chairman Jay Hardwick, of Louisiana, had this to say about the Senator: ‘“Senator Lincoln cares deeply about rural America and has worked diligently on behalf of production agriculture, nutrition programs and conservation initiatives . . . She will be an outstanding leader of the Senate Agriculture Committee.”’ National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson is quoted in the article as saying the senator ‘“has been a steadfast advocate for America's family farmers, ranchers and rural communities. While we face many challenges, I am confident she will continue her efforts to preserve and protect the interests of rural America.”’
In 2008 Senator Lincoln was present with the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) Golden Plow Award. Naturally, the AFBF was pleased with the choice too, noting that Lincoln “has been a long-time friend of Farm Bureau … and we know she will continue to champion the interests of Farm Bureau families in her new assignment. …We know she will continue to be a strong voice for our industry and will continue as a consistent leader on key Farm Bureau issues such as those that relate to farm policy, the environment and estate tax reform.”
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (MN) also expressed his support for his new Senate counterpart. Senator Lincoln has also enjoyed words of support from the National Sorghum Producers, the American Sugar Alliance, and the Milk Producers Federation. Arkansas farmers are also happy to have one of their own atop the committee. Randy Veach, president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau made this statement:
‘“We believe this will be good, not only for Arkansas agriculture, but for all of U.S. agriculture . . . The senator’s interest in the well being of U.S. farm families is deep and sincere . . . Agriculture is near to her heart, and she takes great pride in representing Arkansas' farmers and ranchers. . . She is a true friend of agriculture. Sen. Lincoln has, time and again, demonstrated her dedication to agriculture and the rural way of life. She has worked tirelessly to educate other members of Congress, on both sides of the aisle, on the importance of the U.S. having sound farm policy and the benefits that our farm programs provide the citizens of this great country.”’
Kevin Bogardus has a story similar to Bennett’s in The Hill newspaper online. Bogardus is pretty straight forward in his assessment of the agriculture lobbyist reaction to the new Chairman, “[l]obbyists for powerful farming interests are happy Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) took the gavel of the Senate Agriculture Committee.” Bogardus writes that the “conservative Democrat will have a different political style than her more liberal predecessor,” and since the Ranking Member on the committee is Senator Saxby Chambliss from Georgia, the South and southern agriculture interests should benefit well from the combination at the top of the committee.
Whatever the agriculture industry, the message seems to be the same: Senator Lincoln is a friend of agriculture. Those outside the industry are not as excited. For instance, the Sierra Club ran a video in 2007 attacking the senator for advocating in the Farm Bill negotiations that language be added to the bill “to exempt farming operations from toxic waste lawsuits.” Tyson Foods, based out of Springdale, AR has given Senator Lincoln a total of $49,000 in contributions throughout her career, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. As readers of this blog know, Tyson Foods is one of the twelve poultry production companies currently involved in a lawsuit brought by the State of Oklahoma claiming the poultry operations polluted the Illinois River watershed. The Sierra Club says the Senator’s position in the Farm Bill was motivated by Tyson Foods political contributions.
Additionally, the senator’s position on climate change is likely to irk some in the environmental community. The Senator is skeptical of the ability to pass a climate change bill in the Senate before the year ends given the crowded legislative calendar. Instead, Senator Lincoln would like to see the Senate move forward with the renewable energy legislation that came out of the Senate Energy Committee. In her mind, this too would cut emissions while also creating jobs.
It remains to be seen what the Senate Agriculture Committee will take up first under the direction of the new chair, but Child Nutrition Reauthorization seems likely to get some committee attention. As will international trade.
Senator Lincoln probably also hopes this new chairmanship makes her re-election a little more certain given that she represents a state that went for Senator McCain for president by 20 points, and the fact that Arkansas is major agrarian state. In 2007, Arkansas sold over $7.5 billion in agricultural products, a number that ranks the state 13th nationally, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Or, as former Blue Dog colleague and House Agriculture Committee chairman Charlie Stenholm stated, ‘“Certainly, it doesn’t hurt her. In my book, it helps her tremendously as well as her constituency in Arkansas [.]”’
To read Bennett’s article in the Southeast Farm Press click here.
