Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman did unveil their climate-change legislation Wednesday, although many say the bill’s chances of success are reportedly uncertain without the backing of any Republicans. In the past, Senator Lindsey Graham had been working with the lawmakers. However, he recently pulled out on negotiations. That move was made when he heard that Democrats were going to push immigration reform ahead of the climate bill.
Initial response from National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson is that The senators and their staff have produced legislation that recognizes the key role of agriculture in mitigating greenhouse gases, strongly supports the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s role in overseeing and administering agriculture offsets, and provides agriculture an exemption from EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) regulation for carbon pollution. These are very positive steps in the right direction.”
The American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman says that “As with other climate change bills, we have concerns about the economic impact on farmers and ranchers because of potentially higher fertilizer and energy costs.”
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© Northern Ag Network 2010
Haylie Shipp
