2007.03.21: March 21, 2007: Headlines: Figures: COS - Colombia: Politics: Congress: Santa Cruz Sentinel: Sam Farr tacks relief for spinach growers on to war bill
Peace Corps Online:
Directory:
Colombia:
Special Report: Sam Farr:
Sam Farr: Newest Stories:
2007.03.21: March 21, 2007: Headlines: Figures: COS - Colombia: Politics: Congress: Santa Cruz Sentinel: Sam Farr tacks relief for spinach growers on to war bill
Sam Farr tacks relief for spinach growers on to war bill
Spinach growers, who had to pull products from grocery shelves in the wake of last September's E. coli outbreak, may be eligible for millions of dollars in economic aid under a $25 million disaster relief program introduced by Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel. But there's one obstacle standing in the way: the Iraq war. Farr's measure is part of an agricultural assistance package that totals $3.7 billion. It's also part of a $124 billion supplemental emergency spending bill that the House will vote on at the end of the week, with nearly two-thirds of the money earmarked for the war. "Disaster funding is traditionally moved through emergency funding supplemental bills, and it's fairly standard for disasters to be combined and moved as one bill," said Jessica Schafer, Farr's press secretary. "The problem is the president might veto it. This bill has a timeline for the withdrawal of troops, with the earliest coming in the fall. And we know that the president has been unhappy about that" Farr, however, thinks his measure is important because millions of dollars in sales were lost after the U.S. Department of Agriculture told hundreds of spinach farmers across the country to pull their products. Congressman Sam Farr of California served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Colombia in the 1960's.
Sam Farr tacks relief for spinach growers on to war bill
Farr tacks relief for spinach growers on to war bill
By TOM RAGAN
SENTINEL STAFF WRITER
Spinach growers, who had to pull products from grocery shelves in the wake of last September's E. coli outbreak, may be eligible for millions of dollars in economic aid under a $25 million disaster relief program introduced by Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel.
But there's one obstacle standing in the way: the Iraq war.
Farr's measure is part of an agricultural assistance package that totals $3.7 billion. It's also part of a $124 billion supplemental emergency spending bill that the House will vote on at the end of the week, with nearly two-thirds of the money earmarked for the war.
"Disaster funding is traditionally moved through emergency funding supplemental bills, and it's fairly standard for disasters to be combined and moved as one bill," said Jessica Schafer, Farr's press secretary. "The problem is the president might veto it. This bill has a timeline for the withdrawal of troops, with the earliest coming in the fall. And we know that the president has been unhappy about that"
Farr, however, thinks his measure is important because millions of dollars in sales were lost after the U.S. Department of Agriculture told hundreds of spinach farmers across the country to pull their products.
Tuesday, Citizens Against Government Waste named Farr "Porker of the Month" for his emergency spending measure. The Washington, D.C.-based group said Farr was exploiting emergency spending measure to benefit his district.
Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., offered an amendment to remove the spinach provision from the bill, but it was defeated. At the time, he noted that a "$25 million bailout for spinach owners demeans the bill. It holds Congress up to ridicule"
Farr isn't the only politician to submit his wish list as part of emergency spending.
Other domestic issues addressed in the bill include $2.9 billion of additional funding for Gulf Coast recovery efforts; $735 million toward state-run health insurance programs for children in 14 states; $400 million to partially restore cuts in the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program; and $500 million for wildfire suppression activities at the Forest Service and Interior Department.
While critics of the war have seized on the opportunity to point out how domestic issues stand to suffer due to the war, some spinach growers in California say they will keep an eye on Farr's emergency relief just the same.
Joe Pezzini, vice president of operations for Ocean Mist Farms, a spinach grower in Castroville, said he would welcome relief.
The company lost an estimated $750,000 after they had to pull their produce from the shelves and refrain from harvesting 1,000 acres of spinach in the Coachella and Salinas valleys.
"It's unusual in that it's disaster relief, and we rarely get that in the vegetable industry," he said. "But we're going to be watching it"
Contact Tom Ragan at attragan@santacruzsentinel.com.
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: March, 2007; RPCV Sam Farr (Colombia); Figures; Peace Corps Colombia; Directory of Colombia RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Colombia RPCVs; Politics; Congress; California
When this story was posted in April 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
| Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace Corps Senator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments. |
| He served with honor One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor. |
| Peace Corps' Screening and Medical Clearance The purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process. |
| The Peace Corps is "fashionable" again The LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace. |
| PCOL readership increases 100% Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come. |
| History of the Peace Corps PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help. |
Read the stories and leave your comments.
Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.
Story Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Figures; COS - Colombia; Politics; Congress
PCOL37251
09