House Ways & Means Chair Bill Thomas (R-21st/CA) doesn't want to let a little thing like legislative process stand in the way of including new bad provisions in the fast track bill. The fast track bill, if passed, would take away Congress's power to amend future trade agreements negotiated by the Bush Administration. Now that the Senate has passed its fast track bill, the differences between the House and Senate versions need to be worked out in conference committee. Thomas is attempting to use an ordinary procedural vote - to send the House fast track bill to conference committee - as a back door opportunity to re-write the bill. Of particular concern to agricultural producers are Thomas's attempts to ensure that Trade Adjustment Assistance benefits would NOT extend to farmers and ranchers, and that future trade agreements would NOT be required to respect US trade laws, such as those that allow the government and agricultural sectors to act when foreign companies, foreign governments, and multi-national corporations dump agriculture products into the U.S. at prices below the cost of production.

Please call your Representative today, and ask him or her to vote against Thomas's attempt to ram bad trade policy through the House. You can make this call toll free, courtesy of the AFL-CIO, by dialing 1-877-611- 0063.

The 2002 Farm Bill provided the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) with $15 million to be spent by the end of the current fiscal year (September 30, 2002). The WHIP program provides cost-share assistance to people who wish to enhance and protect wildlife habitat on their lands. The program enrolls upland and wetland habitat in accordance with state priorities, and to date, it has enrolled over 10,000 agreements covering 1.6 million acres. Successful projects include streambank and riparian restoration, mowing and burning to improve habitat for grassland birds, and removal of non-native species that are detrimental to wildlife. You can view examples of WHIP projects at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/whip/factsheets/.

For more information or to apply, you can contact your state WHIP coordinator: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/whip/contacts.html or your local USDA Service Center: http://offices.usda.gov/scripts/ndISAPI.dll/oip_public/USA_map

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, the Washington Toxics Coalition and the Mineral Policy Center have teamed up to ask retailers to stop selling toxic waste and calling it fertilizer. The fertilizer in question goes by the trade name Ironite, and actually contains mine waste from a proposed Superfund site in Arizona. Ironite contains high levels of arsenic (a poison and carcinogen) and lead (which can cause anemia and brain damage). Since this fact is not disclosed on the product's label, consumer advocates fear that this product could be very toxic to small children if accidentally ingested. The use of Ironite fertilizer also raises arsenic and lead levels in soils and the long-term effects of exposure are not well known. Twenty-three groups have signed letters asking Home Depot, Lowe's and Target stores to stop carrying Ironite and other fertilizers made from toxic waste.

A copy of the letter to Home Depot is available at: http://www.mineralpolicy.org/pdf/ironite_HomeDepotLtr.PDF

Information on the toxic content of fertilizers is available at: http://www.wa.gov/agr/pmd/fertilizers/index.htm#database

In an apparent effort to stem the tide of criticism about the 2002 Farm Bill, the House Agriculture Committee has produced a 12-page publication titled "The Facts on U.S. Farm Policy." This full-color propaganda piece is filled with such gems as this: "MYTH #3 U.S. farm policy helps big corporate agribusiness, not real farm families. FACT #3 Big corporate agribusiness actually opposes U.S. farm policy. U.S. farm policy does help all American farm families because all farm families feel the sting of a world market that is not free or fair." The booklet is available for download as a 3-megabyte (almost as bloated as the Farm Bill itself) PDF file at the House Agriculture Committee website, http://agriculture.house.gov/fbfocus.htm.

For a grain of salt to accompany your perusal of "The Facts on U.S. Farm Policy," you might want to check out The Center for Responsive Politics' "Tracking the Payback" piece on the Farm Bill. This handy reference guide details, by donor and by sector, exactly what each member of the House and Senate agriculture committees received in campaign contributions. It is available at: http://www.opensecrets.org/payback/issue.asp?issueid=AG1&billdisplay=1.

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