ACTION ALERT TO BAA – SENATE CALLS NEEDED - IMMEDIATELY! 

Mandatory research, extension, and teaching funding cut by a net 73% in the Senate Farm Bill.

The Senate is debating the Farm Bill and we need your immediate help.

The Senate Agriculture Committee redirected $600 million in mandatory funding (not subject to annual appropriations) from the Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems (IFAFS) program to pay for other Farm Bill priorities.

Under current law, $200 million per year in IFAFS funding is AGAIN scheduled to flow to the land-grant system beginning in fiscal year 2010. IFAFS provides competitively awarded grants to support projects that integrate research with extension and/or teaching.

Senator Lamar Alexander plans to offer an amendment to restore $74 million of the $600 million cut by the Senate Agriculture Committee. It is important that the land-grant system put its weight behind the Alexander amendment.

The House Farm Bill INCLUDES the $600 million in IFAFS funding and it will GREATLY strengthen our position in the joint House-Senate conference committee if the Senate is ALSO on record in support of IFAFS funding.

Therefore, we need you to CALL the two senators from your state and ask them to support Alexander amendment No. 3551. If you cannot speak with the Senator directly, ask to speak to the legislative assistant who handles agriculture issues.

If the House can find 2/10ths of 1 percent of the funding ($600 million out of $280 billion) in this Farm Bill for agricultural research, extension, and education, can't the Senate follow suit?

LINKS:

Senate contacts are contained in this spreadsheet:
www.create-21.org/senate.xls

FY 2000-2001 IFAFS awards by university are in this file:
www.create-21.org/ifafs.pdf
 
Coalition letter in support of IFAFS funding in this link:
www.create-21.org/ifafs_letter.pdf


YOUR CALLS NEED TO BE MADE IMMEDIATELY!

Thank you for your support and assistance.
 
Sincerely,

The CREATE-21 Co-Chairs:

Jeffrey D. Armstrong armstroj@anr.msu.edu
Robert D. Steele rsteele@psu.edu
L. Washington Lyons llyons849@msn.com


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TALKING POINTS FOR IFAFS CALLS:

IFAFS is the Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems.

It was enacted in 1998.

Funding is used for competitive grants to support critical food and agriculture science priorities.

IFAFS projects integrate research with extension and/or teaching.

IFAFS provided $240 million in mandatory funding (not subject to annual appropriations) to the land-grant system in fiscal years 2000 and 2001 through USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES).

Under current law, $200 million per year in IFAFS funding is scheduled TO RESUME in fiscal years 2010, 2011, and 2012.

However, the Senate Agriculture Committee's Farm Bill would divert this $600 million to other priorities.

Except for a nominal decrease in the Commodity Title, the only portion of the Senate Farm Bill that received a decrease compared to existing law is the Research Title and this is solely a result of the IFAFS cut.

Mandatory research, extension, and teaching funding is cut by a net 73% in the Senate bill.

Senator Lamar Alexander (Tennessee) will offer an amendment to restore a modest $74 million of the IFAFS funding.

Under the Senate's "pay-as-you-go" budgetary requirements, the Alexander amendment requires an "offset," which is provided through elimination of a newly created tax credit for power line easements.

Please support the Alexander amendment.

Our university and stakeholders would benefit greatly from a restoration of the IFAFS program. [EXPLAIN HOW YOU WOULD BENEFIT]

Thank you for supporting the Alexander amendment, our university, and the land-grant system. Can I count on the Senator’s support?

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