Tampa-Representatives from the National Association of Wheat Growers, the National Corn Growers Association, the American Soybean Association, and the National Sorghum Producers on March 5 issued a joint statement on President Obama’s federal deficit and debt reduction plan. “We recognize that reducing federal deficits and the national debt is critical to putting the American economy, including U.S. agriculture, on a sound course for future growth and prosperity,” the statement said. “We note that agriculture made a down payment in cutting spending when the Department of Agriculture directed $4 billion in savings under the Standard Reinsurance Agreement for federal crop insurance toward deficit reduction. We believe any further reduction in discretionary spending should recognize and reflect this contribution. We would also note that agriculture-related programs represent less than one-half of one percent of the federal budget.” The groups stressed that any meaningful approach to deficit and debt reduction in the FY2012 budget “must encompass all entitlement programs and all discretionary spending.” The groups issued the statement as some 4,800 growers and other agriculture representatives gathered in Tampa March 3-5 for the 2011 Commodity Classic. In February, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) also weighed in on the president’s proposed federal budget, saying it “would strike a major blow to America’s chemistry industry, making it harder for us to compete internationally, create jobs, and continue supplying energy-saving products to the U.S. economy.” ACC President and CEO Cal Dooley said the proposal is a significant tax increase on U.S. companies already burdened by a corporate tax system that favors foreign competitors. “It could erode the chemistry industry’s job base, currently nearly 800,000 strong,” Dooley said. “Further, it could risk jobs in chemistry’s ‘customer’ industries, if they move abroad to be closer to raw materials or have to pay more to transport them into the U.S.” ACC took the president’s budget to task on several counts, from the reinstatement of Superfund taxes to the “double taxation” of U.S. companies and other levies, which ACC claims could total billions of dollars. “This budget will thwart the administration’s stated goals of strengthening manufacturing and doubling U.S. exports in five years,” Dooley said. “It will harm energy security, too, by discarding tax benefits available to oil and gas companies, leading to higher energy costs for chemical makers and other consumers. Congress should take a pass on these damaging provisions and enact a budget that advances job creation and U.S. competitiveness.”
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain