NELSON SUPPORTS FOOD, CONSERVATION AND ENERGY ACT OF 2008

May 15, 2008 - Today, Nebraska's Senator Ben Nelson voted in favor of the 2008 farm bill in support of Nebraska's farmers and rural communities. The Senate approved the farm bill conference report today by a vote of 81-15. Senator Nelson issued the following statement.

"Passage of this bill signals to our farmers and ranchers that Congress can come together to pass a comprehensive farm bill that addresses many of the most pressing concerns facing American Agriculture. While this bill isn't as strong as I would have liked, it contains measures important to the farmers, communities and people of Nebraska.

"It provides essential programs such as the safety net that supports our farmers in cases of disaster or economic downturn, conservation programs for environmental stewardship, nutrition programs for low-income people and school children, programs for rural economic development and provisions aimed at improving our energy security through domestically produced renewable fuels.

"This bill also includes many programs and projects that I had included which are of special benefit to Nebraska such as the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska Lincoln and water use research in the High Plains Aquifer Region. These are good and worthy, but not reason enough to vote for the bill. There are other ways for Congress to fund these programs without including them in a farm bill.

"The reason to vote for the bill lies in the farms and fields of America. If it hadn't passed, rural America would likely have lost billions in baseline funding that would be gone forever due to increasing pressures put on the federal budget in other areas. As farmers are planting the most expensive crop in history, now is not the time for Washington to turn its back on rural America.

"While this bill falls short of the reforms that are needed, the cost of doing nothing to Nebraska and rural America would be too great to endure."

For more information about the contents of the bill visit: http://agriculture.senate.gov/.

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	Press Release	May 15, 2008
NELSON SUPPORTS FOOD, CONSERVATION AND ENERGY ACT OF 2008 May 15, 2008 - Today, Nebraska's Senator Ben Nelson voted in favor of the 2008 farm bill in support of Nebraska's farmers and rural communities. The Senate approved the farm bill conference report today by a vote of 81-15. Senator Nelson issued the following statement. "Passage of this bill signals to our farmers and ranchers that Congress can come together to pass a comprehensive farm bill that addresses many of the most pressing concerns facing American Agriculture. While this bill isn't as strong as I would have liked, it contains measures important to the farmers, communities and people of Nebraska. "It provides essential programs such as the safety net that supports our farmers in cases of disaster or economic downturn, conservation programs for environmental stewardship, nutrition programs for low-income people and school children, programs for rural economic development and provisions aimed at improving our energy security through domestically produced renewable fuels. "This bill also includes many programs and projects that I had included which are of special benefit to Nebraska such as the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska Lincoln and water use research in the High Plains Aquifer Region. These are good and worthy, but not reason enough to vote for the bill. There are other ways for Congress to fund these programs without including them in a farm bill. "The reason to vote for the bill lies in the farms and fields of America. If it hadn't passed, rural America would likely have lost billions in baseline funding that would be gone forever due to increasing pressures put on the federal budget in other areas. As farmers are planting the most expensive crop in history, now is not the time for Washington to turn its back on rural America. "While this bill falls short of the reforms that are needed, the cost of doing nothing to Nebraska and rural America would be too great to endure." For more information about the contents of the bill visit: http://agriculture.senate.gov/. ###