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House Ag Committee member sees ‘troublesome trends’

A leading member of the House Agriculture Committee—Representative Jerry Moran of Kansas—is concerned with what he calls “troublesome trends” in both Congress andthe Obama administration.

“I would say probably the greatest concern I have, that’s coming our way in agriculture, is increasing environmental and other rules and regulations,” Moran says, “that if we’re not careful will greatly diminish the opportunity forthere to be a return upon the investment in agriculture.”

Moran cites the recent EPA decision to classify carbon dioxide as a pollutant, as well as issues related to dust and pesticides.

“Certainly this Congress and this administrationseem very susceptible to, in my opinion, rules and regulations that are over-regulating and are not necessarily based upon sound science—or perhaps more importantly, common sense,” says Moran.

Meanwhile, at the USDA, agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack says he hasdeveloped a good relationship with EPA administrator Lisa Jackson. Vilsack says it’s important to maintain good lines of communication with the agency.

“The worst thing that can happen here is for USDA to take sort of an opposite track to what EPA’s all about,”Vilsack says, “and you create this conflict and then there’s not communication and then these agencies go off and do their own thing. It’s important for USDA to be helping EPA understand the consequence of what they’re considering.”

For example, Vilsack thinksUSDA has made a positive impact on EPA on pending biofuels decisions such as the blend wall and indirect land use.