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Getting the answers

Part 2: Presidential candidates comment on farm, ranch related issues

HARRISBURG — Every four years, the American Farm Bureau Federation asks the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees to address the issues that concern farmers and ranchers the most. The AFBF asked Democratic nominees Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump the same questions.

Both candidates explained their positions on biotechnology, trade, immigration reform, regulatory reform, food safety and more.

Over the next several weeks leading up to the election, each of those question topics and the candidates answers will be published.

International trade, trans-pacific

partnership

agreement

The United States has worked assertively over many different presidencies to set the example for fair and open trade, for resolving trade disputes using sound, science-based principles and standards and for gaining access to new markets. As president, will you be an aggressive proponent for expanding trade and be willing to pursue remedies against nations and their leaders who use various barriers to unfairly shield their markets from competition?

The TPP Agreement would boost US agriculture exports and grow farmers’ and ranchers’ income by more than $4 billion a year. That market growth and income boost is needed more than ever as our farmers face a downturn in commodity prices. Will you support ratification of the TPP agreement to bring down foreign tariffs, address non-science-based barriers to trade and enable American’s farmers to sell more of their farm goods around the world?

Trump: As president, I will be an aggressive proponent for defending the economic interests of American workers and farmers on the world stage. I will fight against unfair trade deals and foreign trade practices that disadvantage the United States.

I strongly oppose TPP as drafted and will work hard to develop trade agreements that are in the national interest and benefit American workers including our farmers.

Clinton: Hillary has a long record of standing up to countries like China. She fought against the Chinese when they tried to discriminate against New York companies, and she went toe-to-toe with them as Secretary of State. As president, Hillary will also crack down on foreign countries who cheat the rules by appointing a new trade prosecutor to keep other countries treat our products fairly, including our anit-dumping and countervailing duty laws, and pursuing taking cases at the WTO. Hillary has also established a plan to stop rewarding US companies from moving jobs overseas.

For generations, America has been the breadbasket of the world. Hillary believes we can and must forge better trade deals for American workers, farmers and other businesses. She believes any trade deal must create American jobs, raise wages and improve our national security. Every new trade deal must meet that test. In fact, Hillary opposed the only multilateral trade deal she voted on in the Senate because it didn’t meet that standard. And as soon as the details of the final TPP deal were finalized — including what it contains on currency manipulation and pharmaceuticals — she came out in opposition. It didn’t meet her standard. The TPP also contains weak “rules of origin” standard on automobiles that gives a backdoor into our markets to countries like China. Hillary has been clear and specific in her opposition to the TPP. She opposes it now, she opposes it in November, and she will not move it forward in January.

Energy

Agriculture is a growing provider of renewable energy-contributing to America’s energy independence and revitalizing rural economies. Will your support federal policies that encourage the production and use of farm-grown fuel stocks and renewable energy?

Trump: Yes, I support the use of domestic energy sources including farm-grown fuel stocks such as ethanol. We will implement an America First Energy Plan that enables the United States to become the world’s dominant leader in energy production and gets the government out of the way of innovation among all forms of energy. My administration will develop a regulatory and legislative roadmap to:

¯ Restore the important role of the US coal in the American economy

¯ Rescind Obama’s executive actions and regulations that are outdates, unnecessary, bad for workers, illegal, or contrary to the national interest, including the Climate Action Plan and Waters of the US rule

¯ Lift moratoriums on energy production in federal areas

¯ Support the Keystone XL Pipeline and other important energy infrastructure projects

¯ Revoke policies that impose unwarranted restrictions on new drilling technologies

¯ Ensure affordable, reliable, clean electricity from coal, natural gas, nuclear, hyrdopower, solar, wind, and other domestic sources

¯ Encourage the use of free-market principles in energy policy instead of the federal government choosing winners and losers

¯ End US involvement in the Paris Climate Agreement and stop payments of US tax dollars to UN global warming programs

¯ Select top officials at the Energy Department, FERC, NRC, EPA, Interior Department, and other relevant federal agencies who will faithfully execute the laws of the United States, implement policies that are consistent with an America First energy plan, and not seek to use their power to push an extreme environmental agenda.

Clinton: Rural America is a leader in energy production — helping to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and make our economy more resilient. Renewable fuels can also play an important role in reducing carbon pollution. Rural innovators are finding new ways to produce low-carbon biofuels, using feedstocks ranging from algae to agriculture waste, with a wide range of transportation applications. And electricity generated from wind and solar energy can improve air quality, help achieve attainment of Clean Air Act standards and lower taxpayers’ pollution control costs.

America’s farm communities are already playing a critical role in renewable energy production.

For example, 99 percent of all wind production occurs in rural counties — attracting more than $100 billion in new investment and providing an important supplementary source of income to family farms. Meanwhile, electricity prices have fallen by 10 percent for American families and businesses in real terms.

As president, Hillary will work to build on this progress, including by launching a $60 billion Clean Energy Challenge for forge new federal partnerships with states, cities and rural communities across the country, giving them the flexibility, tools and resources they need to cut emissions and expand clean energy. This includes expanding the Rural Utilities Service and other successful USDA energy programs and ensuring the federal government is a partner, not an obstacle, in getting low-cost wind and other renewable energy from rural communities to the rest of the country and helping electric coops capture the clean energy and energy efficiency opportunities of the 21st century. Hillary will also defend the Clean Power Plan, which the EPA estimates will deliver between $55 billion and $93 billion in annual economic and public health benefits by 2030, with Americans’ electricity bills falling by between seven and eight percent.

Hillary will invest in advanced biofuels research and development, double loan guarantees made through the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program support the expansion of blender pumps and combat efforts by oil companies to limit consumer access to cleaner renewable fuels. She also is committed to getting the RFS back on track to effectively drive the development of cellulosic and other advanced biofuels.

Food safety

Food quality and safety are vital concerns for consumers and farmers and ranchers. Consumers are increasingly interested in where their food comes from, bu their views are often influenced by misinformation and a lack of understanding of agriculture. How would you ensure that farmers and ranchers have the necessary freedom to operate while working to meet consumers’ demands for a variety of food choices, whether organic or conventional, meat or vegetarian, local or the household-name products many of us grew-up with and still enjoy thanks to our major national food makers? There is no one sice fits all in agriculture. Would you ensure that regulations do not restrict consumers’ of farmers’ food and production choices.

Trump: The Trump Administration will be a pro-agriculture Administrations. As president, I will fight for American farmers and their families. Through hard work, persistence and innovation, and making wise use of our nation’s God-given lands and resources, American farmers are the best in the world at growing the food and other products that people need to flourish. Growing our farm sector and supporting our nation’s farmers are absolutely critical steps to making America great again. Too often, bad policies and needless government mandates harm farmers and make food and farm products more costly for consumers.

I support, and will implement, policies that are good for farmers and consumers. For example, I oppose unwarranted government mandates that hurt farmers and confuse consumers, such as mandatory biotech labeling. I will also fight for tax reform that reduces tax burdens on American farmers. We will end the death tax. I will reverse the EPA’s war on farmers by rescinding the Waters of the US rule, climate rule, and the host of other regulations that are harming farmers without helping the environment. I will appoint justices to the Supreme Court who will defend the Second Amendment. Hillary Clinton will appoint justices who will eviscerate Second Amendment rights. Most importantly, we will get the entire US economy growing again, which will be a boon to the Agriculture sector as well.

Clinton: Due to the ingenuity of America’s farmers and ranchers, consumers across the world have access to better, safer and a wider variety of food options than ever before. Hillary Clinton believes that supporting that ingenuity goes hand in hand with ensuring food quality and safety.

That’s why, as president, Hillary will fight to increase our investment in the basic and applied research that makes agricultural advancement possible. She will also fight to ensure that America’s farmers and ranchers of all sizes have the tools they need to succeed. That means expanding access to capital; investing in rural transportation, water, and broadband infrastructure; and continuing to make progress in targeting federal resources in commodity payment, crop insurance and disaster assistance programs.

Hillary also believes we should work to build a strong local and regional food system by doubling funding for the Farmers Market Promotion Program and the Local Food Promotion Program. By expanding food hubs and farmers markets, increasing access to fresh food, and encouraging direct sales to local school, hospitals, retailers and wholesalers, we can increase consumer access to food and support American farmers and ranchers.

As president, Hillary will always engage a wide range of stakeholders, including farmers and ranchers, to hear their concerns and ideas for how we can ensure our rural communities and our agriculture sector remain vibrant. If there are implementation challenges with a particular regulation, Hillary will work with all stakeholders to

address them.

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