FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 13, 2013
Contacts: Shelly Baron, 501-537-0190 or shelly@arkansasadvancedenergyfoundation.org
Steve Patterson, 501-537-0190 or steve@arkansasadvancedenergyfoundation.org
Supports Mandatory Funding of the Bill’s Energy Title Programs
Little Rock, AR – The Arkansas Advanced Energy Association (AAEA) and a coalition of 162 other national and state organizations, recently wrote Congressional leaders of a negotiating committee including U.S. Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) and U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR), requesting support for a five year Farm Bill that includes re-authorization and $900 million in mandatory funding of Energy Title programs.
The Farm Bill is a comprehensive piece of legislation that guides and authorizes funding for most federal farm and food policies. The bill comes up for reauthorization every five years, and is currently being deliberated for reauthorization this year (2013). Boozman and Crawford are among Senate and House conferees who have been appointed to a Conference Committee to reconcile differences in legislation between the two houses.
While the 2013 legislation was being drafted, AAEA asked for inclusion of the Energy Title programs contained in the 2002 and 2008 Farm Bills as “vital components in the continued growth, development, and commercialization of biofuels, bioproducts, biopower, biogas, energy crops, renewable energy, renewable chemicals and energy efficiency.”
“AAEA supports the Energy Title programs contained in previous Farm Bills as they provide critical support for renewable energy projects and the future of agriculture by offering funding for energy efficiency programs in rural areas,” said Steve Patterson, AAEA Executive Director. “Many tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs are being created or saved in rural areas by our nation’s expanding clean energy economy. These new agriculture, manufacturing, and high technology jobs are at risk without continued Federal investment.”
The full text of the letter is below:
Farm Bill Energy Title Support Letter
November 4, 2013
The Honorable Debbie Stabenow
U.S. Senate
328A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Thad Cochran
U.S. Senate
113 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Frank Lucas
U.S. House of Representatives
1301 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Collin C. Peterson
U.S. House of Representatives
1305 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Senators Stabenow and Cochran and Representatives Lucas and Peterson:
We are writing to urge your support for a five year Farm Bill including re-authorization and $900 million in mandatory funding of the Farm Bill’s energy title.
The U.S. is experiencing strong growth in the development and commercialization of biofuels, bioproducts, biopower, biogas, energy crops, renewable energy, renewable chemicals and energy efficiency. These important and growing industries all benefit agriculture and forestry and are poised to make huge contributions to our economic, environmental and national security in the coming years, provided that we maintain stable policies that support clean energy manufacturing and innovation.
The Energy Title programs contained in the 2002 and 2008 Farm Bills are vital components in the continued growth of these industries. Programs like the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), Biorefinery Assistance Program (BAP) and Biobased Markets Program (Biopreferred) strongly support American agriculture and ensure broad public benefits to the entire country. Every single state has benefited from these low-cost, high return programs. Since some programs are just getting started, the next five years will be crucial for achieving success.
Many tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs are being created or saved in rural areas by our nation’s expanding clean energy economy. This growth is occurring due in large part to Farm Bill energy programs, which have used a modest amount of federal money to leverage billions of dollars in private investment. These new agriculture, manufacturing, and high technology jobs are at risk without continued Federal investment.
The outstanding benefits of Energy Title programs also flow from a very modest investment. They accounted for only 0.7 percent of overall spending in the 2008 Farm Bill. As longstanding agricultural safety net programs lose funding or end, these energy investments create new opportunities for producers and rural communities to further cut input costs and diversify their income.
We recognize the fiscal challenges facing your committees as a new Farm Bill is completed this year. However, for all of the reasons noted above, we urge you to ensure the vital Energy Title programs are re-authorized and afforded significant mandatory funding over the life of the legislation. We believe the Senate’s bi-partisan investment must be preserved. Helping to grow the economy in these low-cost, but transformative ways will help ease the fiscal challenge in the years ahead while also addressing other critical national challenges.
We commend you for your leadership on all of these important issues and pledge to work with you to craft farm and energy policies that work for all of agriculture, clean energy industries and rural America.
Thank you.
Arkansas Advanced Energy Association is a business group dedicated to growing Arkansas’s economy by expanding our energy workforce and manufacturing base through the increased development, manufacture, and utilization of advanced energy technologies. www.arkansasadvancedenergy.com
The Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation is the educational affiliate of the AAEA. The Foundation promotes greater public understanding of advanced energy in Arkansas through research, public education programs and economic and workforce development. The Foundation is dedicated to informing the energy policy debate with well-researched, fact-based data on the advanced energy economy in Arkansas and by providing a public forum where state leaders can address Arkansas’s energy challenges for the future. www.arkansasadvancedenergyfoundation.org
Report Shows Global Economic Impacts of Advanced Energy
A report released in January 2013 by Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) shows that advanced energy was a $1.1 trillion global market in 2011, larger than pharmaceutical manufacturing worldwide. Read the full report here: http://arkansasadvancedenergyfoundation.org/files/dmfile/AEEIEconomicImpactofAdvancedEnergy-Final.pdf
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