Lucas: honor farm bill

Lucas States Concerns about Proposed Funding Source for Lincoln BillSays threat of excessive regs emphasizes EQIP's importance
WASHINGTON – Today, Ranking Member Frank Lucas issued the following statement regarding Senate Agriculture Chairman Blanche Lincoln's recently unveiled child nutrition bill.
"No one would question the importance of child nutrition and I appreciate Senator Lincoln’s efforts. However, it is unfortunate that the funding source for Senator Lincoln’s bill would require cuts to one of the most necessary conservation programs for our farmers and ranchers.
"The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides necessary assistance to our farmers and ranchers who must comply with a growing number of environmental regulations. The threat of the Obama administration placing greater hardships on our agricultural producers with excessive regulations only emphasizes the importance of EQIP.
"This administration continues to pit programs that benefit our farmers against other programs and it’s to the detriment of American agriculture. We made a commitment to our farmers and ranchers in the 2008 farm bill and I intend to honor that commitment."