Fw: Press Release: House Ag Committee Continues Farm Bill Field Hearings

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-----Original Message-----
From: AgPress <AgPress@mail.house.gov>
Date: Thu, 13 May 2010 17:03:06
To: News Distribution<news@aglist.house.gov>
Subject: Press Release: House Ag Committee Continues Farm Bill Field Hearings

News from the House Agriculture Committee

http://agriculture.house.gov

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 13, 2010

Media Contact:
April Slayton (202) 225-6872
April.Slayton@mail.house.gov

House Ag Committee Continues Farm Bill Field Hearings

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Tomorrow, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson continues a series of field hearings to hear from
people about U.S. farm policy in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill.

Starting Friday, the House Agriculture Committee will hold hearings in Morrow, Georgia; Troy, Alabama; Lubbock, Texas; and Sioux
Falls, South Dakota.

Details for the Farm Bill field hearings are included below. For those who cannot attend the hearings, the House Agriculture
Committee plans to provide live video coverage of most hearing on the Committee's website:
http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/audio.html. Due to technical limitations at the hearing site in Morrow, Georgia, that hearing
will not be webcast, but the Committee plans to provide video from the other hearings.

The Committee will also collect public comments about the Farm Bill on its website:
http://agriculture.house.gov/inside/feedbackform.html. All comments received online by June 14, 2010 will be included in the
Committee's Farm Bill field hearing record.

###

House Agriculture Committee Farm Bill Field Hearing Schedule

Friday, May 14th - 1:30 p.m. EDT
National Archives Southeast Region
Morrow, GA
Full Committee on Agriculture - Public Hearing
RE: To review U.S. agriculture policy in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill.

Saturday, May 15th - 1:00 p.m. CDT
Cattlemen's Park
Pike County Cattlemen's Association
Troy, AL
Full Committee on Agriculture - Public Hearing
RE: To review U.S. agriculture policy in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill.

Monday, May 17th - 9:00 a.m. CDT
Texas Tech Museum
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX
Full Committee on Agriculture - Public Hearing
RE: To review U.S. agriculture policy in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill.

Tuesday, May 18th - 8:00 a.m. CDT
2nd Floor Theater
Edith Mortenson Center
Augustana College
Sioux Falls, SD
Full Committee on Agriculture - Public Hearing
RE: To review U.S. agriculture policy in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill.

The U.S. House Committee on Agriculture web site http://agriculture.house.gov has additional information on this and other subjects.

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Fw: Statement From Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on theEnvironmental Protection Agency's Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule and ItsImpact on Bioenergy

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From: USDA Office of Communications <oc.news@usda.gov>

Date: Thu, 13 May 2010 11:13:04 -0500

To: Tom Karst<TKarst@vancepublishing.com>

Subject: Statement From Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on the Environmental Protection Agency's Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule and Its Impact on Bioenergy

Release No. 0262.10 Contact: USDA Office of Communications (202) 720-4623 Statement From Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on the Environmental Protection Agency's Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule and Its Impact on Bioenergy WASHINGTON, May 13, 2010 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today issued the following statement on the Environmental Protection Agency's Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule: I want to thank the Administrator for agreeing to seek further comment on how to address the greenhouse gas benefits of bioenergy under the Clean Air Act. Energy derived from woody biomass, switch-grass and other sources has potentially enormous benefits for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, developing clean, home-grown energy, and providing economic opportunities for rural America. Markets for woody biomass can also bolster forest restoration activities on both public and private lands that improve the ecological health of our forests. In its final rule, EPA acknowledges that carbon dioxide emitted from biological sources is different from carbon dioxide emitted from the combustion of fossil fuels. However, since EPA did not explicitly raise the issue of biogenic carbon in their proposed rule, the agency determined that they could not make a decision regarding the treatment of biogenic carbon in their final rule. Instead, EPA is committing to a process seeking comment on this issue separately while examining ways that forthcoming guidance can encourage bioenergy. As this process moves forward, USDA is committed to working with EPA to ensure that rules designed to reduce the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere also encourage the development and utilization of biomass energy resources and avoid unnecessary regulatory impediments and permitting requirements. # USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).

This message was sent from USDA Office of Communications to tkarst@thepacker.com. It was sent from: OC News, USDA Office of Communications 1400 Independence Ave, SW, Washington, DC 20250-1300. You can modify/update your subscription via the link below.

Manage your subscription

Fw: USDA Visits Michigan to Highlight Efforts to Improve School Mealsand Health of Nation's Children

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From: USDA Office of Communications <oc.news@usda.gov>

Date: Thu, 13 May 2010 10:30:45 -0500

To: Tom Karst<TKarst@vancepublishing.com>

Subject: USDA Visits Michigan to Highlight Efforts to Improve School Meals and Health of Nation's Children

Release No. 0259.10 Contact: USDA Office of Communications (202) 720-4623 Alan Shannon, Regional Office (312) 353-1045 USDA Visits Michigan to Highlight Efforts to Improve School Meals and Health of Nation's Children WATERFORD, Mich., May 13, 2010 - USDA Food and Nutrition Service Deputy Administrator Audrey Rowe today highlighted the Obama Administration's priorities for improving school meals and the health of children across the nation.  Rowe was in Waterford, Mich., speaking to school officials, teachers, students and community leaders at the Waterford Village Elementary School. She emphasized the importance of renewing the Child Nutrition Act and advocated for a strong reauthorization bill to reduce hunger and improve the health and nutrition of our nation's children.  "USDA and the Obama Administration are committed to a strong reauthorization bill that enhances meal quality and improves program performance," said Rowe.  "This year we have an unprecedented opportunity to make our programs stronger and more accessible to millions of children in need. We will continue to seek ways to increase enrollment and expand practices like direct certification, and we must do this not only for our children, but for the future of our country." Strengthening the Child Nutrition Act is the legislative centerpiece of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! campaign to end childhood obesity within a generation. As part of this effort, President Barack Obama established the Task Force on Childhood Obesity to develop and implement an interagency plan that details a coordinated strategy, identifies key benchmarks, and outlines an action plan to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation.  This week, First Lady Michelle Obama joined members of the Childhood Obesity Task Force to unveil the Task Force action plan: Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation.  In response to this plan, USDA will be moving to implement the recommendations in the report that require federal action.  In the coming year alone: USDA will work with Congress to pass a child nutrition reauthorization bill that improves food in schools; USDA will update the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and Food Pyramid to provide  parents and caregivers with helpful information about nutrition, USDA, Treasury, and HHS will work with Congress to bring grocery stores and other healthy food retailers to underserved areas by supporting more than $400 million in investments in a Healthy Food Financing Initiative. Every five years, Congress considers improvements to the Child Nutrition Act, which authorizes USDA's child nutrition programs including the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.  The Obama Administration has proposed a historic investment of an additional $10 billion over ten years starting in 2011 that will allow for the improvement of the quality of the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, including training for school food service workers, upgraded kitchen equipment, and additional funding for meal reimbursements for schools that are enhancing nutrition and quality. Additionally, this investment will allow additional fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat and fat free dairy products to be served in our school cafeterias and an additional one million students to be served the healthy diets in school.  Today, Rowe outlined USDA's priorities for the Child Nutrition Act which include:  Improve nutrition standards. Establishing improved nutrition standards for school meals based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and taking additional steps to ensure compliance with these standards; Increase access to meal programs. Providing tools to increase participation in the school nutrition programs, streamline applications, and eliminate gap periods; Increase education about healthy eating. Providing parents and students better information about school nutrition and meal quality; Establish standards for competitive foods sold in schools. Creating national baseline standards for all foods sold in elementary, middle, and high schools to ensure they contribute effectively to a healthy diet; Serve more healthy food. Promoting increased consumption of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and low- and fat-free dairy products and providing additional financial support in the form of reimbursement rate increases for schools that enhance nutrition and quality; Increase physical activity. Strengthening school wellness policy implementation and promoting physical activity in schools; Train people who prepare school meals. Ensuring that child nutrition professionals have the skills to serve top-quality meals that are both healthful and appealing to their student customers; Provide schools with better equipment. Helping schools with financial assistance to purchase equipment needed to produce healthy, attractive meals. Enhance food safety.  Expanding the current requirements of the food safety program to all facilities where food is stored, prepared and served; Strengthen the link between local farmers and school cafeterias. Supporting farm-to-school and school-to-farm programs will increase the amount of produce available to cafeterias and help to support local farmers by establishing regular, institutional buyers. USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) oversees the administration of 15 nutrition assistance programs including the child nutrition programs that touch the lives of one in four Americans over the course of a year.  These programs work in concert to form a national safety net against hunger. Visit www.fns.usda.gov for information about FNS and nutrition assistance program. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).

This message was sent from USDA Office of Communications to tkarst@thepacker.com. It was sent from: OC News, USDA Office of Communications 1400 Independence Ave, SW, Washington, DC 20250-1300. You can modify/update your subscription via the link below.

Manage your subscription

Fw: Press Release: House Ag Committee Continues Farm Bill Field Hearings

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

-----Original Message-----
From: AgPress <AgPress@mail.house.gov>
Date: Thu, 13 May 2010 09:32:40
To: Ahead Distribution<ahead@aglist.house.gov>
Subject: Press Release: House Ag Committee Continues Farm Bill Field Hearings

News from the House Agriculture Committee

http://agriculture.house.gov

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 13, 2010

Media Contact:
April Slayton (202) 225-6872
April.Slayton@mail.house.gov

House Ag Committee Continues Farm Bill Field Hearings

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Tomorrow, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson continues a series of field hearings to hear from
people about U.S. farm policy in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill.

Starting Friday, the House Agriculture Committee will hold hearings in Morrow, Georgia; Troy, Alabama; Lubbock, Texas; and Sioux
Falls, South Dakota.

Details for the Farm Bill field hearings are included below. For those who cannot attend the hearings, the House Agriculture
Committee plans to provide live video coverage of most hearing on the Committee's website:
http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/audio.html. Due to technical limitations at the hearing site in Morrow, Georgia, that hearing
will not be webcast, but the Committee plans to provide video from the other hearings.

The Committee will also collect public comments about the Farm Bill on its website:
http://agriculture.house.gov/inside/feedbackform.html. All comments received online by June 14, 2010 will be included in the
Committee's Farm Bill field hearing record.

###

House Agriculture Committee Farm Bill Field Hearing Schedule

Friday, May 14th - 1:30 p.m. EDT
National Archives Southeast Region
Morrow, GA
Full Committee on Agriculture - Public Hearing
RE: To review U.S. agriculture policy in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill.

Saturday, May 15th - 1:00 p.m. CDT
Cattlemen's Park
Pike County Cattlemen's Association
Troy, AL
Full Committee on Agriculture - Public Hearing
RE: To review U.S. agriculture policy in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill.

Monday, May 17th - 9:00 a.m. CDT
Texas Tech Museum
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX
Full Committee on Agriculture - Public Hearing
RE: To review U.S. agriculture policy in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill.

Tuesday, May 18th - 8:00 a.m. CDT
2nd Floor Theater
Edith Mortenson Center
Augustana College
Sioux Falls, SD
Full Committee on Agriculture - Public Hearing
RE: To review U.S. agriculture policy in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill.

The House Agriculture Committee web site http://agriculture.house.gov has additional information on this and other subjects.

To *un*subscribe from the meeting schedules mailinglist, simply send a *new* message with "unsubscribe" in the Subject field.

To: ahead-request@aglist.house.gov
Subject: unsubscribe

Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) Rose 0.9% in March from February

Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) Rose 0.9% in March from February

The Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) rose 0.9 percent in March from its February level, rising for the third consecutive month, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today (Table 1). The March Freight TSI rose 2.6 percent from March 2009, the first year-to-year increase in the freight index since July 2008 (Table 4).

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the Freight TSI index has risen 4.5 percent over the last 10 months, starting in June, after declining 15.3 percent in the previous 10 months beginning in August 2008. The index has increased in eight of the last 10 months (Table 2). The index started 2010 with an increase of 1.6 percent in the first three months (Table 3). For additional historic data, go to http://www.bts.gov/xml/tsi/src/index.xml.

The Freight TSI measures the month-to-month changes in freight shipments in ton-miles, which are then combined into one index. The index measures the output of the for-hire freight transportation industry and consists of data from for-hire trucking, rail, inland waterways, pipelines and air freight.

The March Freight TSI of 97.8 is a 4.5 percent increase from the recent low of 93.5 reached in May 2009. In May, the index was at its lowest level since June 1997. The Freight TSI is down 13.4 percent from its historic peak of 112.9 reached in May 2006.

Although the index rose 2.6 percent from March 2009 to March 2010, it still remains below the March level of all the previous years since 1997. The 13.2 percent decline from March 2008 to March 2009 left the Freight TSI at its lowest level for March since March 1997 when it was 90.8 (Table 4).

The freight index is down 12.5 percent in the five years from March 2005. The index is down 1.9 percent in the 10 years from March 2000 (Table 5).

The TSI is a seasonally adjusted index that measures changes from the monthly average of the base year of 2000. It includes historic data from 1990 to the present. Release of the April index is scheduled for June 9.

For a video explanation of the TSI, see Overview of the Transportation Services Index. For a BTS report explaining the TSI, Transportation Services Index and the Economy is available for download in the BTS bookstore.
Transportation Services Index for Passengers

The TSI for passengers rose 1.6 percent in March from its February level (Table 6). The Passenger TSI March 2010 level of 109.5 was 0.9 percent above the March 2009 level, following a one-year decline. The 7.3 percent decrease from March 2008 to March 2009 was the largest March-to-March decrease in the 20-year history of the TSI (Table 7). The index is up 0.7 percent in five years and up 10.6 percent in 10 years (Table 5).

The passenger TSI measures the month-to-month changes in travel conducted in the for-hire passenger transportation sector. The seasonally adjusted index consists of data from air, local transit and intercity rail.
Combined Freight and Passenger Index

The combined freight and passenger TSI rose 1.1 percent in March from its February level (Table 8). The combined TSI March 2010 level of 100.4 was 2.2 percent higher than the March 2009 level for the first March-to-March increase in three years (Table 9). The combined index is down 9.4 percent in five years, but despite recent declines, is up 0.9 percent in 10 years (Table 5). The combined TSI merges the freight and passenger indexes into a single index.
1st Quarter Changes

The Freight TSI rose 1.6 percent in the first quarter, for only the sixth quarterly increase in the past 20 quarters but the second in the last three quarters (Table 10). The Passenger TSI rose 1.2 percent in the first quarter, rising after one quarterly decline (Table 11). The combined TSI rose 1.5 percent in the first quarter, rising after one quarterly decrease (Table 12).
More on TSI

NOTE: TSI numbers for November (Freight, Passenger and Combined) were revised because of revisions in the output data of the component transportation services. The November Freight TSI is 98.4, revised from the 96.2 reported in last month’s release. The November Passenger TSI is 110.1, revised from 108.8. The November Combined TSI is 101.0, revised from 99.0. The TSI for December, January, February and March are preliminary.

TSI revision policy: TSI is updated monthly with the latest four months’ index numbers considered preliminary. Each month BTS releases the latest preliminary TSI, and replaces the oldest preliminary TSI with a revised TSI. More information about the monthly revision policy, is available at http://www.bts.gov/xml/tsi/src/index.xml.

More information about the comprehensive revision conducted with the July release is provided under 2009 Comprehensive Revision at http://www.bts.gov/xml/tsi/src/index.xml.