Fish in Rivers, Game in the Woods: But Not to Eat Congressional Briefing to Address Changes in Alaskan Natives’ Legal Rights to Food

Washington, D.C. —Alaska Native Chiefs and hunter/fishermen are speaking in Washington D.C. March 6, 2013 at the Congressional Visitor’s Center. The 5:30PM briefing will address traditional hunting and fishing rights critical to families across the state. The Briefing will take place in Theatre South. Speakers will address the ongoing legal morass and harassment endured by the Koyukon and Gwich’in of the Yukon Flats, along with all Alaska Natives when trying to provide for themselves, their families, and their communities as their people have for countless generations. Conflicting federal and state legal frameworks and lack of recognition of indigenous rights have left all Alaska Natives without recourse for the criminalization of their hunting, fishing, and gathering practices in their traditional hunting and fishing grounds. Traditional and customary hunting, fishing, gathering, and sharing, often referred to as ‘subsistence’, is the single most important issue facing Alaska Natives as named by the delegates of the 2011 Alaska Federation of Natives Convention. Over 30 cases have flooded the courts in the last two decades relating to Alaska Native hunting, fishing, & gathering rights, exemplifying the need for a resolution to this critical issue facing Alaska today. Compiled in a new report released by Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments and the Alliance for a Just Society, “Survival Denied: Stories from Alaska Native Families Living in a Broken System” details the urgent need for the people of the Yukon Flats, along with all Alaska Natives, to have food security, a meaningful co-management relationship with state and federal agencies. The Alaska Federations of Natives (AFN) Board of Directors unanimously endorsed the Council of Athbascan Tribal Governments’ joint report on the impact resource management and regulations have on the lives of traditional Alaska Natives. Community members are traveling from remote villages in Alaska to Washington DC to make an urgent call to action. They are calling on congress to take concrete steps to advance Native sovereignty in Alaska, protect the political and human rights of Alaska Natives, and ensure cultural preservation of these first Americans. Specific policy recommendations are outlined in the report, Survival Denied. The report will be available to the press on March 5, 2013. Please contact Rahul Gupta for a PDF. A dinner and reception at the National Museum of the American Indian will be hosted by the visiting Alaska Native Delegation to celebrate indigenous foods. Thursday, March 7, 2013 from 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM. The museum is located at Fourth Street and Independence Ave. S.W., Washington DC 20560.

Opening Statement of Chairman Frank D. Lucas Committee on Agriculture Public Hearing To review the state of the rural economy March 5, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 5, 2013 MEDIA CONTACT: Tamara Hinton, 202.225.0184 tamara.hinton@mail.house.gov Opening Statement of Chairman Frank D. Lucas Committee on Agriculture Public Hearing To review the state of the rural economy March 5, 2013 As prepared for delivery Thank you Mr. Secretary for appearing before the Committee today. I am pleased the President asked you to continue in your role as Secretary. While we may not always agree on every topic, you have never been disagreeable and you are a good friend to American agriculture. I appreciate your hard work to quickly implement the extension of the 2008 Farm Bill and announce the sign-up for farm programs, which gave producers some certainty during a time when certainty is sorely lacking. All of us can agree that an extension was not our preference, but I want to personally thank you for announcing the signup so quickly. This country continues to face a fiscal crisis that, if not addressed, will not only harm the agricultural sector and rural America, but the country as a whole. The agriculture sector wants to be part of the solution to our nation’s debt crisis. We must find common-sense solutions without trying to scare the American people with worst-case scenarios. I have confidence in you, Mr. Secretary, to manage sequestration without a mass disruption to the rural economy. The Committee believes the best way to achieve deficit reduction is in the context of reauthorizing the farm bill with sustainable and fiscally responsible reforms. This Committee and this Congress must pass a comprehensive, five-year farm bill this year. The reforms in the House bill are too great, the savings to the taxpayer are too important, and the benefits to our farmers and ranchers are too critical to not complete the process this year. Few in the agriculture sector will deny that the agriculture economy has done well overall in the last few years. But that well-being has not been distributed evenly across the entire sector, and if history is any guide, we know how fleeting the good times are. For example, livestock producers have suffered through multiple years of drought and are operating with no safety net in place. Livestock disaster programs no longer function because the 2008 Farm Bill only provided four years of funding for these important programs. Additionally, record high prices for some crops have hurt the livestock industry tremendously. I am not here to place blame, but we have to acknowledge that fact. Crop producers in my part of the country and elsewhere are dealing with a third straight year of drought. Also, rice, peanut, sugar, dairy and cotton producers have not enjoyed consistent, record high prices that our friends in the Midwest have, so I think we must be careful to paint a rosy picture with a broad brush. While income is up, so is the cost of doing business. Inputs continue to rise, as do rental rates. The fact is - farming and ranching have been and will continue to be a tremendously risky business. As we all know, agriculture is highly cyclical and the agriculture community must be prepared for bad yields, bad prices, and much lower net farm income in the future. We must be very careful in ensuring that we replace direct payments with policy that works for all commodities in all regions of the country. We must acknowledge that crop insurance is the backbone of the safety net, but we must also recognize its limitations in protecting against multi-year price declines. The Committee firmly believes in providing a true safety net, rather than providing payments regardless of market conditions. Mr. Secretary, I was interested in your comments earlier this year about the agriculture community’s loss of influence. The truth is the United States is less rural. The Congress reflects that reality and we must adapt. Making the case for production agriculture and rural America is the challenge before us. And, we face an uncertain future if the agriculture community is divided. Commodity groups must not tear each other down with the ultimate goal of seeing who gets the biggest piece of the pie. Conservation groups and so called sustainable groups must realize that for farmers to implement additional conservation practices, they must have the resources to do so. Quite simply, the agriculture community must accept that no bill is perfect, but that should not serve as discouragement. Instead, we must have a rural coalition pushing forward to get a bill passed and signed into law. Mr. Secretary, without hesitation, I know you are a great friend of agriculture and rural America, but I am disappointed to see the administration’s comments on meat inspection. You have stated that the sequester provisions in the Budget Control Act will cause you to furlough Food Safety Inspection Service inspectors. Members of this Committee have heard from constituents that these statements about the interruption of production have affected prices, caused concern among financial markets, and alarmed buyers and sellers in the retail and food service community. I anticipate that my colleagues will have questions for you regarding your statements and the evolution of administration policy in this critical area. Further, it was disappointing to see the administration favored the Reid-Stabenow proposal to replace the sequester. Fortunately, the Senate failed to pass that proposal, which unfairly targeted agriculture. They proposed a 50 percent cut to a single title in the farm bill that accounts for six percent of overall agriculture spending and less than one percent of overall federal spending. It was not balanced and not acceptable. I believe the best way to achieve deficit reduction, as it relates to agriculture, is in the context of reauthorizing the farm bill with sustainable and fiscally responsible reforms such as those the Committee passed last year. Mr. Secretary, again thank you for being with us today. I look forward to your testimony. ### Agriculture Committee Press Office http://agriculture.house.gov

House Lawmakers Push to End Extra Permit Requirement for Ag Producers

WASHINGTON – Today, a group of bipartisan lawmakers introduced H.R. 935, The Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2013. This bill would amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA) to clarify Congressional intent and eliminate the requirement of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the use of pesticides already approved for use under FIFRA. This legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives on March 31, 2011 as H.R. 872, The Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2011. Additionally, it advanced out of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, but the full Senate failed to consider it during the last Congress. H.R. 935 is necessary to address the negative economic consequences of the ruling posed by the case National Cotton Council v. EPA (6th Cir. 2009). Under the court ruling, pesticide users are required to obtain a redundant permit under the Clean Water Act (CWA) or be subject to a costly fine. "The Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2013 removes duplicative and costly ‘red-tape’ requirements that provide no additional health or environmental benefits, while providing assurance that the pesticide community is not subject to redundant permitting requirements if they comply with EPA’s current regulations. This legislation passed last year by a bipartisan super majority, and it is key to job creation and the elimination of unnecessary regulations that hamper our economic growth," said Rep. Bob Gibbs, Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. “Federal agencies continue to develop and implement duplicative regulations that create undue burdens and more red tape for American citizens. H.R. 935 will provide clarity with EPA regulations, which will in turn allow citizens to better navigate the regulatory environment,” said Rep. Austin Scott, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee's Subcommittee on Horticulture, Research, Biotechnology, and Foreign Agriculture. "Under FIFRA, pesticides must undergo extensive and rigorous testing before being approved. To require a duplicative permit for a pesticide that has already been approved through the FIFRA process is not only arbitrary, it’s an unnecessary burden on regulators and applicators and does nothing to improve water quality. I urge my House colleagues to support the swift passage of this important legislation in the 113th Congress," stated Rep. Kurt Schrader, Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Committee's Subcommittee on Horticulture, Research, Biotechnology, and Foreign Agriculture. "Reducing regulations, helping farmers and the agriculture community, and eliminating unfunded mandates for state and local governments are keys to helping create jobs and put people to work. This bill is a great step toward reforming the regulatory process, streamlining government, and saving taxpayers’ time and money. Let’s pass this common sense bill now," said Rep. Mike McIntyre. The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure also shares jurisdiction of the bill.