Fellow Kansan,
Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter! I value the opportunity to talk with you about my work in Washington D.C. and in the First District of Kansas.
Please feel free to share this email with family and friends who may be interested. As always, if you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please contact my office - my staff and I are here and ready to assist you.
Yours in service,
|
|
Assisting Kansans affected by natural disasters
Early Monday morning, I visited Manhattan to see some of the storm damage around the Kansas State University campus that occurred last weekend when a tornado and severe storms hit the Riley and Marshall county areas. During the week, Kansans in the southwest part of the state faced wildfires north of Garden City, and lost cattle. Please keep all the communities affected by these tragic events in your prayers.
My staff and I are available to help you in any way that we can; please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need information on resources that may be available near you. Farmers and ranchers impacted by severe, inclement weather including wildfires can contact their local U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency office for more information on these federal resources:
-
The Livestock Indemnity Program provides benefits up to 75% of the fair market value of livestock to producers for livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality caused by adverse weather.
-
The Emergency Assistance for Livestock Program provides financial assistance to livestock producers for losses due to adverse weather events, including wildfires, and can cover the cost of transporting feed for livestock that rely on grazing.
Thank you, to all the first responders who are helping those who were affected by the storms and natural disasters. If you have questions about resources that may be available to you or need help finding your local Farm Service Agency, please contact my office.
Kansans are resilient - together, we are stronger than the storms we face.
|
|
House Ag Republicans' solutions to President Biden's failed agricultural policies |
|
The United States is the freest nation on earth in part because we’ve never had to rely on another country for our food supply. If we get agricultural policy wrong, our national security and freedom are in jeopardy.
I joined my Republican colleagues this week to discuss the ramifications of President Biden’s failed policies on our agricultural producers and our solutions to solve them. We need to:
1. Get out of the way of American farmers and ranchers, letting them do what they do best.
2. Unleash American energy.
3. Embrace modern agriculture.
4. Eliminate onerous policies like WOTUS and the Farm Killer Tax, and protect good policies like the stepped-up basis.
My colleagues and I have brought real solutions to the table. It’s time for President Biden and House Democrats to join us in making good decisions for the food security of our country.
|
|
Letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Combatting Fertilizer Prices |
|
This week I led a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce, urging it to consider the record-high fertilizer cost and suspend the duties it placed on urea ammonium nitrate fertilizer imports from Trinidad and Tobago. Since the ITC’s determination to investigate UAN fertilizers from Trinidad and Tobago, conditions surrounding on-farm expenses in the United States have dramatically worsened.
The Department’s decision to exercise its discretion to increase the producer/exporter’s cost of production, and thus its dumping margin, has effectively shut down all imports of [urea ammonium nitrate] UAN from Trinidad and Tobago at a time when U.S. fertilizer prices are at all-time highs. Unfortunately, the Department’s preliminary determination is only contributing to extreme hardship for America’s farmers.
|
|
Yesterday, I voted against H.R. 7606. I actually support many of its provisions. I cosponsor the Year-Round Fuel Choice Act which would allow for producers to supply E-15 fuel year-round. I cosponsor the Butcher Block Act which would allow the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants and loans to expand meat and poultry processing capacity. Both of those bills are now a part of H.R. 7606.
But, I voted no because House Democrats paired good policies like these with a poison pill - a provision that would create a politically charged special investigator at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate and prosecute America’s food producers. Under H.R. 7606, the entire beef supply chain in the Big First and across the country would be subject to a type of scrutiny we expect of no other related business. H.R. 7606 would set a horrible precedent for political administrations to inspect and prosecute anything and anyone they disagree with. Today, it’s packing facilities. Tomorrow it’s corn fields and biofuels facilities, or wheat growers and milling stations.
I support our country’s farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers because they are the lifeblood of America. That’s why I could not fully support H.R. 7606.
|
|
Co-sponsor H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA)
This week I joined as a co-sponsor of H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act. Reductions to social security benefits hurt state and local government employees like firefighters, police officers, teachers, and other public servants. Losing earned social security and survivor benefits can result in employees paying a lifetime cost in reduced retirement benefits. This legislation would eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), two titles of the Social Security Act that unfairly reduce or eliminate social security benefits for millions of Americans who devoted much of their careers to public service. These provisions do not eliminate a windfall for workers, they penalize public service employees by taking away benefits they earned throughout their careers.
|
|
In the eleventh installment of my Farm Bill Impact Series, I spoke on the House Floor about biosecurity. We need robust biosecurity in America not only because we need to eat in order to survive, but also because strong American agriculture will help keep our country free and self-determining as a nation.
Manhattan, KS – the home of my alma mater Kansas State University, is also home to the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, or NBAF. This state-of-the-art, 700,000 square foot facility will be a national asset that helps protects our nation’s agriculture against the threat and potential impact of serious animal diseases. Once fully operational in December, NBAF won’t just support and protect agriculture, it will protect our country and the world.
Listen to the full installment of the Farm Bill Impact Series below.
|
|
Special Order on Fiscal Responsibility |
|
Farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers are coping with problems like a broken supply chain, rampant inflation, and labor shortages. Now, in the midst of a historic economic crisis, President Biden's new budget includes new tax proposals like the Farm Killer Tax and threatens the stepped-up tax basis which will cause irreparable harm to the economic health of rural communities in Kansas and across the country.
This administration is completely out of touch with the American people on the issue of inflation, and they’re out of touch with the needs of rural Americans.
Listen to my full remarks on the House Floor.
|
|
House Agriculture Committee |
|
International Trade Commission Hearing Testimony
This week, I testified during the International Trade Commission hearing about the skyrocketing fertilizer import prices. Extreme weather has significantly delayed or prolonged planting. The supply chain is the most congested it has been in decades. Farm production costs are at record levels; just in the last year, fuel is up 115%, natural gas is up 202%, and fertilizer is up 220%. To make matters worse, at a time when U.S. fertilizer prices are at an all-time high, the U.S. Department of Commerce made the decision to effectively shut down all imports of UAN from Trinidad and Tobago.
During the hearing, I discussed the letters I've sent to the U.S. Department of Commerce requesting they suspend duties on fertilizer imports from Trinidad and Tobago. The last several years have created unprecedented volatility for farmers and ranchers. Now is not the time to impose unnecessary duties that could further limit the fertilizer supply or raise its cost.
We must do what we can to help the American farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers who are working tirelessly to feed, fuel, and clothe the world. We must act now.
|
|
House Veterans' Affairs Committee |
|
This week, the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on my legislation to enhance protections for whistleblowers at the Department of Veterans Affairs. It's imperative that taxpayer dollars are being used responsibly to provide high-quality services for our nation's veterans. We must ensure that there are protections in place for whistleblowers, so they are not retaliated against when they expose waste, fraud, and abuse at the VA.
As the ranking member of the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, I'm committed to making improvements to the whistleblower process to ensure our veterans are receiving the highest quality of service.
Listen to my opening remarks in the hearing below.
|
|
Dale Moore, American Farm Bureau Federation |
|
Dan Murray, National Federation of Independent Businesses |
|
Heartland Credit Union Association |
|
Kansas Livestock Association |
|
National Grain and Feed Association |
|
|
Kansas FFA Members
The future is making strong demands. By the year 2030, the global population is expected to surpass 8 billion people. Now more than ever, we need young people with the foresight, creativity, and skills necessary to meet the challenge of delivering food, fiber, and fuel to the world.
The Kansas FFA members I met with today at the Capitol, and those involved in FFA chapters across the state, are helping tackle those challenges head-on.
Today, I challenged these Kansas FFA members to bring me their ideas for the upcoming 2023 Farm Bill. After all, their generation will be deeply impacted by the policy we craft. I look forward to their youth perspective of that legislation in the coming months.
|
|
Since last January, my team and I have solved over 1,500 cases for Kansans in the Big First – and we’re ready to serve you too. If you're needing assistance with a federal agency like the VA, Social Security Administration, or the IRS, my office can help cut through the red tape.
Please contact my Manhattan or Dodge City office, or send a message online at Mann.House.Gov.
|
|
Manhattan Office
121 South 4th Street
Suite 205
Manhattan, KS 66502
Phone: (785) 370-7277
|
|
Dodge City Office
100 Military Avenue
Suite 203
Dodge City, KS 37801
Phone: (620) 682-7340
|
|
Washington D.C. Office
522 Cannon HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2715
|
|
If I can do anything to help you, please reach out to my office.
Sincerely,
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
