House Votes to Take $639 Million for Agriculture Conservation Programs and use for Drought Relief in Western States
Alison Prost, Maryland Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), issued this statement following the vote in the U.S. House of Representatives today to fund drought relief for ranchers at the expense of conservation funding nationally.
“We sympathize with ranchers suffering from the drought. But the House vote eases their problem at the expense of important conservation dollars for poultry, dairy and other farms around the Chesapeake Bay and elsewhere. We all will pay for this diversion of resources in dirty water, health risks and lost jobs in the seafood, and tourism industries, as well as others.
“The Senate should ensure that Congress passes a comprehensive Farm Bill that provides both drought relief and continued conservation funding. Senators Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin have been dependable advocates for clean water. We ask them to stand strong again.
“Cleaner water will benefit our children and future generations. If Congress takes away conservation funds from farmers we will risk progress we have made restoring local creeks, rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.”
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