A group of farmers traveled to Capitol Hill Tuesday to deliver a 4,000-signature petition asking Rep. Steve King of Iowa to drop his Protect Interstate Commerce Act from the House version of the farm bill. King’s amendment would empower any individual, business, trade association, or government agency to challenge regulations that affect agricultural production in any state.
The bill is being challenged by many rural and agricultural advocacy groups, which are concerned that it would pave the way for the deregulation of agricultural production across the country. Any law passed within the bill’s 10-year statute of limitations could be challenged. The proposed legislation comes as many states have adopted more stringent water, farm runoff, and animal welfare regulations.
More than 100 organizations also signed on to a letter delivered to King’s Washington office on Tuesday. “[T]his legislation would limit consumer choice, negate the ability of local governments to protect citizens, and sacrifice market opportunities for family farmers, only to benefit a few corporate agribusiness interests,” the letter reads.
“Food and farm markets continue to be highly consolidated, providing farmers with few opportunities to find fair returns on their products,” it continues. “However, the opportunity to create product differentiation through local or regional standards provides the prospect of keeping family farmers and ranchers on the land.”
Advocates are particularly concerned that the bill would be a win for industry at the expense of smaller family farms. “The King amendment will only make it easier for multinational corporations to sweep into our rural communities and further extract the wealth, hurting family farmers’ and their neighbors’ ability to safeguard the future of their communities,” Chelsea Davis, communications director for Family Farm Action, said in a statement.
King’s amendment was included in the House farm bill that passed out of the agriculture committee but failed in the full House vote.