Compiled by WKTV Staff
U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mi.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, in an Oct. 5 press release, announced more than $1.8 million will be come to the state to support specialty crop growers who produce fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, nursery plants, and flowers.
The funds come from a U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Specialty Crop Block Grant Program award of $1,805,339 million to support 19 projects throughout the state.
“Michigan-grown fruits and vegetables are not only a source of great pride — they are also critical to our state’s diverse agricultural economy,” Sen. Stabenow said. “This new support will help Michigan farmers get their products off the farm and onto our plates.”
Each of the 19 projects are targeted to help specialty crop growers sell more products locally and globally, protect crops from pests and diseases, and market products to be competitive. Grant recipients include the Cherry Marketing Institute, Michigan Apple Committee, Grow Eastern Market, Michigan Carrot Committee, Michigan Vegetable Council, and Michigan Wine Collaborative, among others.
For a complete list of Michigan projects receiving support, visit the USDA’s website.
In 2008, Senator Stabenow authored the first ever fruits and vegetables section of a Farm Bill to provide support for so-called “specialty crops” which includes fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, nursery products and floriculture. These crops are critical to the state’s diverse agricultural economy, as Michigan leads the nation in producing a wider variety of crops than any state other than California.
Rep. Huizenga touts his vote on balanced federal budget plan
U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-2nd District) released the following statement on Oct. 5 after voting to balance the federal budget in 10 years, reduce the deficit by $6.5 trillion, and lay the groundwork to provide tax relief for hardworking families and small businesses in West Michigan:
“With our nation’s debt surpassing a whopping $20 trillion, not only do we need to cut spending and reform government, we must also grow our economy. The budget passed today by the House achieves all three of these objectives by balancing in 10 years, reducing the deficit by $6.5 trillion, and laying the groundwork to enact tax relief for hardworking families,” Rep. Huizenga said in the statement.
“By reforming our nation’s outdated tax code small businesses can create more jobs, employees can receive bigger paychecks, and we can reduce our debt and deficits faster. Lastly, this budget seeks to reduce waste by eliminating $700 billion in improper payments made by the federal government with instructions for Congress to identify an additional $203 billion in mandatory savings and reforms.”
Sen. Peters supports review of IRS’s contract with security-marred Equifax
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mi.), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management, in an Oct. 5 press release, announced he had joined eight of his colleagues in a letter demanding further scrutiny of the Internal Revenue Service’s decision to award Equifax a sole-source contract to verify taxpayer identities and help prevent tax fraud. This, despite the company’s recent disclosure of a massive cybersecurity breach exposing the personal information of as many as 145.5 million Americans.
“By awarding this no-bid contract, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is paying Equifax $7.25 million in taxpayer money to protect the very same taxpayers from an identity theft risk that Equifax helped create,” the letter stated. “The decision to award this contract to protect the identities of taxpayers and the integrity of federal tax dollars in light of Equifax’s recent and severe breach of the public trust is highly concerning.”
In September, Equifax disclosed a cybersecurity breach that potentially exposed the sensitive personal information of more than 145 million consumers, including Social Security numbers, home addresses, and driver’s license numbers. Equifax had known about the breach for months, but did not publicly disclose it until September.
In the interest of protecting taxpayers’ money, the senators urged IRS Commissioner John Koskinen to explain why Equifax was awarded the sole-source contract in light of this cybersecurity breach.
