Key Vote YES on Republican Study Committee Amendment to Reduce Agricultural Appropriatons by 10.4 Percent

Dear FreedomWorks member,

As one of our million-plus FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your representatives and ask them to vote YES on the Republican Study Committee (RSC) amendment to H.R. 2112, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012. Introduced by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), this amendment would cut 10.4 percent or $1.8 billion from the underlying appropriations bill. The amendment would specifically eliminate the wasteful Food for Peace program and would cut funding by 50 percent for four duplicative research services at the USDA—the Agricultural Research Service, the Economic Research Services, the National Agricultural Statistics Service and the National Institute for Food and Agricultural.

This amendment is just the first in a series of amendments that the RSC will be offering throughout the appropriation process. This figure will bring the bill in line with the total in the RSC budget that was recently voted on—the discretionary spending numbers that are needed to implement the Cut, Cap and Balance approach to the debt-ceiling. We must address our spending problems by cutting all wasteful and duplicative programs in all government departments. The Republican Study Committee amendment is a step in the right direction to restore fiscal responsibility to Washington.   

I urge you to call your representatives and ask them to vote YES on the RSC amendment to H.R. 2122, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012. We will count this vote as a KEY VOTE when calculating the FreedomWorks Economic Freedom Scorecard for 2011. The Economic Freedom Scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the Jefferson Award, which recognizes members of Congress with voting records that support economic freedom.

Sincerely,

Matt Kibbe
President and CEO
FreedomWorks
[Click here for a PDF version of this letter.]