Farmer Lobbyists Return to DC
First Alliance Fly-in since 2019
Thirty farmers, ranchers, water managers and association leaders departed the dry, dusty West and descended on Washington, D.C. late last month, sharing their stories and engaging federal lawmakers and policy leaders on critical water issues.
The 2022 farmer lobbyist trip marked the first return to Washington since September 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic that restricted access to the nation’s capital. This year’s farmer lobbyist trip once again presented a unique opportunity for Alliance members to share with Members of Congress and the Administration the important issues that impact Western irrigated agriculture.
Farmer lobbyists from six Western states engaged directly with high-level Biden Administration officials, Congressional Members and committee staff, and gained insight into what lawmakers and policymakers are saying about the issues impacting Western irrigated agriculture.
“The farmer lobbyist meetings once again allowed us to deliver the diverse but unified voice of irrigated agriculture champions in Washington, D.C.,” said Alliance Executive Director Dan Keppen.
The farmer lobbyists engaged in over twenty meetings in a 2 ½ day period across Capitol Hill and with agency leaders in downtown Washington. Key topics of discussion with Congressional agriculture and water committees included positions on current water legislation and the 2023 Farm Bill. Meetings also took place with USDA Under Secretary Robert Bonnie, Sara Gonzalez-Rothi (Director for Water Policy at the White House Council on Environmental Quality), and leaders at the Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, and the U.S. Forest Service.
The visit culminated with two overlapping events on the morning of September 29: an Alliance-led Western drought briefing and a Senate committee hearing on forestry legislation, where Mr. O’Toole testified on behalf of the Alliance.
CLICK HERE to download the PDF Version of the October 2022 “Monthly Briefing”, where you can read more about this and these other important issues to Western water users, from a perspective that you won’t find anywhere else:
- Ninth Circuit Restricts Irrigators’ Rights to Seek Judicial Review of Klamath Project Operational Decisions By Richard S. Deitchman
- EPA: Denying Environmental Permits Under ‘Civil Rights’ Law
- Interior Announces Assistance for Water Conservation Field Service Program
- Reclamation Announces $20 Million for Small Water Storage Projects
- 2022 Irrigation Show
- A Big “Thank You” to our New and Supporting Members!
Please do not hesitate to contact dan@familyfarmalliance.org if you have any difficulties downloading the October 2022 “Monthly Briefing”.
