Act Now to Support Resilient Agriculture in Biden's Infrastructure Package
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
There’s a unique opportunity at hand for organizations (and individuals) invested in soil health to support getting agriculture its fair share of the President’s proposed $2.2 trillion infrastructure package.
Currently, the American Jobs Plan Act has less than $5 billion allocated to agriculture-related programs. That’s just 0.25 percent of the total.
However, in recent weeks, leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees have come together around a proposal for $200 billion in funding for climate-resilient agriculture, including key components of the leading ag and soils legislation on the table.
This is the moment to tell the Biden Administration to act.
I can’t emphasize enough how important it is that we seize this moment to recognize that healthy soil is essential infrastructure and to support a more resilient agriculture here in the U.S.
Organizations, please consider adding your support to this letter calling for $200 billion for agriculture in the American Jobs Plan, by COB Friday, May 21. Individuals, you can write to your representatives here. It will take just a couple of minutes.
For more details, see below.
Best,
Aria McLauchlan
Co-Founder & Executive Director
For Organizations:
Join a growing group of legislators, organizations and businesses in calling for:
$200 billion in investment over the next decade through the AJPA for agriculture and climate - including farm bill conservation, research, renewable energy, forestry, and regional food system and supply chain resilience programs. This should be in addition to the agriculture, forestry, and rural-related elements already contained in the President’s American Jobs Plan.
Endorsement of the bicameral Agriculture Resilience Act (ARA; H.R. 2803/S. 1337) and the Climate Stewardship Act (CSA; S. 1072/H.R. 2534), and inclusion of key funding elements from those bills in the agriculture portion of the AJPA legislation.
This letter will be accompanied by a letter that will circulate this week on the Hill from the lead champions of the Agriculture Resilience Act and the Climate Stewardship Act (Sens. Booker and Heinrich, Reps. Pingree and Spanberger) asking for the same $200 billion commitment.
The deadline is Friday May 21, COB (or the following Monday morning). Don’t hesitate to share this with other relevant organizations to demonstrate our collective, grassroots support.
For Individuals:
Ask Congress to prioritize soil health and resilience in comprehensive infrastructure and climate legislation.
Write directly to Members of Congress through this Union of Concerned Scientists action tool to ask lawmakers to:
Recognize soil as infrastructure and invest boldly in science-based policies that will create a more equitable and climate-resilient food and farm system.
Work with Agriculture Committee leadership to include provisions of the Agriculture Resilience Act (H.R. 2803/S.1337) and the Climate Stewardship Act (S. 1072/H.R. 2534) in the next climate and infrastructure package.
“We know soil is the literal foundation of our farming system, making most of our food supply possible. But healthy, spongy soil can also make other important things possible—such as clean water and flood control. That means soil is vital infrastructure for our climate future.”