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Missouri farmer testifies in Washington, D.C. about impact of trade war

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A Missouri farmer and American Soybean Association board member has told a U.S. House subcommittee he and other farmers are hurting because of the ongoing trade war with China. Ronnie Russell says as late as April, farmers were hopeful an end to the trade war was at hand.

Ronnie Russell testifying before U.S. House subcommittee

“However, the recent increase in tariffs and the potential for future escalation is unacceptable,” he says.
Russell told lawmakers finances are suffering and the stress of living for months with the consequences of tariffs is mounting.

“Soybean growers need China’s tariffs removed now,” he says.

Russell said on behalf of himself and the ASA, Congress should do everything it can to ratify the U.S. trade agreement with Mexico and Canada.

Russell, who farms in western Missouri’s Ray County, testified before the U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy.

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

Former Missouri Gov. Holden honored for global efforts, asks Congress to preserve State Department funding (AUDIO)

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Former Missouri Governor Bob Holden was honored in Washington, D.C. with the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition’s “Leading Globally Matters Locally” award for his efforts to champion U.S. diplomacy and development programs that strengthen markets for his home state.

Holden, who served from 2001-2005, says he is most proud of “helping to build the connections between our business community and other business communities, helping to build the cultural relationships that are so important, the educational relationships I think lay a foundation for business success,” he told Missourinet.

The coalition members are former state, national, business, military, and diplomatic leaders who continue to build partnerships across the world. Holden, from the tiny town of Birch Tree, Missouri works to create international relationships at the local level: city-to-city, business to business.

Holden, a Democrat, works closely with another former Missouri governor, Republican Kit Bond in the leadership coalition.

“It’s global in nature, it’s bipartisan in nature,” he says.

This week, Holden and more than 300 current and former elected officials lobbied Congress to protect funding for the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development, which the Administration has proposed cutting by 24 percent. Holden says State Department and foreign aid spending make up one percent of the federal budget.

Holden says that this funding for international development hits home.

“For Missouri, 85-percent of the money that is going through foreign aid involves small businesses. It is over 700,000 jobs within our own state that are benefitted by this,” he told Missourinet.

Holden says the point of building global relationships is building a competitive edge for the U.S.

“Ninety-five percent of the consumers in this world live outside the United States. If we want our business to be successful, we can’t allow other countries and other businesses in other countries to be the only ones selling the products.”

Tariffs or the threat of tariffs make it harder to grow markets, Holden says.

“We want to make sure we are treated fairly, but at the same time, putting up the actions that I see coming out of the government today on increasing tariffs on products I don’t think is in our own self-interest.”

He says even the tense relations with China calls for diplomacy. Listen to that part of Holden’s interview with Missourinet’s Ashley Byrd.

Missouri River reopened to traffic; Mississippi River restrictions continue

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The Mississippi River in northeast Missouri’s Clarksville (file photo courtesy of Clarksville city website)

The Missouri River is back open to boat and barge traffic from St. Louis to Kansas City. Flooding forced the U.S. Coast Guard to close the river to the vessels for about two weeks.

The Mississippi River remains closed to boat and barge traffic at the St. Louis harbor from mile marker 184 to 179. The river has been closed to the vessels since the beginning of May.

The U.S. Coast Guard tells Missourinet there are also various lock and damn closures north of St. Louis.

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

Mississippi River flood waters receding in Hannibal, northeast Missouri must assess damage

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Riggs (right) with Mayor James Hark and Gov. Mike Parson (far left) during a recent disaster briefing

The Mississippi River has been receding in Hannibal, where the levee held and the town was protected. The river topped at one foot shy of the record flooding in 1993.

After hundreds of volunteers, National Guard troops and inmates helped flood-threatened areas in northeastern Missouri, residents are expressing their thanks and relief.  (See coverage from TV partner WGEM)

Now the next step: the damage must be assessed and cleaned up. State Representative Louis Riggs, R-Hannibal, tells Missourinet “the damages are considerable.”

“The cleanup itself is the easy part, assessing the damage is not.”

This will be considered the second major flooding event for the state, and a second, separate disaster declaration and federal aid request.

“The process itself is rather burdensome,” Riggs says, “and involves crunching numbers, authenticating them and six to nine months, even up to a year.”

For farmers, the harvest is missed or cannot get down the river.

River traffic is slowly returning, but not the most important water transportation to this area: barges to carry grain to market.

“I have not seen any barges on the Mississippi now for months, Riggs says.  “Hundreds of thousands of some of the best acreage in the world will not be producing this year so that is one set of damages to sort out.”

In the meantime, Riggs and Hannibal residents are looking to the river to relinquish some ground for something to celebrate.

“We’ve been told that we can expect to be down to normal flood stage as early as June 29, depending on rainfall, so probably close to July 1. July 4th is the biggest event of the year, so it would be nice to have our riverfront back by then,” Riggs adds.

Gov. Parson on first trade mission to Europe

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Governor Parson is on a European trip to promote more international trade and investment in Missouri industries. The governor will make several stops along the way, visiting Germany, Switzerland, then to France.

He will attend a memorial ceremony at the World War II D-Day invasion site in Normandy, where he and Missouri First Lady Teresa Parson will visit the Normandy American Cemetery and honor Missouri’s fallen through a flag exchange and wreath-placing ceremony with Superintendent Scott Desjardins.

While in France, Parson will meet with the Canadian and U.S. Ambassadors to France, key executives of the U.S. and Canadian Industry Associations, fellow U.S. Governors, and other national and military officials.

Parson then attends to Le Bourget air show, the world’s largest, to meet with officials from Boeing and other aerospace companies.

Details about the second half of the trip will be released next week. The trip is funded by Missouri’s Hawthorn foundation, an economic development non-profit.

 

 

 

Missouri Congressman Graves optimistic about USDA moving to Kansas City region (AUDIO)

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The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that it’s selected the greater Kansas City area for the relocation of two major facilities: its Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agricultural Policy.

U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Kansas City, says the decision will draw more than 550 jobs to the Kansas City region, with average wages between $80,000 and $100,000.

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, tours the MFA Rail facility near northwest Missouri’s Hamilton on October 8, 2018 (file photo courtesy of Congressman Graves’ office)

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, who represents 36 northern Missouri counties, says it makes sense to move the USDA agencies from Washington to what he describes as “the heart of farm country.”

“This is going to take those agencies right out to the very places that they’re doing research for and trying to help and the industry they’re trying to help,” Graves says.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson (R) says the Kansas City area is closer to USDA’s farmer-constituent base. Congressman Graves, who farms in northwest Missouri, agrees. He says the move gets USDA closer to the people they serve.

“And what’s more, it gets them closer to FAPRI, the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute there at the University of Missouri which does a lot of the work, the research work for these two agencies,” says Graves.

FAPRI was started in 1984. Its website notes it provides objective analysis of markets and policies. One of its primary purposes is to provide decision makers with information about how policy changes or market conditions impact the agricultural sector.

While there will be efforts to block it, Graves is optimistic about USDA’s proposal to relocate to the Kansas City region. He says it underscores the quality of life in the greater Kansas City area.

“We’ve got good schools and we got good communities and safe communities and that’s what is important when it comes to attracting folks to take these positions,” Graves says.

Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst agrees, saying Kansas City “is the heart of our farm economy” and is the right choice for USDA.

U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, is blasting the move, calling it the “wrong decision.” Leader Hoyer has issued a statement, saying he’ll continue to explore all options to reverse USDA’s decision.

Cleaver expects a fight from the Maryland and Virginia congressional delegations.

Congressman Graves says the move will save tax dollars. The “Kansas City Star” reports Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says the relocation will save USDA about $300 million over 15 years.

Graves tells Missourinet the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) will conduct a search for a site, emphasizing that nothing has been decided yet on the site.

Graves also emphasizes that it’s been a bipartisan effort in Missouri to land the jobs, crediting both Congressman Cleaver and U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, which was recorded on June 13, 2019:

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

Missouri Congressman says USDA move to Kansas City region isn’t a done deal

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The Kansas City region has been chosen as the future sites of two USDA research agencies – along with about 700 federal jobs. The move from the Washington, D.C., region to Kansas City is for the department’s Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agricultural Policy offices.

Missouri Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver tells Missourinet the Virginia and Maryland Congressional delegations will fight the move, including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland.

“If Virginia and Maryland are successful in stopping the funding, then for all practical purposes, they stop the project. Then Congress is not going to pay for the move – and Congress does have the power of the power – then I don’t think it’s going to go anywhere,” says Cleaver. “There are all kinds of little political maneuvering and economic maneuvering that could in fact halt this move.”

Cleaver says the Missouri and Kansas delegations are getting prepared for a fight.

“We’ve got to figure out how they’re going to do it,” he says. “If I lived in Maryland, if I represented Maryland I’d be fighting as well. I don’t blame them. We’re going to fight also.”

A statement from Hoyer says he vows to fight the move.

“I worked to include language in the Fiscal Year 2020 Agriculture Appropriations bill that would prohibit USDA from using any funds for this relocation. It is alarming that the Administration is rushing ahead with this relocation in order to circumvent Congress. I will continue to explore all options to reverse this decision,” said Hoyer.

Cleaver says the jobs are expected to pay an average of $80,000 to $100,000 annually. He says the USDA wants the move to happen this fall and the Missouri side is better equipped with appropriate office space for a quick move.

The Kansas City Star reports Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the relocation will save the USDA $300 million over 15 years and that state and local governments had offered $26 million in incentives to move to the region.

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

Kansas City wins future sites of USDA research headquarters – and hundreds of jobs

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U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has announced today the Kansas City region has been chosen as the new home of the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) and National Institute of Food and Agricultural Policy (NIFA). The move from the Washington, D.C., region to Kansas City is expected to include roughly 700 reported federal jobs. Kansas City came out on top against Indiana, North Carolina and Wisconsin, who were also in the running.

Photo courtesy: Missouri Department of Agriculture, Arletta Pappan

In a statement from Gov. Mike Parson, he says he is thrilled that Secretary Perdue chose to relocate the ERS and NIFA to the heartland.

“We appreciate all the hard work and commitment from Secretary Perdue, President Trump’s Administration, and the large Kansas City coalition in making this happen,” says the Republican governor. “Missouri agriculture has unrivaled diversity, access to cutting-edge research at our land grant universities, and a thriving agribusiness environment. By choosing a location close to their farmer-constituent base, these offices will remain rooted in agriculture and, as a result, will be better able to make decisions that serve American agriculture well.”

Missouri U.S. Senators Roy Blunt and Josh Hawley, both Republicans, issued statements today applauding the announcement.

“These agencies will bring hundreds of good-paying jobs to the area and enhance Missouri’s role as a national leader in ag research,” said Blunt. “Secretary Perdue made the right choice in selecting Kansas City, which is a great place to live and work. The challenges and opportunities have never been greater than they will be in the next 25 years. These research agencies do great work and will be at the cutting edge of agriculture and well located for assistance and examples as they do their job.”

“This is outstanding news for the Kansas City region. We’re home to some of the hardest working farmers in the country, so this is a fantastic decision by the USDA,” said Hawley. “As the new home of the Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Missouri and Kansas will continue to lead in the research and development of American agricultural policy for the 21st century. We are grateful for the job opportunities and renewed partnership this move creates for our state.”

According to Kansas City area Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, the jobs are expected to average between $80,000-$100,000 annually.

“The decision by USDA to select Kansas City as the location for the new ERS and NIFA headquarters demonstrates our region’s impressive combination of high quality of life, skilled workforce, and agricultural impact. The USDA is always in search of talented, experienced workers that can help forward their mission to promote agriculture production and economic opportunities to rural America. I have no doubt that the people of Kansas City will be able to meet these personnel needs,” Cleaver said.

Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst says Kansas City is the heart of our farm economy and is deservedly the right choice for USDA.

“Secretary Sonny Perdue has often said customer service is his number one goal at USDA, and there is no better way to show his commitment than having our public servants living where their customers are,” Hurst said in a statement. “The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and Economic Research Service (ERS) will find Kansas City a vibrant, modern community that is excited to welcome them to the region. Our thanks to the Missouri congressional delegation in addition to Governor Mike Parson and Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn who worked closely with University of Missouri System President Mun Choi and many other leaders throughout the region to make this a reality. We greatly appreciate all of their efforts. Hopefully this is just the first of several agencies that will break through the Beltway and move to the heartland.”

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

Governor Parson says Missouri and Kansas have both spent more than $100 million on border war

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Legislation aimed at ending the economic “border war” between Missouri and Kansas has been signed into law this week by Governor Mike Parson (R) in Kansas City.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson signs SB 182 into law on June 11, 2019 at Kansas City’s Union Station (photo courtesy of Governor Parson’s office)

The Bolivar Republican notes the legislation, which is Senate bill 182, will only take effect if the Sunflower State passes a reciprocal agreement.

“I’m very positive, very optimistic right now that we’re going to come to some sort of an agreement between Missouri and Kansas on this,” Parson says.

Governor Parson signed the bill this week at Kansas City’s historic Union Station, telling reporters he has a good working relationship with Kansas Governor Laura Kelly (D) and that additional meetings will take place. He says he’s met with Kelly and has also spoken to her on the phone.

Parson tells reporters that incentivizing companies to move a few miles does not result in new jobs for Missouri or Kansas.

“We’re spending a lot of taxpayer money to do initiatives for businesses on the border of Kansas and Missouri and sometimes we’re not getting very much gain for that,” says Parson.

The legislation, which is sponsored by State Sen. Mike Cierpiot, R-Lee’s Summit, impacts companies moving between Johnson, Miami and Wyandotte counties in eastern Kansas and Missouri’s Cass, Clay, Jackson and Platte counties.

The Kansas City-based Hall Family Foundation says more than 10,000 jobs moved between Missouri and Kansas during the past decade, with an incentive cost of $330 million. The jobs all moved in the Kansas City region.

“I think Missouri has spent well over $100 million on this, Kansas has spent well over $100 million,” Parson says. “There’s no reason we can’t be using that money for a lot better purposes than just jumping from one side of the state (line) to the other.”

Governor Parson tells reporters he’s optimistic he’ll reach an agreement with Kansas Governor Laura Kelly on this.

As for Governor Kelly, she’s issued a statement echoing Governor Parson’s comments about the irresponsible spending by both states, “with little actual job growth for either state.”

Kelly also emphasizes that the two states must work together to attract business and jobs.

“We’re encouraged by the renewed spirit of cooperation and collaboration between the two states. The recent joint proposal to attract United States Department of Agriculture operations to the Kansas City metro area is a prime example of progress on that front,” Kelly’s statement reads, in part.

This issue has been debated for years in the Missouri Legislature, with former House Speaker Tim Jones, R-Eureka, and former State Rep. Kevin McManus, D-Kansas City, leading an unsuccessful effort in 2014.

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

Missouri’s Blunt on Face the Nation to discuss U.S.-Mexico deal

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President Trump has announced an agreement with Mexico that reportedly takes on Mexico’s immigration problems. The undisclosed deal dodges tariffs the president threatened to put on goods coming from Mexico. On Sunday’s Face the Nation show, Missouri U.S. Senator Roy Blunt said the agreement is a big win for both countries – not just America.

Listen to the full interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxSmaFXGtDY&feature=youtu.be