The Honorable Pat Roberts
Chairman
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition
And Forestry
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Debbie Stabenow
Ranking Member
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition
And Forestry
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable K. Michael Conaway
Chairman
Committee on Agriculture
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Collin Peterson
Ranking Member
Committee on Agriculture
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman Roberts, Ranking Member Stabenow, Chairman Conaway, and Ranking Member Peterson:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce thanks you for your efforts to pass a Farm Bill reauthorization. Many small towns suffer from shrinking populations, dwindling incomes, and aging infrastructure,
including water and wastewater services.
The water infrastructure provisions in the Bill offer important solutions to help catalyze business growth and innovation across rural America. As you work on an agreement before the start of the next Congress, the business community supports your efforts on rural water infrastructure in the bill to:
- Increase funding in water and wastewater infrastructure.
- Strengthen rural infrastructure and technical assistance funding for USDA’s water and environmental programs.
- Allow for greater small water system lending for upgrading rural infrastructure.
- Establish a task force to examine rural drinking and surface water contamination.
- Help rural areas access seed capital and leverage other rural business programs.
Please do not hesitate to contact Chuck Chaitovitz, Vice President of Environmental Affairs and Sustainability by email at cchaitovitz@uschamber.com to discuss these issues going forward.
Sincerely,
Neil L. Bradley
