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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 28, 2016 03:00 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Martin T. Causer and Rep. Bryan Cutler |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Penn State Agriculture Funding |
| We intend to introduce legislation that will provide the necessary funding for Agricultural Extension and Agriculture Research at Penn State, which the Governor unfortunately decided to blue-line veto in the General Fund budget presented to him. Included in that line item is $2M for Penn State to help us prepare and respond to the potential outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). With a recent diagnosis of HPAI in Indiana, having funding in place to minimize the impact here is essential. Penn State Extension is in jeopardy without state funding. It is important to note that no tuition dollars are used for this purpose of our only land-grant university. Extension specialists are assisting our farmers and others with a myriad of issues, including implementation of the federal Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and navigating legal issues related to natural gas extraction. Perhaps most importantly with the recent announcement of how Pennsylvania is not meeting its goals for Chesapeake Bay restoration, Penn State Extension helps farmers develop and implement best management practices (BMPs) to reduce nutrient runoff and is instrumental in at least one piece of the “reboot” strategy to help document existing practices on farms. Please join us in co-sponsoring this legislation. |
Introduced as HB1831