Congressman Dave Loebsack announced today that he introduced legislation that would establish a grant program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to invest in renewable and alternative fuel infrastructure. The Renewable Fuel Utilization, Expansion and Leadership (Re-FUEL) Act (HR 4051) will help create new and retrofit existing infrastructure, including pumps for biofuels and hydrogen, tanks, piping and electric vehicle chargers. The legislation is paid for and does not add to the ... Read more

Congressman Dave Loebsack (IA-02) announced today that he has introduced the Senate farm bill in the House of Representatives. He was joined by Congressman Bruce Braley (IA-01) and Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) as original cosponsors. Last week, the House failed to pass a farm bill to go to a conference committee with the Senate. On June 10th, the Senate passed a long-term, five year farm bill on a strong bipartisan basis. The legislation introduced today (HR 2498) has the exact text as the... Read more

Congressman Dave Loebsack today led the push, along with a group of lawmakers, in calling for the passage of the Production Tax Credit for wind energy. The lawmakers took to the House floor to call on Speaker Boehner to bring up and pass legislation to extend the wind energy tax credit, which expires at the end of the year. Video of his remarks can be found here. “Iowa is the second largest producer of wind energy. Wind manufacturing involves about 200 companies and 6,000 good-paying jobs for Io... Read more

Congressman Dave Loebsack today applauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture (UDSA) for issuing an agriculture disaster declaration for additional counties in southeastern Iowa that have seen extensive damage to crops and livestock from the recent drought. Loebsack has been leading efforts in the House to push for a long-term farm bill, and has introduced the Agriculture Disaster Assistance Act to help farmers and livestock producers with drought losses. “I have met with farmers in Iowa to hear ... Read more

Congressman Dave Loebsack today urged the Speaker of the House to bring up and pass a long-term farm bill after press reports that the Majority Party was planning on only bringing up a one year extension. Loebsack has been leading the charge in Congress to pass a reformed farm bill that provides certainty to our farmers and includes drought relief to aid those who have been severely affected. “With Congress not being in session for over a month, Iowans expected work to be done toward moving forw... Read more

Congressman Dave Loebsack today applauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for issuing an agriculture disaster declaration for 42 counties that have seen extensive damage to crops and livestock from the recent drought. Last week, Loebsack introduced the Agriculture Disaster Assistance Act to help farmers and livestock producers with drought losses beyond insurance until a new farm bill is signed into law. “I have been walking the rows with farmers to hear firsthand about the damage the ... Read more

To:Reporters and Editors From:Joe Hand on behalf of Congressman Dave Loebsack Re: ICYMI: Loebsack Disaster Push Highlights Important Farm Bill Issues Date: July 25, 2012 “The clamor for disaster aid became clear Monday when Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, announced that he had led ’the entire Iowa delegation in introducing legislation to extend agriculture disaster programs that were created in the last farm bill through 2012.’” –Jerry Hagstrom, The Hagstrom Report (July, 25 2012) After seeing first... Read more

Congressman Dave Loebsack today led the entire Iowa delegation in introducing legislation to extend agriculture disaster programs that were created in the last farm bill through 2012. The Loebsack authored Agriculture Disaster Assistance Act will help farmers and livestock producers with drought losses beyond insurance until a new farm bill is signed into law. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) has introduced similar legislation in the Senate. “I have seen firsthand the damage this drought has already ca... Read more

Congressman Dave Loebsack today applauded the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for issuing an agriculture disaster designation for the entire state of Missouri. The designation also includes 10 Iowa counties along the border. “Iowans who have lost livestock, have seen the quality of their crop decline, and are seeing grazing land dry up are in need of this assistance. I applaud the USDA for their decision and stand ready to assist the farmers and rural areas who have been greatly i... Read more

Congressman Dave Loebsack today called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to re-evaluate their proposed plan to close 259 offices across the country, including four in Iowa. In a letter to Tom Vilsack, the Secretary of Agriculture, Loebsack discussed the importance of these offices to ensure continued growth of the rural economy. “Closing these offices threatens to make these programs less accessible to the farmers who need them, hurting not only individual farmers but local economies ... Read more