Monday, November 25, 2013

FIL VELA JR. IS IN GOOD COMPANY, AREN'T YOU, FARMER?

(We wondered aloud in this column whether anyone knew how Texas, U.S. Rep. District 34 [Fil Vela Jr.] and the districts whose congressmen voted to cut food stamps for the poor rated in relation to the amount of funds they received from crop subsidies and price-support payments. To be fair, Vela Jr. did not vote to cut the nutritional assistance program. However, we thank the folks over at San Bene's  Resaca City BlogSpot for the following quick facts notebook on the subject.)   
 
After a quick research in the same link, here's what we found:
1. In 2012, Texas ranked #1 in agricultural subsidies ($27.3 billion) among the 50 states and territories.  
Of the two top ranked districts for receiving crop subsidies handouts one is the 19th Congressional District represented by Randy Neugebauer, who according to the National Journal, "is the most conservative" member of the U.S. House of Representatives. The district includes a large swath of West Texas, including Lubbock and Abilene. He is, conveniently, a member of the House Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management which oversees crop subsidies.
The other is Mac Thornberry's 13th U.S. Congressional District whose principal cities are Amarillo and Wichita Falls. Thornberry has been a leading voice in the House of Representatives about the importance of passing a Farm Bill every five years "to give farmers and ranchers more stability."
Both Neugebauer and Thornberry voted the $40 billion cut in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Enter our own District 34's Filemon Vela Jr., a junior representative from South Texas. His District ranked sixth in the entire state (47 zip codes) for Year 2012 with subsidies totaling $18,384,522.
From 1995-2012, District #34 received a total subsidy of $830 million.
Fil Jr. has also been appointed to the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management which oversees farmer and rancher welfare. He states that his family established the Laguna Seca Ranch with land purchased from John and Salome Balli McAllen. The ranch is steeped in South Texas history as the first citrus orchard in Hidalgo County was planted at the Laguna Seca Ranch.
Think Fil Jr. is ready to cut off the torrent of taxpayer funded crop subsidies that can only be described as "Corporate Welfare?"
 

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have to also consider that the food stamp program (SNAP) is also a farm and ranch subsidy because farm and ranch products is what is purchased with the SNAP monies that the Government provides. With a cut in food stamps for the poor and hungry, the government will have to subsidize those poor farmers and ranchers even more, especially those huge Corporate farms and ranches!

Anonymous said...

What were the subsidies of the Laguna Seca Ranch, the Vela family ranch?

Anonymous said...

These subsidies have nothing to do with saving farm worker jobs as claimed in an earlier comment. Farm workers are paid to work. Subsidies and allotments are paid to do no or less work. These subsidies were put in during the depression when there was a real problem with over production and low demand. That is not the case today. There are kinds of distortion in the farm markets. Corn price is making millionaires all over the corn-belt because of ethanol production which takes food off the table of poor people so somebody can drive their car with more expensive gasoline. Just like the banks, socialize the losses and double up on the gains.

Your 4th Reader said...

History of the Laguna Seca Ranch and the Vela's.

http://photographysouthtexas.com/ranch_history

rita