Immigration, Agriculture Concerns Highlight 16-County Tour

Immigration, Agriculture Concerns Highlight 16-County Tour

Washington, D.C. - I've just returned from a 16-county tour of my congressional district over 8 days, from the outskirts of Oklahoma City to Boise City and parts in between, as part of the more than 50 town hall meetings I conduct on average each year. After 16 towns, more than 1,000 miles, hundreds of constituents, and thousands of opinions, I have a renewed sense of the pulse of the Third Congressional District, which is exactly what these meetings are designed for.

Every round of town meeting discussions brings about a mix of the international and the parochial - from local economic development to the escalating conflict in the Middle East. This round was no different, but two issues were most prevalent among the hundreds of constituents I met with - immigration reform and support for agriculture.

We have roughly 12 million illegal immigrants in this country, with more coming in our southern border every day. Constituents in Enid, Kingfisher, and across the district feel our border is not secure, and they want it fixed - now. I agree, and that's why I voted for legislation that passed the U.S. House to strengthen our border through not only the physical barriers, but also by incorporating new technologies such as sensors, radar, cameras, and unmanned aerial vehicles for border monitoring.

The legislation also provides for additional inspectors at the borders, and would require that all illegal immigrants apprehended at the border to be detained and sent back to their home country. It increases the penalties for being in the country illegally, for engaging in human trafficking, and for knowingly hiring illegal aliens.

Agriculture is still a huge part of Oklahoma's economy, so folks keep a close eye on any proposed changes to federal agriculture policy. As chairman of a House Agriculture subcommittee and a producer myself, I monitor how Washington policy affects the fields and bottom lines in Oklahoma. But these town meetings give me additional input from producers on what policies are working and what needs to be changed.

Producers in Shattuck and Guymon reminded me they need help as soon as possible in dealing with a devastating drought that destroyed Oklahoma crops and dried up pastureland this year. I introduced legislation in May to help farmers and ranchers deal with drought losses, and I'm working to get this legislation passed in the House and Senate as soon as possible. It will provide $3.3 billion in financial relief to farmers and ranchers who have severe losses due to natural disasters.

I also heard from producers asking what kinds of changes they want or can expect from the next Farm Bill. The current Farm Bill, which I helped pass in 2002, will expire next year, and producers want to be involved in the debate and to know what they can expect so they can plan for the future.

The House Agriculture Committee is conducting hearings across the country, including Oklahoma, to hear from producers directly on their Farm Bill views. Because of the popularity of the current Farm Bill programs, producers generally want few changes to policy, but more money in the programs.

But the budget situation has changed drastically from 2002, when we set funding levels for the current bill. I predict we will have a huge fight with members from non-farm states over funding levels of the next Farm Bill. Since the number of pro-farm Members of Congress has decreased with the dwindling rural population, I can't predict how successful we'll be. But I'm ready for that fight.

Town meetings are always a learning experience, and this round was no different. Traveling to 16 counties may involve a lot of open road, but the people I meet who get a chance to talk to their congressman face-to-face and make their voice heard make it all worth while.

http://www.house.gov/list/speech/ok03_lucas/townmeetrecap.html