LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Farm Bureau President Randy Veach will testify Sept. 9 in front of the House Committee on Natural Resources in Washington, D.C. Rep. Rick Crawford of Jonesboro requested Veach’s participation.

The committee is considering six different proposals designed to control over-reach of federal agencies charged with implementing the Endangered Species Act. Veach’s testimony will deal specifically with the proposed critical habitat designations being proposed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services. Veach will note the critical habitat designations threaten to encumber agriculture, construction and municipal projects with excessive regulation.

Crawford’s bill, HR 4319, the “Common Sense in Species Protection Act of 2014,” will be among the proposals considering during the hearing.

“From our viewpoint, the endangered species is the American farmer and the federal government needs to exercise some common sense with this issue,” said Veach, a cotton, soybean, corn and rice farmer from Manila (Mississippi County), who is in his sixth year as president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau. "I intend to make that point very clearly in my comments to the committee.”

Arkansas Farm Bureau earlier praised Crawford’s proposed legislation, in addition to a proposal authored by United State Senators Mark Pryor and John Boozman, SB 2729, the Private Landowner Protection Act. Both proposals would amend the Endangered Species Act and require government agencies to perform a thorough economic analysis of any proposed species and critical habitat designation. 

“We have got to shine a light on the damaging impacts these critical habitat designations would have on farmers and private landowners. This issue goes beyond Arkansas’ borders and has the potential to impact property owners nationwide.

“It’s important to note that we have every member of the Arkansas delegation signed on as sponsor or co-sponsor of one of these bills. Their bi-partisan proposals add transparency to the process and attempts to get control of what is an out-of-control issue with the Endangered Species Act, where government agencies are acting beyond the original intent of Congress.”

The House Committee on Natural Resources considers legislation about American energy production, mineral lands and mining, fisheries and wildlife, public lands, oceans, Native Americans, irrigation and reclamation. The Committee is comprised of 47 members of the House of Representatives.

Arkansas Farm Bureau is a nonprofit, private advocacy organization of more than 190,000 families throughout the state working to improve farm and rural life.