Pushing For Government To Live Within Its Means
By: Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President
A special task force of the American Farm Bureau Federation reported back to the full Board of Directors that they believe serious organizational attention needs to focus on advocacy actions to have the U.S. government live within its means.
The Farm Bureau committee was made up of eight Farm Bureau members, equally divided with four members from the organization’s Young Farmer and Rancher program and four older members. The group was known as the Federal Deficit Task Force and their proposal comes in the form of a set of recommendations for Farm Bureau members to consider as the organization goes through its annual, a grassroots policy development process for 2010.
“We must get control of federal borrowing before it consumes us, before other countries decide to stop lending and while we can get control of the problem,” said Craig Lang, chairman of the task force and president of Iowa Farm Bureau.
Since they started meeting in December of 2008, the committee’s primary objective was to recommend ways to achieve a balanced federal budget by 2019. The task force looked at all parts of the budget, including healthcare and Social Security, from the congressional budget process to government revenues.
Health Care A Huge Road Block…
Even though the current Congressional effort to federalize health care is not completed, it’s obvious that this area will be a huge budget-buster going forward. “The real 800-pound gorilla for future budgets is health care,” Lang said.
The group recommended the AFBF policy process look at cutting healthcare spending by: implementing a centralized source to coordinate medical records, utilizing incentives for results (not procedures), preventive care, shortening hospital stays and limiting government sponsored coverage to only necessary and cost-effective procedures.
A special task force of the American Farm Bureau Federation reported back to the full Board of Directors that they believe serious organizational attention needs to focus on advocacy actions to have the U.S. government live within its means.
The Farm Bureau committee was made up of eight Farm Bureau members, equally divided with four members from the organization’s Young Farmer and Rancher program and four older members. The group was known as the Federal Deficit Task Force and their proposal comes in the form of a set of recommendations for Farm Bureau members to consider as the organization goes through its annual, a grassroots policy development process for 2010.
“We must get control of federal borrowing before it consumes us, before other countries decide to stop lending and while we can get control of the problem,” said Craig Lang, chairman of the task force and president of Iowa Farm Bureau.
Since they started meeting in December of 2008, the committee’s primary objective was to recommend ways to achieve a balanced federal budget by 2019. The task force looked at all parts of the budget, including healthcare and Social Security, from the congressional budget process to government revenues.
Health Care A Huge Road Block…
Even though the current Congressional effort to federalize health care is not completed, it’s obvious that this area will be a huge budget-buster going forward. “The real 800-pound gorilla for future budgets is health care,” Lang said.
The group recommended the AFBF policy process look at cutting healthcare spending by: implementing a centralized source to coordinate medical records, utilizing incentives for results (not procedures), preventive care, shortening hospital stays and limiting government sponsored coverage to only necessary and cost-effective procedures.
Posted by Doug Busselman at 7/16/2009 7:33 AM 
Categories: Government
Tags: Federal Budget Health Care Farm Bureau Policy Congress
Categories: Government
Tags: Federal Budget Health Care Farm Bureau Policy Congress
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