Farr Reflects on DJ Days in ASCAP Bill

Associated Press

(Salinas, CA) -- Congressman Sam Farr (D-CA-17) reflected on his past days as a DJ and busker during the House floor debate regarding the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). ASCAP currently represents 320,000 composers in the Unites States; under current IRS tax code, professional musicians receive exclusive tax benefits. The bill HR-448 [2008] would authorize Congress to federally fund the institution with taxpayer dollars. During debate Sunday, Farr reminisced on his work for "side money" in 1974 through 1976, working nightly as a street busker and DJ in Los Angeles.

Farr, who is Co-Chair of the Congressional Travel & Tourism Committee, argued from personal experience how federally funded entertainment catalyzes economic growth. "I worked as a busker and disc jockey in the 1970's, and as much as I had fun in my younger years, I was really doing it for the money," Farr stated in the Congressional Record. "Now, if I was doing it for the money, what was I doing with that money? Well, spending it, obviously. That's a direct economic impact, far more effective than tax cuts."

Farr did not allude to his role as a busker, but during reelection in 1996 Farr played keyboards at a small fundraiser with local jam bands "moe" and "Umphrey's McGee."

Sam Farr has a 92% rating from ASCAP.

The Santa Cruz Sentinel

NASA Salutes Farr's Astronaut Service

AP/Bill Snyder

(Cape Canaveral, FL) -- NASA Director Jim Clancy honored Congressman Sam Farr with the National Medal of Aeronautic Service on Tuesday, in part of Congress's National Space Week. Farr flew planes with the 74th Airborne Infantry Division in the Vietnam War, after working with aircraft in Colombia for the Peace Corps in 1964. He was originally slated to command NASA's Apollo 19, before the program was shut down.

"It's a great honor to accept this award for serving the skies. I'll never forget what this country gave me, and I think serving in the 74th and working for NASA was my small way of trying to give back," said Farr in his speech. Over 600 family, friends, constituents, and past flight buddies packed the reception room for a NASA-hosted luncheon. Senator Barbara Boxer also made a brief appearance.

"This country needs more people like Sam Farr," said Senator Boxer in her introduction. Added Boxer, "My state would be a lot better off if we had Sam as governor," mockingly referencing the recent legislative disputes between herself and Governor Schwarzenegger.

Farr, who is 66, was recently diagnosed with diabetes. "This means so much to him. I know he can't thank people enough for all the support he's been given," said Farr's wife, Shary.

Farr is only the sixth person to receive the annual award from NASA.

New York Times news service.

C.A. Congressman 14th member with Diabetes

By AP/Jim Salter

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — California Congressman Sam Farr was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes Thursday, a congressional spokeswoman confirmed today. Farr represents the 17^th Congressional District encompassing central California, including Santa Cruz, Salinas, and Monterey. He is 66.

“Congressman Farr will be meeting with his doctors during recess, following a strict diet, and spending time with his family following the diagnosis,” said press secretary Karen Alcorn. “The Congressman wishes to thank his friends, colleagues, and constituents for their support in this difficult time.”

Farr, who recently held a telephone town-hall meeting with constituents, complained earlier this month of digestive pains, fatigue, and decreased metabolism. Staff noticed the effects immediately, and Farr was taken to George Washington University hospital. Said one aide, “He certainly wasn’t himself. He was sluggish and tired for days—this from someone we used to joke had the ‘vivacity of a schoolboy’.”

The announcement received an outpouring of support in Farr’s California district. Constituents and friends made lines and calls to the Congressman’s Salinas district office to contribute cards and words of support. Congressman Farr became the fourteenth legislator currently serving in the Congress to have diabetes.

Farr was not available for comment.

Associated Press Writer Betsy Taylor in Salinas contributed to this report.

Keeping Our Oceans Safe

In January, Farr introduced the "Oceans Conservation, Education, and National Strategy for the 21st Century Act." This bill (H.R. 21) is the product of a multiyear, bipartisan effort to implement the highest priority recommendations of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative.

A few years ago, two blue-ribbon commissions, the Pew Oceans Commission and the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, completed parallel and comprehensive surveys of the status of our oceans. Despite representing both sides of the political spectrum, these commissions came to virtually identical conclusions about the troubling state of our oceans. These documents create a vision for the future, a vision founded on responsible stewardship of our country's largest public trust resource. These two commissions joined forces and formed the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative to advocate for the implementation of their recommendations.

Later this year Farr plans to introduce two additional bills. The first would prevent cruise ships from dumping sewage into the ocean, the second would help protect the Southern Sea Otter.

Among the bills that Farr is actively helping to get enacted:

• California Ocean and Coastal Protection Act (H.R. 2918);
• Northern California Ocean and Coastal Protection Act (H.R. 2758);
• Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection Act (H.R. 1907);
• Forest and Coral Conservation Act (H.R. 2185);
• Ocean Exploration and Undersea Research Program (H.R. 1834);
• National Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation Act (H.R. 2342);
• Salmon Economic Analysis and Planning Act (H.R. 1507);
• Pacific Salmon Emergency Disaster Assistance Act (H.R. 234), included in the non-defense emergency supplemental that became law in May.

Through Congressman Farr's position as a co-chair of the House Oceans Caucus, he continues to fight for funding and development of ocean activities and programs, especially as administered through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He has provided leadership on ocean policy in Congress and has high hopes for progress under our Democratic leadership.

Farr Takes Clear Stand on Gas Prices

The steady increase in the cost of gas is one of the toughest problems facing our country. Not only does it directly affect the pocketbooks of millions of Americans, but the problem is difficult to control from a government standpoint. I propose a three-prong solution.

First and foremost, we need immediate action. Congress should consider emergency measures to address these ballooning prices. The short-term solution might come in the form of price caps or even a price freeze, placing a temporary ceiling on gas prices. We need to keep all those options on the table as we proceed.

Second, as a medium-term solution, we must address the grossly inflated profits that oil companies are siphoning from American families. It's unacceptable that the president refuses to consider ending the use of taxpayer dollars to subsidize the oil companies. The president fumes about using tax dollars to help out farmers, but doesn't bat an eye at sending many billions of dollars to the oil industry. Such hypocrisy is unacceptable.

Finally, Washington must have a long-term plan. Congress is already using its power to debate and pass laws intended to address the root causes of gas price instability. We forced the president to temporarily stop sending more oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and we're working on bills to reign anticompetitive conduct by the oil cartels and to support alternative fuels, which are already having an effect on gas consumption.

Some talking heads say all we need to do is drill more, especially in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I have two responses to that. First, drilling in the pristine ANWR will take 20 years to see any results, and then it will save a grand total of a penny per gallon. It is not a solution. Second, drilling has increased dramatically since 2000, climbing about 66 percent. On top of that, the federal government has already opened up leases to 68 million acres of federal land that oil companies aren't even tapping.

One thing is certain: American consumers can't continue paying more and more for gas while oil companies continue racking up record profits.

• There are 68 million acres onshore and offshore in the United States that are leased by oil companies -- open to drilling and actually under lease -- but not developed.
• Drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge wouldn't yield any oil for 10 years, and then would only save the consumer 1.8 cents per gallon in 2030.
• If oil companies tapped the 68 million federal acres of leased land it would generate an estimated 4.8 million barrels of oil a day -- six times what ANWR would produce at its peak.
• 80 percent of the oil available on the Outer Continental Shelf is already open for leasing, but oil companies have decided it isn't worth their money to drill there.
• The United States has only 1.6 percent of world's known oil supply, but Americans consume one quarter of the world's daily oil consumption.

Revised LBAM Plan Forthcoming

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Over the past four weeks, Congressman Sam Farr (D-Carmel) has convened a series of meetings with federal and state officials to re-evaluate the eradication program for the light brown apple moth. He expects the state to release its revised eradication plan soon.

Rep. Farr released the following statement Thursday morning:

"I have expressed my concern to CDFA and USDA officials that the aerial application of pheromone as the primary agent of eradication has become a lightning rod for criticism and is placing the entire eradication program in jeopardy," Rep. Farr said Thursday morning. "With the future of aerial application uncertain, it's even more important that the state ramp up its use of tried and true ground-based efforts that have proven effective and acceptable to the public in the past.

"I expect an announcement soon by CDFA and USDA officials laying out their revised plan for eradication. I held these meetings in Washington to make sure state and federal experts were communicating, and to make sure Central Coast residents had a voice. During these discussions, all the tools for battling this invasive pest were laid on the table and investigated, and there was a consistent buzz that aerial application may not be the way to move forward.

"My role has been one of objective oversight. I continue to believe the goal must be to eradicate this moth. But it has become clear, through both our courts and public outcry, that aerial application of pheromone, particularly over heavily populated areas, is endangering the entire process. I will continue to work with all stakeholders to make sure eradication efforts proceed in a transparent way and that we have the safest possible resolution. I look forward to an announcement by state officials soon."

USDA Answers some LBAM Questions

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released answers to some of the questions posed by Congressman Sam Farr (D-Carmel) in hearings earlier this year.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released answers to some of the questions posed by Congressman Sam Farr (D-Carmel) in hearings earlier this year.

The answers are available online here.

Rep. Farr is also planning to meet with officials from the USDA and the California Department of Food and Agriculture tomorrow.

"I think the objective oversight role I am playing from Washington is a vital one," Rep. Farr said. "The goal to eradicate the moth remains the same. I will continue to work with all stakeholders to make sure this process is transparent and we have the safest possible resolution."

New LBAM Plan Turns the Corner

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The California Department of Food and Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have announced that aerial pheromone application to control the light brown apple moth will no longer take place over urban areas and will be limited to agricultural land and undeveloped regions as a tool of last result.

The decision was made following meetings over the past month between Congressman Sam Farr (D-Carmel) and federal and state officials. It was announced by CDFA Secretary A.G. Kawamura and APHIS Administrator Cindy Smith, along with a new program that will employ sterile moths.

"The meetings I held in Washington over the past month have been fruitful," Rep. Farr said following the announcement. "We were able to illustrate that the lawsuits and objections raised by aerial application have become a lightning rod for public protest, robbing focus from the goal of eradication. The decision that aerial application will not occur over urban areas will allow CDFA to focus on the other tools it has available to eliminate the threat this moth poses."

"The bottom line for eradicating this pest has always been safety," Rep. Farr said. "The public was never convinced that spraying was safe or the only option, and the result has been protests, anger and a series of lawsuits. It's vital that we don't delay in our efforts to control this pest. CDFA was correct to recognize that aerial application was becoming a distraction. A shift in strategy is the right move."

The goal of eradication remains the same. A short-term strategy of maintaining quarantine boundaries will dovetail into long-term eradication efforts. With aerial pheromone application over urban areas off the table, attention will turn to alternative strategies. The pheromone will still be used in ground-based applications that have been used for years, with alternative pesticides employed in special circumstances. CDFA also announced that the sterile moth program, a new tool, will also be available earlier than previously predicted.

"This is the best possible outcome," Rep. Farr said. "CDFA will be able to direct its full efforts toward ground-based eradication efforts and our communities will not have to worry about the planes overhead. I look forward to working with CDFA and USDA officials to keep the public informed as work proceeds."

"I thank CDFA and USDA leaders who realized that they needed to adapt to the situation," Rep. Farr said. "Working together is the only way we'll be able to get rid of this moth. One thing we have all learned from this experience is that transparency is necessary from the get-go; the public must know what actions the government is taking."