Rep. Peterson to seek another term

U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) will seek a ninth term in office.

Announcing his decision Monday, Peterson listed a wide range of issues he has addressed during more than 15 years in Congress, including rural economic development, education, health care and transportation.

But his number one issue has been agriculture, which has elevated the former state senator and certified public accountant to the ranking member position on the U.S. House Agriculture Committee.

With the current federal farm program scheduled to expire next year, Peterson is already in a key leadership position to help write the next one.

Should Democrats win back control of the U.S. House of Representatives, Peterson would move into the chairman's seat.

In an interview Tuesday, Peterson said there is a chance of House Democrats assuming the reins this November.

"If things are like the way they are today I think there is a definite chance that could happen," observed Peterson.

He admits being committee chairman brings added responsibility, and it doesn't mean he will be able to do whatever he chooses in terms of legislative policy.

"I will be able to set the agenda. You can kind of steer things a certain way, maybe. But in the end, we have always had to have a bipartisan deal to pass something," Peterson pointed out.

The committee has held several field hearings around the country, and more are planned. Peterson told an Ada audience April 10 that one such hearing will be in Minnesota.

Given the complexity of the federal farm program, bipartisan agreement means the different regions of the country -- combined with the varying types of commodities produced and their member organizations -- will have to reach a give-and-take consensus.

Committee chairman U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) will decide the hearing schedule and the list of witnesses, with input from Peterson.

Part of the latter's focus will be on ethanol and the role it will have in the nation's drive toward energy independence. Peterson wants to ensure ethanol is not only a fuel source, but also an industry that farmers and local residents are part owners.

Wall Street and some interests in Washington, D.C. are quickly learning that investing in ethanol plants can offer a lucrative, near immediate return on their equity.

Peterson said a majority of the U.S. ethanol plants under construction are being financed with outside capital. He would rather see local interests share in that equation, rather than merely growing and selling the feedstock to the plants.

"This is something that fits perfectly within the rural framework out here," stressed Peterson. "You're going to see a plant every 40-50 miles, and farmers have a lot of equity in their land. It's something they have the ability to do, and we just want to make sure that whatever policy we've got encourages that rather than discourages it."

U.S. sugar also has a stake in the next farm bill. Trade agreements such as CAFTA, combined with the 2005 comprehensive energy package, have opened the doors to more imports of foreign sugar for use in domestic ethanol production.

Some lawmakers, such as Peterson, have strongly urged an extension of the 2002 farm program until the issue of agricultural subsidies is settled by the World Trade Organization. An April 30th deadline has been set on those talks.

The White House and Republican congressional leadership oppose extending the current farm program.

Peterson believes the U.S. sugar program should be continued in the next farm program until it is determined what the European Community is willing to do with their sugar program. He dislikes the possibility of U.S.-inspired bilateral trade agreements chipping away at the U.S. sugar program.

He thinks that erosion, however, can be defused as more countries are embracing ethanol production, using sugar as the feedstock. The world sugar price has risen to 17 cents a pound. If the world price stabilizes at that range, Peterson said it puts less pressure on U.S. trade negotiators to give up market share.

"If I am chairman, it will be a lot of work, but I'd like the opportunity -- this is what I've been working at for a long time and I'd like the chance to do it," said Peterson.