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To Members of the NASULGC System:
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) the Ranking Democrat on the
House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
was honored by NASULGC's Council on Agricultural Research,
Extension & Teaching (CARET) as the CARET Congressional Champion
for 2006. After receiving the award, Ms. DeLauro delivered a
rousing speech to the CARET-AHS joint session. In her speech,
Ms. DeLauro said:
"It is a pleasure to be with all of you today – from farmers and
ranchers to elected officials like county commissioners, to
deans of agriculture to homemakers. Collectively, the work you
do is so critical to keeping our agricultural base competitive
and our rural communities strong. Not only are you helping us
all better understand the issues impacting our communities, you
also remind us who are the ones really making a difference
there.
“And you do make a difference. For almost 120 years, the
National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant
Colleges has been at the forefront of agricultural teaching,
research and public service – drawing upon the nation’s research
capacity to inform Congress and the public, to encourage strong
partnerships among public universities, government and
businesses, and promote legislative programs that strengthen our
public higher education. And with 18 historically-African
American institutions and 33 tribal colleges among your 215
members, the Association plays a big role in ensuring our
agricultural and educational policies touch all corners of
American society.
“Among the most important functions of CARET and this
association is your support for our Land Grant university
system. Since the Morrill and Hatch Acts passed during the
1800’s, Land Grant colleges have become an integral part of
America’s research and extension capabilities.
“I believe Land Grant Universities sustain not only our rural
communities, our local economies and the natural resources on
which America relies, but perhaps most importantly, the values
of the American Heartland – values which in turn have sustained
America since its inception. In that sense, our Land Grant
university system reflects the best aspects of the Federal
government and the services it can provide people – offering
research and extension programs that have affected people’s
lives at the most basic and essential levels. Whether it is
literacy or the 4-H programs or food safety, its extension
programs provide people opportunities to lift themselves up in
all aspects of their lives. They make opportunity real – and
they do so on a county-by-county basis.
“And as someone who lives only a few blocks away from the first
agricultural experiment station in the country where so much
cutting edge work was done in the last century—from work that
led to the discovery of vitamin A, to new types of pest control,
to groundbreaking discoveries in the area of corn
hybridization—I know how important the research our land grant
universities are doing is. From addressing the outbreak of a
mite in honey bees that affects almost every commodity we grow
to identifying critical DNA essential to making fruits and
vegetables more nutritious, I do not have to remind you that the
work our Land Grant universities do helps us focus us on
addressing major environmental, public health and economic
problems across the country. It impacts the lives of every
single American." |
A complete copy of Rep. DeLauro's speech is here:
www.nasulgc-bac.com/documents/FY2007/RD-CARET.pdf
Fred H. Hutchison
Fleishman-Hillard Government Relations
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