12/10/08 Minnick seeks ag committe seat

Walt Minnick should learn shortly which committee assignments he'll be given as he begins his first year on Congress. The recently elected Democrat told the Idaho Farm Bureau convention members that he will work closely with the three Republican members of the Idaho delegation. Minnick says he has asked to be appointed to the House Agriculture Committee and its there that he hopes to give rural Idaho some help by creating incentives for new industries like biofuel. MINNICK "Byproducts of agricultural production that would make great feedstock for biofuels. That's what the country needs if we're going to wean ourselves off foreign oil long term and fossil fuels and it would be a good alternative industry for rural Idaho." Minnick wants American agriculture to have a level playing field when it comes to world trade. MINNICK "That should be a prime foreign policy objective. Finally I'd like to help wean us off our dependence on government programs so that we can get back to farming the land and not farming the government." Minnick says the government should be using some of the billions in bailout money on infrastructure needs, creating jobs in the process. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott