The Honorable __________________ The Honorable ________________ U.S. Senate U.S. House of Representatives Washington DC 20510 Washington, DC 20515 RE: FY09 Funding for the Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) program in Agriculture appropriations Dear: I am a member of the ________ RC&D council located in _________. I urge you to oppose the President’s budget request for RC&D. He proposes to eliminate all funding to the RC&D program. We need your help in restoring this funding to a minimum of $56 million to continue our strong record of service on conservation and economic development issues in our community. RC&D Councils help plan and carry out activities that increase conservation of natural resources, support economic development and enhance the environment and standard of living in local communities. RC&D Council members are volunteers and include local, civic, appointed, and elected officials. RC&D Councils are non-profit entities that work in partnership with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service through a federal coordinator. The RC&D program is one of the federal government's success stories with its ability to return $7.50 for every dollar the federal government invests to support economic development and resource protection in rural areas. We cannot allow funding to the RC&D program to be cut. If funding for this program is cut, the following services and projects can no longer be provided in our community: ***(list local projects that have strong public recognition)*** I am writing to you to ask that you continue support for this council and Councils nationwide by writing the Chairman and Ranking Members of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee and asking that $56 million be provided to the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Resource Conservation and Development Program (RC&D). I appreciate your interest in RC&D’s, and hope you can support my request by writing to the Chair and Ranking Members of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee and asking them to insert this language into the Agriculture Appropriations bill: “Resource, Conservation and Development Councils play an important role in rural development and natural resource conservation. USDA has indicated it takes on average it takes $207,500 to fully support an RC&D Council. There are currently 375 existing Councils and 38 pending applications. The Committee provides $56 million to move the existing Councils toward full funding.” Sincerely,
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