Rural Development and Family Farmers

John McCain recognizes that agriculture is one of America's greatest strategic assets. The benefits of American leadership in agriculture extend well beyond our borders - America's contribution to safely meeting the food, fiber, feed and energy needs of a growing world population through efficient production and technology innovation are critical to our national security and world peace.

The continuing success of American agriculture and the health of America's rural heartland require leadership that understands that productivity and innovation are created by the effort, ingenuity and investment of individual Americans. Our nation's security depends on the health of American agriculture.

As President, John McCain will address the key issues facing agriculture and rural America:

• Establishing a comprehensive energy strategy
• Controlling taxation and regulation
• Judicial restraint and preserving property rights
• Providing a sustainable, market-driven risk management system for farmers
• Promoting agricultural markets and reducing trade barriers
• Improving incentives to invest in technology and rural infrastructure
• Encouraging common-sense conservation and food safety measures
• Securing America's borders and implementing a fair and practical immigration policy
• Recognizing the role of agriculture in national security
• Strengthen America's economic competitiveness by eliminating wasteful government spending
• Addressing the rapidly rising cost of U.S. health care and to bring costs under control.
• Creating of American Homeownership Resurgence Plan to keep families in their homes, avoid foreclosures, save failing neighborhoods, stabilize the housing market and attack the roots of our financial crisis
• Continued support for the Government of Iraq to become capable of governing itself and safeguarding its people
• Providing for service members and their families while they serve, we must help those who return from combat to adjust to civilian life, and we must honor and never forget the service of those who do not return
• Supporting American education as it must be worthy of the promise we make to our children and ourselves

For more information, please visit: http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/8d810b1d-a6db-47b0-b54b-334c2255aa4e.htm