Congressman calls for Endangered Species Act protection for farmers

Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., on Tuesday offered a novel response to the glut of environmental regulations that have hit the agriculture industry: protect the American farmer under the Endangered Species Act.

In one of five amendments Buck is offering to the $30 billion House interior and environment appropriations bill, one would re-allocate $50,000 of bonus payments to senior EPA officials to the Department of Interior, "to conduct a study on whether Agricola Americus should be classified as an endangered species."

The amendment is a humorous attempt to draw attention to the burden that the EPA places on the farming industry.

"Environmentalists have put so many burdens on farmers without any thought to food production in this country, and I want to raise awareness about the plight of the farmers," Buck told the Washington Examiner.

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