Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter's Letter to Governor Paterson

Late this morning, I received a press release about a letter that Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY-28) sent to New York Governor David Paterson about his proposed elimination of funding for the New York Wine & Grape Foundation (NYWGF).

With all that has been said here this week on the issue of the NYWGF, budgets, etc. I thought you'd enjoy reading it. As you can see, this letter says many of the same things that recent media coverage does, except I guess we expect the kind of hyperbole that I've bolded from politicians. We should expect more from journalists I think.

Dear Governor Paterson:

I urge you to maintain level funding for the New York Wine & Grape Foundation (NYWGF) in the Fiscal Year 2009-2010 budget proposal.

I am greatly troubled by the decision to eliminate funding for the NYWGF in the Fiscal Year 2009-2010 budget proposal. Through my efforts in the State Legislature, New York created NYWGF in 1985 as a public-private partnership to enhance this vital industry through research and coordinated promotion and marketing efforts. The NYWGF's mission is to advance the New York wine grape and wine industry as a world leader in quality, productivity, and social responsibility.

The NYWGF's partnership with the state has taken this industry from economic crisis to being among the fastest growing areas in the agriculture and tourism sectors. As mentioned in Fred LeBrun's column "Squeeze Threatens State Wine Industry" in the January 7, 2009 publication of the Albany Times Union, almost 200 wineries have formed and prospered across the state since the Foundation's creation. Moreover, the $3 million allocated in the FY2008-2009 budget for the Foundation returns $3.4 billion to our state economy, and the state's support for the wine and grape industry returns over $1,000 for every dollar invested. In my district, wineries have flourished across Erie, Orleans, Monroe and Niagara counties with the Foundation's support. It is clear that this small investment in our wine and grape industry helps stimulate this essential sector of our agricultural economy in an economically depressed area.

The proposal to eliminate funding for the NYWGF will result in the dissolution of the organization and its support of the New York grape and wine industry, and will cause irreparable damage to one of our strongest agricultural and tourism sectors. Given the dire outlook on the state's economy, I understand the difficult choices you must make for our budget. However, this proposal would be the first time since its creation that the foundation received no state support and would only serve to damage one of our state's true success stories.

I strongly urge you to continue the actions of past governors and fund the NYWGF. Failure to do so will result in extreme hardship for this vital sector of our state's agriculture and tourism industries.

Sincerely,

Louise M. Slaughter Member of Congress

Comments

[WestSide]

No way you can prove it, but this looks like collusion/lobbying to me.

Her constituents should be outraged too. Of all the budget cuts to fight, this is what she's choosing?

[Evan Dawson]

WestSide,

We'll try to learn more about her position. I don't want to speak to her motivation or make assumptions; she's clearly making a case for the value of funding NYWGF, and I don't take it to mean anything else without more information.

Keep in mind, though, that it's in the realm of possibility that a congressional earmark (pork, in other words) would fill the funding gap if the state cuts funding.

[Bryan]

This Congresswoman represents the people in her district and I happen to be one of them.

The majority of wineries in the district are small farmers trying to make a transition and keep their farms profitable. The state receives a tax on every wine bottle produced. Wine trail tourists use state roads, pay tolls, purchase goods and pay sales tax, visit state parks, ect, ect... It's hard to believe Albany doesn't see the benefit of all this.

Up here the Niagara Wine Trail is only of very few (I actually can't think of any others) booming businesses in the county. The state should still be embracing the way this business is revitalizing rural areas here and up and down the state.

I think it'd be great to read similar letters from reps in each of the other state's grape growing regions.