Last week, Mertz was re-appointed by House leadership as the Ag Committee chair for the 2009 legislative session.  Mertz is starting her eleventh term as a state representative, a seat she retained by a razor-thin margin of 42 votes. For more than a dozen years, she has consistently voted for policies that benefit corporate factory farms and worked against the interests of hundreds of thousands of everyday Iowans. In addition, Mertz's son, Peter, owns a 4,000-head hog factory, which raises other questions about her votes.

“Mertz claims she supports family farms, but her votes and actions clearly show she has bent over backwards to please the factory farm industry,” said Kevin Shilling, a CCI member and livestock/poultry farmer. “McCarthy and Murphy knew exactly what they were doing when they re-appointed her as House Ag Chair. It's shameful that they care more about the factory farm industry than the quality of life of everyday Iowans.”

As the House Ag chair, Mertz controls what bills pass and don't pass out of her committee. Mertz has voted for dozens of bills that support the factory farm industry. She voted for House File 519 in 1995, a bill that opened the door for corporate factory farms to flood the state.  She also more recently voted for the so-called “odor study” that  would funnel $23 million of taxpayer dollars to factory farms. Mertz voted for the odor study when it was in her committee and both times it came to the floor of the House for a vote.

CCI members are also calling on McCarthy and Murphy to re-assign Representative Mark Kuhn to the Ag and Environmental Protection Committees. Kuhn served on both committees and introduced legislation that called for stricter regulations on factory farms. He was passed over for a spot on the committees in the 2009 session.

Iowans across the state have demonstrated strong opposition to hog factories for a number of reasons. Among these are the threat of manure spills, which lead to fish kills and water pollution. Factory farms also cause air pollution, threaten public health, and lower the property values of nearby homes.

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement is a 33-year old organization with thousands of members across the state from all walks of life who talk, act and get things done on critical issues affecting all Iowans.  CCI members recognize the power of uniting and standing up for what's right. For more information, visit iowacci.org.

**BFIA ACTION ALERT**