Washington, D.C. - Today the House Committee on Agriculture sent its Budget Views and Estimates letter for fiscal year 2017 to the House Budget Committee. In the letter, Committee members requested that the Budget Committee "give careful consideration to the significant contributions toward deficit reduction already made by the Committee on Agriculture, the substantial reforms these savings entail... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Good morning everyone. As you all know, we have a Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research subcommittee hearing on “Opportunities and Challenges in Direct Marketing” coming up in a few minutes, so I will keep my comments brief. The Committee’s budget views and estimates letter that we have before us this morning respectfully requests that the Budget Committee giv... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) issued the following statement upon the unveiling of the fiscal year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill. “This responsible funding bill is a win for rural America, and I commend Chairman Hal Rogers and House leadership for including many top priorities of farmers and ranchers. I encourage all of my colleagues, e... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Suffering under combined pressures of natural disasters and predatory foreign competition by China, India, and others, financially struggling American cotton farmers received strong backing from Capitol Hill today as 100 Members of the House of Representatives urged U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to use legal authority provided under the 2014 Farm Bill to provide cruc... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway and Ranking Member Collin Peterson issued the following statements after announcing an agreement to avoid the cuts to crop insurance which are included in the Bipartisan Budget Agreement of 2015 scheduled for a vote later today. Chairman Conaway said, “I want to thank my colleagues who have made it very clear over the last ... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, Agriculture Committee Chairmen Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Rep. K. Michael Conaway, R-Texas, and Ranking Members Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., made the following statements on the budget deal. The Members of Congress stand united against reopening the 2014 Farm Bill to further cuts, emphasizing that the proposed cuts to crop insurance... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - The House Agriculture Committee completed its two-day hearing series to review the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) organization and program administration. Over the past two days, members of the committee heard from 25 undersecretaries, administrators, and other department officials on topics relating to USDA’s seven mission areas, including an accounting for each area’s... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: This hearing will come to order. Since this Committee formally organized on January 21 of this year, the Committee has met 44 times. In keeping with my commitment to hold a top-to-bottom review of a full range of issues and policies within our jurisdiction, we have held 3 executive briefings on trade and conducted 33 hearings. And, stemming from what we have learn... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) and committee members began Part I of a two-day hearing series to review the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) organization and program administration. USDA officials from the Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services (FFAS), Natural Resources and Environment (NRE), and Research, Education and Economics (REE) serve... Read more »
By Chairman K. Michael Conaway When I became Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee in January of this year, I had one primary goal: to ensure that America’s farmers and ranchers have the policies in place that they need to feed, fuel, and clothe the nation while ensuring stability and consistency for farmers, ranchers, consumers, markets, and rural communities. After all, agriculture is the ... Read more »
