Remarks as prepared for delivery: Good afternoon, and thank you all for gathering here again this afternoon as the Committee continues its work to reauthorize the farm bill prior to its expiration next fall. Last month this subcommittee held a hearing on the importance of USDA’s trade promotion and market development programs and the benefits they bring to the agricultural sector as a whole. Today... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Good morning, and welcome to today’s Nutrition Subcommittee hearing on food distribution programs. This hearing continues the Committee’s series where each subcommittee is undertaking a comprehensive review of the current farm bill as we move to draft the next. Thank you to everyone for taking the time to be here, particularly our witnesses for their participation... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Good afternoon. I want to welcome everyone to today’s Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee hearing. Today, we will continue our Farm Bill subcommittee hearings by discussing another important issue – our nation’s forests. Our nation’s forests are a great natural resource, and today we will examine Farm Bill provisions that work to ensure our national and private... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Good morning and welcome to today’s Biotechnology, Horticulture and Research subcommittee hearing. This hearing continues our series where each of the six subcommittees is looking at all aspects of the next farm bill. The focus of today’s hearing is on agricultural research. As we kick off the discussion, try to imagine where the United States as a whole—and Ameri... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Good afternoon and welcome to today’s Biotechnology, Horticulture and Research subcommittee hearing. Today’s hearing continues our series where each of the six subcommittees look at all aspects of the next farm bill. As we begin this work, the Committee will consider the needs of stakeholders who depend on farm bill programs. Today, we are focusing on issues impor... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Good morning everyone. Welcome to the Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit subcommittee’s first hearing of the new Congress. Today’s hearing is part of an ongoing series where each subcommittee is holding at least two hearings to discuss the Farm Bill programs and issues under its respective jurisdiction. Before I begin, I’d like to thank Ranking Member Scott f... Read more »
The underlying message in the letter is straightforward: America’s farmers and ranchers are in economic trouble right now. Net farm income is down 50 percent from where it stood just four years ago. The Agriculture Committee pledged to save $23 billion in the 2014 Farm Bill but we wound up saving four times that amount. There are holes in the farm safety net that need mending in the next Farm Bill... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Good afternoon, and thank you all for gathering here this afternoon as the Committee continues its work to reauthorize the Farm Bill in advance of its expiration next fall. As was explained in this morning’s Conservation and Forestry subcommittee hearing, the plan is for each subcommittee to hold at least two hearings exploring the Farm Bill programs and issues un... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Good morning and welcome to today's hearing. For some of us, it's hard to believe that it's already farm bill time again. To some degree, it feels like we just finished hashing out the details of the last farm bill. But, it's true that we are already entering the 4th year of the Agricultural Act of 2014, and that means we must now set about the hard work of prepar... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: I want to welcome our witnesses to today’s hearing and thank them for taking the time to share their views on a very timely and somewhat sensitive topic—the idea of restricting SNAP purchases. This hearing is a continuation of the conversation had in a Member roundtable last October. There are good arguments to be made on both sides of this issue, and this discuss... Read more »
