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 »
Now we will once again consider the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act. As many of you will remember, this Committee met two years ago to mark up this very same bill text. In fact, this is the fourth time this Committee has marked up this bill. The bill language was likewise included in the 2012 Farm Bill reported out of this committee, as well as in the 2013 Farm Bill the House sent to Conference. I... Read more »
Thank you for being here today as we consider H.R. 1029, The Pesticide Registration Enhancement Act of 2017, also known as PRIA. As we learned in our roundtable earlier this week, PRIA is a very technical bill, but the benefits are straightforward. It has produced predictable timelines for industry, new products for consumers, funds for completion of various registration activities, and funds for ... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Good morning. We ordinarily kick things off every year with the Secretary of Agriculture offering testimony as our one and only witness. However, our new Secretary has not yet been confirmed. I have visited with Governor Perdue a number of times now, I believe he is an excellent choice, and I hope that he can be confirmed in short order so that he may begin the im... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: I am thankful for the opportunity to serve another term as chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture during the 115th Congress. I, along with many of you on this Committee, represent rural America. We are their voice, and I consider that a privilege and great responsibility. Although we come from different areas of the country, we all understand the importanc... Read more »
Remarks as prepared: Good morning. Today we will discuss one of the Committee’s longest standing areas of jurisdiction—agricultural research universities. More specifically, we will hear from our “1890s” institutions—the land grant colleges and universities for African-American students established pursuant to the Second Morrill Act of 1890 (pronounced moral). Last July, we held a hearing to celeb... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Over the course of the 114th Congress, we have heard from 55 witnesses at 15 different hearings in our series on the Past, Present and Future of SNAP. We have heard from witnesses discussing their experiences as SNAP recipients, from state agencies implementing SNAP across the country, from charitable partners that work with SNAP recipients, from innovative organi... Read more »
Remarks as prepared: Good morning, and welcome to today’s hearing. Over the course of the 114th Congress, the Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee has held a series of hearings to highlight the success of voluntary conservation by our nation’s farmers, ranchers, and foresters. Today’s discussion, “Healing the Bay the Voluntary Way”, takes a more focused approach to this discussion. The Chesapeak... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: The United States has a long and complicated relationship with our neighbor to the south. While our close proximity to Cuba makes the island nation a natural trading partner, the stranglehold the Castro regime has had on Cuba has long prevented normalized relations between our two countries. That stranglehold resulted in the United States imposing an embargo on tr... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Thank you all for being here today as we consider three straightforward bills. H.R. 470, the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest Land Adjustment Act, transfers Forest Service lands in Northeast Georgia. The transfer will help boost the area’s economy through improving recreational activities on the land. H.R. 5883 amends the Packers and Stockyards Act which was e... Read more »
