Remarks as prepared: Today the subcommittee will begin a public dialogue with USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) regarding concerns raised by producers pertaining to a perceived abuse of discretion in conducting the Census of Agriculture. The Census of Agriculture is conducted every 5 years by NASS, the most recent census being taken in 2012. Data collected from the Census of A... Read more »
Remarks as prepared: As most of you are aware, we have a very serious situation unfolding in the cotton belt right now. The purpose of this hearing is to hear from the folks who are directly affected on the front lines. I think it is important that we hear from the folks on this panel as they articulate how difficult the circumstances are right now and what may lie in store if mitigating action is... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Good morning, and welcome to today’s hearing. Providing credit to America’s farmers and ranchers is a necessary and serious challenge for many lenders in the United States. After a recent period of historic highs, crop prices have declined due to record plantings and strong production, input costs have risen, and some of our biggest foreign competitors are sharply... 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 experience as members of the National Commission on Hunger. This hearing, like those before, builds upon the Committee’s top-to-bottom review of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Throughout this process, we have had an eye towards strengthenin... Read more »
Remarks as prepared: I want to thank each of you for joining us this morning as we continue our review of international food aid programs. To date, we have heard from USDA and USAID officials charged with implementing these vital programs; we have heard from those tasked with program oversight and accountability about what is working and what could be improved; we have heard from those producing a... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Good morning, and welcome to today’s hearing. Many of you may be wondering why the Committee on Agriculture would be holding a hearing on national security. A former Chairman of this committee, the Honorable Kika de la Garza, would often tell a story when he asked: “How long can a nuclear submarine stay under water?” The simple answer, until it runs out of food. W... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Information technology is profoundly impacting every aspect of our lives. In so many ways, this is a good thing. But, as anyone who’s had their identity stolen can tell you, it is not without its downsides. The same, of course, is true in the case of production agriculture. As we have learned in previous hearings, foreign countries do a lot to give their producers... Read more »
Remarks as prepared: Good morning and welcome to our meeting of the Nutrition Subcommittee. Thank you all for making time in your schedules to be here and thank you to today’s witnesses for your participation. This is the latest hearing in our series, the Past, Present, and Future of SNAP. Today, we are examining how to break the cycle of poverty. This hearing was inspired by a visit I made last y... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: The purpose of today’s hearing is to examine high and rising foreign subsidies, tariffs, and other barriers to trade and their impacts on America’s farmers and ranchers and the future of free trade. As you will recall, on June 3rd, this Committee held a hearing where witnesses catalogued the actions major foreign competitors around the world are taking to support ... Read more »
Remarks as prepared: Good morning, and welcome to today’s hearing of the Conservation and Forestry subcommittee to review the 2015 fire season and long term trends. This year, Western States, including Alaska, have experienced yet another catastrophic fire season with over 9 million acres burned to date. This continues an alarming trend where the average number of acres burned each year has nearly... Read more »
