, D.C. - Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture Bob Goodlatte today made the following statement regarding National Hunger Awareness Days and food aid to Africa: "A grassroots effort to focus attention on hunger in the United States designated Tuesday, June 7, 2005 as National Hunger Awareness Day. This laudable effort happened to coincide with British Prime Minister Tony Blair's visit wit... Read more »
Chairman Bob Goodlatte today chaired a hearing of the Full Committee on Agriculture to review the final National Forest Land Management Planning rule issued by the National Forest Service in December 2004. The 2004 rule attempts to streamline the forest land management planning process which has become a lengthy and expensive process. “Clearly, the new planning rule takes some important steps to r... Read more »
Chairman Bob Goodlatte today announced his support for the Central America—Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) at a press conference with Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns and U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman. On August 5, 2004 the six CAFTA-DR countries signed the agreement; however, the Congress must pass legislation authorizing the agreement before it can go into effect.... Read more »
Chairman Goodlatte praised the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision upholding the Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985 (also known as the Beef Checkoff Program) and rejecting a U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that it was unconstitutional. Goodlatte and other legislators filed a friends of the court brief with the Supreme Court in 2004 taking issue with the U.S. appeals court ruling that the Beef Chec... Read more »
Chairman Bob Goodlatte today issued the statement below following meetings this week with representatives of the farm industry to discuss the budget reconciliation process: “The release of the Budget Resolution Conference Report, and the requirement that agriculture reduce spending by $173 million for FY 2006 and $3 billion through FY 2010, has generated considerable speculation with regard to how... Read more »
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte today introduced voluntary country-of-origin labeling (V-COOL) legislation, H.R. 2068, for the domestic meat industry. Goodlatte introduced the legislation with 33 cosponsors and comes in response to mandatory provisions in the 2002 Farm Bill requiring retailers to inform consumers of the country-of-origin at the final point of sale for covered co... Read more »
Chairman Bob Goodlatte today issued the following statement regarding the Senate’s confirmation of Rob Portman’s appointment as U.S. Trade Representative (USTR): “On behalf of the House Committee on Agriculture, I would like to congratulate Rob Portman on his appointment as the U.S. Trade Representative. Rob and I were both members of the 1992 freshman class and I have enjoyed working with him in ... Read more »
Chairman Bob Goodlatte today issued the following statement regarding the Senate’s confirmation of Chuck Conner’s appointment as U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary of Agriculture: “On behalf of the House Committee on Agriculture, I would like to congratulate Chuck Conner on his new position as Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. Chuck has been a strong advocate for agriculture and... Read more »
Frank D. Lucas, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Rural Development and Research, and Jerry Moran, Chairman of the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management, today co-chaired a joint hearing to review the economic impact of Asian Soybean Rust (ASR) on the American farm sector. ASR, a fungal disease that affects the growth of soybeans, among other plants, was ... Read more »
Chairman Bob Goodlatte today chaired a hearing to review the implementation of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act. In 2000, Congress passed the Secure Rural Schools Act which created new cooperative partnerships between citizens in forest counties and federal land managers to develop forest health improvement projects on public lands, simultaneously stimulating job devel... Read more »
