Press Releases

Chairman Bob Goodlatte issued the following statement after House passage today of the Dominican Republic – Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). “I am very pleased that the U.S. House of Representatives joined with our colleagues in the Senate to pass CAFTA, a trade agreement that will level the trade playing field with our Central American neighbors and provide U.S. producers with great... Read more »

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte issued the following statement regarding today’s approval by the House of the Conference Report for the Energy Policy Act of 2005: “I am pleased that the House voted today to pass the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This bill outlines a comprehensive energy strategy to help the U.S. reduce its dependency on foreign oil by utilizing domestic, renewable ... Read more »

The House Committee on Agriculture today marked-up two reauthorization bills: the Mandatory Price Reporting Act and the Grains Standards Act set to expire later this year. Both reauthorizations were completed without amendment and had strong bi-partisan and industry support. H.R. 3408 reauthorizes the Livestock Mandatory Reporting (MPR) Act of 1999 and amends the swine reporting provision of that ... Read more »

Today Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture joined Representatives Henry Bonilla (R-TX) and Stephanie Herseth (D-SD) in introducing the Strengthening the Ownership of Private Property (STOPP) Act. This bipartisan legislation was introduced in response to the narrow 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Kelo v. City of New London, giving local governments broad eminent domain power to seize pri... Read more »

House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Bob Goodlatte chaired a hearing today to review agriculture’s role in a renewable fuels standard (RFS). The Chairman’s hearing was particularly timely as House and Senate conferees met to iron out differences in the energy bills passed in those chambers earlier this year. The House energy bill includes a five billion gallon RFS while the Senate has an eight ... Read more »

Congressman Gil Gutknecht, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Dairy, Nutrition, and Forestry, and Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth today introduced the Renewable Fuels Act of 2005, H.R. 3081, in the House. Chairman Bob Goodlatte, Ranking Minority Member Collin Peterson, Congressman Tom Osborne, and Congressman Jerry Moran joined in introducing the bipartisan legislati... Read more »

Chairman Bob Goodlatte issued the following statement today regarding the announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) of a second confirmed case of mad cow disease in the United States. "Last Friday's announcement of a second confirmed case of mad cow disease in two years demonstrates that the safeguards and firewalls that were put in place years ago are operating well. The animal in... Read more »

House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Bob Goodlatte will lead a Congressional delegation to Alberta, Canada this weekend to meet with government officials on issues related to the U.S. and Canadian beef and meat industries and softwood lumber. The delegation plans to meet with government officials, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA), and forest industry representatives. Additionally, del... Read more »

House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Bob Goodlatte today chaired a hearing to review and recognize the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Service in its centennial year. Witnesses testified about developments and improvements made within the Forest Service over the years, as well as the challenges and obstacles still facing it. Illustrating the increased scope of the Forest Service ... Read more »

House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Bob Goodlatte today issued the following statement regarding the agreement between the U.S. and the Russian Federation confirming a previous understanding allowing for specified access for U.S. poultry, beef and pork into the Russian market: “I would like to commend U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman and Chief Agricultural Negotiator Allen Johnson on thei... Read more »