Today, the House Committee on Agriculture convened for the second time in as many days hearing testimony from a total of 37 southern agricultural producers. While there was general agreement among witnesses regarding the need for regulatory and tax relief, their views on improving federal farm policy were as varied as the crops they raise. Yesterday's hearing in Memphis, Tennessee and today's in A... Read more »
The U.S. House Committee on Agriculture will convene a hearing to probe today's U.S. Department of Agriculture decision to group the locations of more than two dozen of its state-level agency headquarters around the country. In more than half the instances, offices would be moved across town, while other moves would shift operations to greater distances across a state. The Agriculture Committee w... Read more »
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest (R-TX) and Ranking Minority Member Charlie Stenholm (D-TX) issued the following statement regarding Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China: China represents an agriculture market that is vital to the long-term success of American farmers and ranchers. Agriculture trade with China can strengthen development of private enterprise in that count... Read more »
At a hearing today, members of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition, and Forestry, led by Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) expressed continuing concern that the Forest Service (USFS) has requested a $380 million budget increase to fund poorly planned initiatives, yet has not achieved fiscal and performance accountability. In January of 1999, the General Ac... Read more »
As soil preparations begin for this year's crop, House Agriculture Committee Members broke ground for the first of ten nationwide field hearings, convening in the southern Great Plains region for producer assessments of the nation's current farm policy. Testimony from 19 producers of cotton, corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, peanuts, cattle and sheep praised the flexibility of the current farm policy ... Read more »
U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest (R-Texas) and Ranking Minority Member Charlie Stenholm (D-Texas) today announced the final schedule of farm policy field hearings in 10 cities in regions from March through May, encouraging producers to submit detailed proposals for agricultural policy. The regional hearings are convened exclusively for producers to describe specific policy i... Read more »
March, April and May farm policy field hearings of the House Agriculture Committee will provide producers several opportunities to participate. Although each hearing may last for up to four hours, full discussion of producers' plans and Committee Members' questions will limit the number of witnesses who can testify at the hearings. Producers may be invited to offer testimony as a witness, or if n... Read more »
Today, the House Agriculture Committee led by Chairman Larry Combest (R-TX) unanimously passed the Rural Local Broadcast Signal Act (H.R. 3615), a bill that would extend loan guarantees to companies willing to provide rural communities with access to local television via satellite. "Even more than urban areas, rural communities depend on local television," said Chairman Larry Combest (R-TX). "In ... Read more »
Today, the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Risk Management, Research, and Specialty Crops led by Chairman Tom Ewing (R-IL) reviewed the findings of the President's Working Group contained in a committee-requested report on over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives and the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA). "We are on an expedited time frame to pass CFTC reauthorization this year," Ewing said. "Now that ban... Read more »
U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest (R-Texas) and Ranking Minority Member Charlie Stenholm (D-Texas) today announced the schedule of farm policy field hearings in 10 cities in regions from March through May, encouraging producers to submit detailed proposals for agricultural policy. The regional hearings are convened exclusively for producers to describe specific policy issues... Read more »
