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 »
Today, the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry, led by Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) reviewed a proposal that would extend loan guarantees to companies willing to provide rural communities with access to local television via satellite. "Rural consumers will benefit from local news, sports, politics, and other information that is vital to comm... Read more »
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest (R-TX) today issued the following statement regarding the agriculture provisions contained in President Clinton's Fiscal Year 2001 Budget. "We asked Secretary Glickman to give us specifics on how the Administration intends to help farmers. To the president's credit there is something in his budget. Unfortunately, when you strip away the administr... Read more »
Today the House of Representatives passed S. 1733, the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Interoperability and Portability Act. This bill requires states to conform their EBT standards to a national, uniform operating system that the states themselves choose. "The pace of technology in America is astounding, and the government needs to keep up with it," said House Agriculture Committee Chairman Lar... Read more »
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest (R-TX) today issued the following statement regarding the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations which took place in Seattle last week: "The World Trade Organization Ministerial in Seattle offered a great opportunity to agree to future negotiations that would level the agricultural playing field, including the elimination of foreign subsidies... Read more »
