U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest (R-Texas) is holding Washington bureaucrats at USDA accountable for failing to deliver farm disaster aid to producers authorized by Congress nearly four-and-a-half months ago. Chairman Combest said the latest USDA-announced delay in distributing disaster relief payments push livestock relief payments until April and crop disaster checks to fa... Read more »
COMBEST CRITICIZES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR DISASTER RELIEF DELAYS Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest (R-TX) issued the following statement regarding delays in the farm disaster relief program: "It's been over four months since we gave the Secretary of Agriculture near-complete authority to administer the six billion dollar farm disaster program. To date the vast majori... Read more »
AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE'S NEBRASKA FIELD HEARING FOCUSES ATTENTION TO NATION'S AGRICULTURAL ECONOMIC STATE Bill Barrett (R-NE), chairman of the General Farm Commodities Resource Conservation and Credit Subcommittee, and Members of the Committee bring together producers and agricultural economists in the year's first review of the nation's agricultural economy. The Committee field hearing begins Mond... Read more »
GOODLATTE QUESTIONS FOREST SERVICE ROADLESS POLICY Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Department Operation, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry questioned the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) final interim rule placing a moratorium on road construction and reconstruction within the National Forest System. The rule, developed by the agency's Washington, D... Read more »
BIPARTISAN GROUP OF FARM STATE LEGISLATORS EXPRESS CONCERN OVER PROPOSED ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATION REGULATIONS A group of 36 Republican and Democratic Members of the House of Representatives today sent letters to Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Carol Browner expressing their strong belief that the proposed policies in the USDA/EPA Unifie... Read more »
AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE REVIEWS EFFECTS OF AGRIBUSINESS CONSOLIDATION Today, the House Agriculture Committee held its second hearing to review the state of the farm economy and focused on the impact of the ongoing structural consolidation of the agricultural community. "Even a casual observer can't help but be bewildered by the dizzying pace of mergers, acquisitions and restructuring going on in our... Read more »
The U.S. House Agriculture Committee slates a series of agricultural forums, February 16 and February 18, building consensus for action on crop insurance reform. Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest (R-TX) maintains that the committee will forge ahead with program improvements in crop insurance, despite the Clinton Administration's failure to include any funding for reforms in the coming y... Read more »
COMMITTEE PASSES BILLS TO PROVIDE CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT FOR AGRICULTURAL SANCTIONS AND EXPAND PEAR EXPORTS In its first legislative business meeting of the 106th Congress, the House Committee on Agriculture unanimously passed the Selective Agricultural Embargoes Act (H.R. 17) and H.R. 609, loosening regulations over pear export. "Both bills passed today are aimed at keeping foreign markets open ... Read more »
COMMITTEE OPENS PUBLIC DISCUSSION ON LOW PRICES FACING THE LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee Larry Combest (R-TX) today brought industry groups, the Chief Economist from the Department of Agriculture, and members of the Committee together to review the causes of low prices facing the livestock industry and to begin working toward possible solutions for both the short a... Read more »
At a news conference today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest (R-TX), expressed his disappointment and strong concern that the president included no funding for crop insurance reform in his budget, despite the promises he made in his State of the Union address. "Back to the time of the consideration of the current farm program, I have been saying that I thought the biggest gap was... Read more »
