Washington, D.C. – Today, the House Agriculture Committee hosted U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue as he briefed members on the current state of the rural economy and the agency’s recently released farm bill priorities. Following the hearing, Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11) made the below remarks: “We are writing this farm bill under dramatically different circumstances than we were four years ago, when prices were high and rural America was thriving. Today, a host of factors—includ...
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Washington, D.C. – Following an announcement from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt that the EPA, Department of Interior and Department of Commerce have entered into a Memorandum of Agreement to evaluate and improve the Endangered Species Act consultation process for pesticide registrations, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11) made the below remarks: “America’s farmers face an endless maze of red tape, approvals, permits and expensive re...
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Washington, D.C. – House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11) applauded today’s House passage of a supplemental appropriations bill to address the disaster losses suffered by millions of Americans across the country, including farm and ranch families. Following passage, Chairman Conaway made the below remarks: “The 2017 hurricane season was the most costly and damaging on record. The lasting impacts of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria may have disappeared from daily news c...
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Washington, D.C. –House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11) today praised House passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, H.R. 1 (115), which delivers historic tax relief to families, farmers, ranchers and small businesses. Following passage, Chairman Conaway issued the below remarks: “Today, Congress has delivered the fairer, simpler tax code that American families and small businesses deserve. This historic tax relief package both simplifies our broken system and sets the eco...
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Washington, D.C. – Ahead of the 2018 Farm Bill, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11) today announced the launch of a new online resource which can be accessed through the committee’s current website, https://agriculture.house.gov/farmbill. This landing page is designed to provide updates and information related to the 2018 Farm Bill. Following its launch, Chairman Conaway offered the below remarks: “I’m committed to completing a farm bill on time. We’ve spent the past ...
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Washington, D.C. – Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11) made the following remarks in response to the Trump administration’s decision to delay the effective date of the controversial and overreaching final rule on organic livestock and poultry practices that was pushed through in the final hours of the Obama administration: “The organic livestock rule goes far beyond the scope of the National Organic Program, threatening animal health and food safety, and jeopar...
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Washington, D.C. – Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11) and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (MN-7) welcomed leaders of eight agricultural stakeholder groups to discuss the status of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in advance of the upcoming negotiations in Mexico City. Following the roundtable, Conaway and Peterson offered the below remarks: “All parties today were on the same page – NAFTA is important to agriculture and agriculture must remain a ...
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Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 2936, the Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017, a bipartisan bill to expedite and improve forest management activities by cutting the red tape for the Forest Service. Following the vote, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11), Vice-Chairman Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (PA-5) and Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee Chairman Frank Lucas (OK-3) offered the below remarks: “Today, the House took an importa...
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Following today’s House Judiciary Committee approval of the AG Act, which would replace the flawed H-2A guestworker program to help provide American farmers with access to a legal, steady supply of workers, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11) made the below remarks: “It’s time for an ag worker program that both respects our nation’s immigration laws and keeps American agriculture competitive. As a former chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Mr. Goodlatte under...
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Washington, D.C.— Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11) and Livestock and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee Chairman David Rouzer (NC-07) issued the following comments in response to the Trump administration's decision to withdraw a controversial Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyard Administration (GIPSA) interim final rule and take no further action on a complementary proposed rule released in the final days of the Obama administration: “After nearly a decade ...
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