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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Washington, D.C.—Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing examining the agenda for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) under the leadership of newly confirmed Chairman Christopher Giancarlo. Following the hearing, Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11) issued the below remarks: “In his short time as chairman, Chris has already shown a dedication to modernizing and improving the management of the CFTC. My colleagues and I have long advocated for a revie...
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Cobleskill, New York – Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11), Ranking Member Collin Peterson (MN-7) and members of the committee hosted a farm bill listening session, “Conversations in the Field,” at SUNY Cobleskill in Cobleskill, New York. Following the listening session, Conaway and Peterson made the below remarks: “I appreciated hearing from the good people of New York as we dive head first into writing the farm bill. From dairy to specialty crops to our nutri...
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Ottawa, Canada – Today, members of a congressional delegation to Ottawa, Canada focused on agricultural trade offered their comments following meetings with Canadian officials ahead of the next round of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations: “Our goal over the past two days was to ensure our Canadian counterparts understand that U.S. production agriculture has a keen interest in getting NAFTA done and done right. We have had productive conversations over the weekend with Canad...
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Washington, D.C. – House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11) made the following comments on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations today ahead of his trip to Ottawa, Canada this weekend: “Sec. Perdue hit the nail on the head when he said we need to stop circling the ring in NAFTA negotiations and begin laying out concrete agriculture proposals. I know our delegation is eager to get up to Ottawa and communicate a sense of urgency to negotiators. We’re s...
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Washington, D.C. – Today, the House Agriculture Committee approved five bipartisan, commonsense measures designed to cut red tape and improve efficiency of forest and land management and diversify input on commodity standards. Following today’s markup, Chairman K. Michael Conaway made the below remarks: “Maintaining our federal forests can be hard enough without the bureaucratic red tape of Washington getting in the way. Two of the measures approved by the committee today take important steps to...
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Washington, D.C. – Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11) and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (MN-7) announced a committee listening session, “The Next Farm Bill, Conversations in the Field” in Cobleskill, New York on Monday, Oct. 9, 2017. The listening session is a continuation of the committee’s efforts to gather input from farmers, ranchers and stakeholders ahead of the upcoming farm bill. Upon announcement, the chairman and ranking member made the following rem...
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Midland, Texas – The House Agriculture Committee issued the following update regarding the traffic accident in El Campo, Texas: “We feel incredibly blessed to report that following today’s car accident involving two members of the House Agriculture Committee staff and one USDA staff member, all those involved in the accident have been discharged from El Campo Memorial Hospital. Our team offers its thanks to the first responders, doctors, nurses and staff for their excellent care. Chairman Conawa...
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