Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research held a hearing to discuss USDA’s use of the Census of Agriculture authority to acquire farmer’s personal financial information. The Census of Agriculture, which is conducted every five years, is an important tool used by economists; state, local, and federal policy-makers; financia... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management held a hearing to examine the current state of the U.S. cotton industry. Members heard from a variety of stakeholders—producers, warehousers, ginners, and agricultural lenders—on the current situation unfolding in the cotton belt. As Congress was crafting the 2014 Farm Bill, ref... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) arbitration panel announced its final ruling that the United States’ Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements for livestock and meat imports have cost our trading partners over $1 billion dollars. Canada and Mexico are now authorized to impose retaliatory tariffs in that amount against U.S. exports. House Agriculture Committee Ch... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a public hearing to highlight the Farm Credit System (FCS) and its century-long mission of providing credit to agriculture and rural America, as well as the role of the Farm Credit Administration (FCA) in ensuring the soundness of the FCS and its lending practices. The committee heard from representatives of FCA on how they are working... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) issued the following statement concerning the inclusion of a critical provision in the Highway Bill conference report that will save Federal Crop Insurance from devastating changes that had been slipped into the Bipartisan Budget Act signed into law last month. “I strongly commend House Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy for their... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee held its tenth hearing in its top-to-bottom review of SNAP, The Past, Present, and Future of SNAP, by reviewing the progress of the National Commission on Hunger in developing policy recommendations to more effectively address domestic hunger. Committee members heard from the two Commission-selected co-chairs who shared their year-long proc... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation held a joint hearing to explore the intersection of food aid shipping and military sealift capacity, particularly that provided by the Maritime Security Program (MSP). Offici... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee held its first in a new series of hearings to examine the relationship between agriculture and national security. In the opening hearing, members and witnesses examined the threats and vulnerabilities to agricultural security as well as the economic significance associated with such threats. Members of the Agriculture Committee recognize th... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, members of the House Agriculture Committee released a video to celebrate FFA members attending the 88th annual National FFA Convention in Louisville, KY, and recognize them for their dedication to the agriculture industry. Every year more than 60,000 FFA members and guests gather at the National FFA Convention to attend meetings, compete in contests, and demonstrate their... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway and Ranking Member Collin Peterson issued the following statements after announcing an agreement to avoid the cuts to crop insurance which are included in the Bipartisan Budget Agreement of 2015 scheduled for a vote later today. Chairman Conaway said, “I want to thank my colleagues who have made it very clear over the last ... Read more »
