Washington, D.C. - Today, Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) and committee members began Part I of a two-day hearing series to review the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) organization and program administration. USDA officials from the Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services (FFAS), Natural Resources and Environment (NRE), and Research, Education and Economics (REE) serve... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-TX), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, issued a statement in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS) annual report on food security in the United States. “I’m disappointed by the findings in today’s report which revealed essentially no progress has been made in decreasing food insecurity for Am... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway and members of the Agriculture Committee met with United States Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman in an Executive Briefing to discuss the status of negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and other trade-related issues and their impact on the agricultural sector. Members of the committee focused ... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-TX), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, issued the following statement after North Dakota District Court Judge Ralph Erickson issued a preliminary injunction to halt the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule from being implemented in 13 states. It would affect Alaska, Arizon... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. David Rouzer (NC-7), Chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture, held a public hearing to examine the federal and state response to avian influenza. Identified as one of the worst animal disease outbreaks the U.S. has ever experienced, the disease infected more than 220 farms in 21 states. As a result, nearly 48 million chicke... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) said in his opening statement he opposes any increase in funding for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) until it is reauthorized. The following statement was delivered at the House Agriculture Committee’s hearing Dodd-Frank Turns Five: Assessing the Progress of Global Derivatives Reforms. To view the full opening statement, ... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to assess the progress of global derivatives reforms since the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed into law five years ago. Dodd-Frank imposed sweeping new regulations over the financial industry, including the regulation of swaps under Title VII, which had previously not been regulated in the... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-TX), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, issued the following statement regarding legislation introduced by Senator Hoeven (R-ND) and Senator Stabenow (D-MI) that ties repeal of country of origin labeling (COOL) to both the elimination of existing market driven programs and the establishment of a so-called voluntary country of origin (C... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-TX), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, issued the following statement after the House passed H.R. 1599, the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act by a vote of 275-150. The bill, authored by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) and Rep. G. K. Butterfield (D-NC) was approved by the House Agriculture Committee on July 14, 2015, by voice vote. “Advances... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a public hearing to conduct general oversight of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack testified, taking questions from committee members on various programs and projects the department manages and executes. Members referenced reports by USDA Inspector General Phyllis Fong (OIG) and the U.S. Government Accounta... Read more »
