Today, the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition, and Forestry held a hearing to review the short- and long-term costs of hunger in the United States. Congressman Joe Baca of California is Chairman of the Subcommittee. “Hunger in America is all too real a problem that affects not only the health of the more than 35 million Americans classified as food insecu... Read more »
Today, the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Specialty Crops, Rural Development and Foreign Agriculture held a hearing to review the delivery of U.S. food aid overseas and efforts to provide agriculture development assistance in developing countries. The United States contributes more food aid than any other country, providing more than $1.78 billion in fiscal year 2007, which is about... Read more »
Today, the House Agriculture Committee continued a series of hearings to review legislative proposals to amend the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA). The Committee finished its third straight day of hearing testimony from Members of Congress and stakeholder groups about pending legislation and the major issues surrounding commodity futures markets. “The last three days have demonstrated that any change... Read more »
Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to review legislative proposals to amend the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA). The hearing was the first of three scheduled hearings this week to review CEA legislation and featured testimony from members of Congress who have sponsored bills affecting commodity futures trading. “As the price of oil continues to set records, several bills have been ... Read more »
Today, the House of Representatives passed a bill requiring the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to utilize all its authority, including emergency powers, to take steps to curb excessive speculation in the energy futures markets. H.R. 6377, the Energy Markets Emergency Act passed the House overwhelmingly by a bipartisan vote of 402-19. “A growing number of people believe a flood of spec... Read more »
Today, the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture held a hearing to review the status of pollinator health including colony collapse disorder. Congressman Dennis Cardoza of California is Chairman of the Subcommittee. “The importance of bees and other pollinators cannot be underestimated. Nearly 130 different crops - totaling over $15 billion in annual farm gate valu... Read more »
Yesterday, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to review trading in energy markets. The Committee has jurisdiction over the federal agency responsible for preventing fraud and manipulation in oil and gas futures markets. “A growing number of people believe a flood of speculative money into energy futures is driving oil and gas prices higher and creating instability,” said Committee Chai... Read more »
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Ranking Member Bob Goodlatte of Virginia issued the following statement today: “Following veto override votes of 316-108 in the House and 82-13 in the Senate, the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 has been enacted into law, with the exception of the bill’s trade title. “The trade title was included in the conference repo... Read more »
This afternoon, Congress sent H.R. 2419, the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 to President Bush. The bill passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 318-106 and passed the Senate with a vote of 81-15 last week. “I hope that President Bush will seriously consider the many positive steps this bill takes to improve nutrition programs that are important to so many Americans, particula... Read more »
Today, the House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management held a hearing to review the source of volatile price movements in agricultural and energy commodity markets. Congressman Bob Etheridge of North Carolina is the Chairman of the Subcommittee. “Recent dramatic swings in the price of energy and agricultural commodities futures have led to higher prices at the pu... Read more »
