Press Releases

Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to review the role of credit derivatives in the U.S. economy, and the role they may have played in the recent credit and financial crisis affecting markets around the world.

Today, the House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation to suspend for the 2008 crop year a Farm Bill provision that required producers to have a minimum of 10-base acres to receive program benefits. The House and Senate each passed by unanimous consent the Senate amendment to H.R. 6849, originally sponsored by Congressman Bob Etheridge of North Carolina, Chairman of the House Agricultur... Read more »

Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed legislation ensuring current year funding for Community Food Projects, a federal nutrition program. The House passed S. 3597, by voice vote, under suspension of the rules Saturday evening. S. 3597 makes technical fixes to the Farm Bill, ensuring Fiscal Year 2008 funding for Community Food Projects, a nutrition program that is designed to increase the ... Read more »

Today, Congressman Leonard Boswell, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry, held a hearing to review advances in animal health, particularly the use of antimicrobials in the livestock industry. The subcommittee heard testimony from Federal agency representatives responsible for animal and human health as well as representatives from animal health... Read more »

Today, the House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation to suspend for the 2008 and 2009 crop years a Farm Bill provision that required producers to have a minimum of 10-base acres to receive program benefits. The House today passed H.R. 6849 by voice vote in response to the US Department of Agriculture's plan to deny farm program benefits to hundreds of thousands of producers nationwide... Read more »

- In response to the US Department of Agriculture's plan to deny farm program benefits to hundreds of thousands of producers, the Agriculture Committee today approved a bill to suspend for the 2008 and 2009 crop years a Farm Bill provision that required producers to have a minimum of 10-base acres to receive program benefits. "The Department's notice is a substantial change from what was in place... Read more »

Today, the House of Representatives voted to approve a bipartisan bill to increase the transparency, oversight, and anti-manipulation authority over commodity futures and options markets. The House overwhelmingly passed H.R. 6604, the Commodity Markets Transparency and Accountability Act of 2008, a bill sponsored by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin C. Peterson of Minnesota, by a vote of... Read more »

Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to review a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) report on the participation of swap dealers and index funds in agricultural and energy commodity markets. Congressman Bob Etheridge of North Carolina, Chairman of the General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee, chaired today’s hearing. "The report released by the CFTC today ... Read more »

Today, the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture held a hearing to review issues related to the traceability of fresh produce, particularly in cases related to foodborne illnesses. Subcommittee Chairman Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) called the hearing in the wake the recent outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul illnesses first thought to be associated with tomatoes... Read more »

Today, the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research held a hearing to review the reliability of electricity in rural America. Congressman Tim Holden of Pennsylvania is Chairman of the Subcommittee. “Our energy demands are at a critical point, and we must explore every opportunity to develop a strong, reliable infrastructure including electric power generation, t... Read more »