By Chairman K. Michael Conaway When I became Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee in January of this year, I had one primary goal: to ensure that America’s farmers and ranchers have the policies in place that they need to feed, fuel, and clothe the nation while ensuring stability and consistency for farmers, ranchers, consumers, markets, and rural communities. After all, agriculture is the ... 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 »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: I want to welcome the Secretary today and thank him for being here. He and his staff have worked hard to fulfill many of the Committee’s oversight requests this first seven months. We appreciate your cooperation and your staff working with my staff. It is Congress’ responsibility implicit in the U.S. Constitution and explicit in the House Rules to conduct oversigh... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. Jackie Walorski (IN-2), Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Nutrition, held a hearing to discuss the development and utilization of evidence-based solutions to improve nutrition programs. This hearing is a continuation of the committee’s ongoing review, known as the Past, Present, and Future of SNAP. The subcommittee heard from experts who shared how results from quali... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Welcome to today’s hearing on developing and using evidence-based solutions in SNAP. We will explore what kind of research is needed to develop more evidence-based solutions, what can be done to improve the quality and quantity of data, and how research can be used to improve the program. This is the seventh in our Past, Present, and Future of SNAP series, and wil... Read more »
Today, the House Agriculture Nutrition Subcommittee held a joint hearing with the House Committee on Ways and Means Human Resources Subcommittee addressing how certain welfare programs and related benefits can discourage work as a result of the high effective marginal tax rates they impose on certain populations. Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Thank you to Chairman Ryan and his Committee for hosting the first joint hearing between our two committees as we explore how our welfare system can discourage work. It’s surprising that our Committees have not engaged formally before given the overlap in our recipient populations. According to the most recent SNAP characteristics report: • 20 percent of SNAP reci... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Thank you to Chairman Ryan and Subcommittee Chairman Boustany for hosting this historic joint hearing between our two committees as we better explore how our welfare system can discourage work. As the chair of the Nutrition Subcommittee, we have spent the past five months exploring the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps. Our revie... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee continued its full-scale review of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known as the Past, Present, and Future of SNAP, by examining the tools that are available to help SNAP recipients climb the economic ladder. Members of the committee heard from a panel of witnesses who have extensive on-the-ground experience working wit... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: I want to welcome our witnesses to today’s hearing and thank them for taking the time to share their perspectives as we explore the means to helping families climb the economic ladder. This hearing, like those before, builds upon the Committee’s top-to-bottom review of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Throughout this process, we have had an ... Read more »
