Washington, D.C. – Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11) welcomed newly-confirmed U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Sec. Sonny Perdue to Capitol Hill to testify on the “State of the Rural Economy.” Following the hearing, Chairman Conaway made the below statement: “Against the backdrop of a four-year, 50-percent decline in net farm income, Sec. Perdue’s comments... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Good morning, and welcome to today’s hearing. This week we celebrated America’s 240th birthday. As we reflect on the freedoms we enjoy at home, it’s important that we understand the role our military leaders—along with our farmers and ranchers—play in ensuring that we are safe and well fed. Two of the pillars of our country’s national security have long been a str... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to examine the on-the-ground experiences of former military leaders and the connection between agricultural policy and national security. This is the fifth hearing in the committee’s hearing series focused on national security. Members heard from a panel of former military leaders who described how the United States' investme... Read more »
Remarks as prepared: Good morning. Last November, the Agriculture Committee began examining the links between agriculture and our national security. The first hearing highlighted global security challenges and underscored the connection between food security and political stability. As former President George W. Bush said, “A nation that can feed its people is a nation more secure.” We followed th... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to examine the opportunities and challenges for veteran farmers and the contributions they make to our national food security. This is the fourth hearing in the committee’s hearing series focused on national security. Members heard from a panel of veterans-turned-farmers who shared their personal experiences encountering glob... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee completed its two-day examination of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) organization and program administration. Over the past two days, members of the committee heard from 25 undersecretaries, administrators, and other department officials across USDA’s seven mission areas, on a variety of topics, which included an accounting for ... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the Committee on Agriculture began Part I of a two-day hearing series examining U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) organization and program administration. USDA officials from the Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services (FNCS), Food Safety (FS), and Rural Development (RD) mission areas served as witnesses. This hearing series follows a similar series the committee held w... Read more »
Remarks as prepared: Today and tomorrow, we have before us most of the undersecretaries of the Department of Agriculture. Each of these witnesses is responsible for an important mission area within USDA. Accompanying our witnesses are administrators who manage agencies and programs within these larger mission areas. These folks lead the network of nearly 100,000 USDA employees who carry out the la... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research, and Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture held a joint hearing to highlight the importance of agricultural policies to protecting our national security. Members heard from representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Servic... Read more »
Remarks as prepared: Thank you Chairman Davis. As my colleague has mentioned, this hearing is the third in a series of hearings highlighting the crucial intersection of agriculture and our national security. In our first hearing last November, the full agriculture committee heard from Ambassador John Negroponte and Dr. Tammy Beckam, Dean of the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicin... Read more »
