Conservation

Today, the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry held a hearing to highlight how voluntary conservation practices have improved the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Witnesses explained how the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is working with farmers and local conservation districts to successfully improve water quality, habitat, and key aquatic species in the Bay area. “The increased health of the Chesapeake Bay area is a prime example of how... Read more

Remarks as prepared: Good morning, and welcome to today’s hearing. Over the course of the 114th Congress, the Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee has held a series of hearings to highlight the success of voluntary conservation by our nation’s farmers, ranchers, and foresters. Today’s discussion, “Healing the Bay the Voluntary Way”, takes a more focused approach to this discussion. The Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the U.S., is an incredibly complex ecosystem that includes important h... Read more

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 each area’s purpose and goals, programs administered, and annual budget. Today’s panel of witnesses included USDA offic... Read more

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 with USDA last fall. By setting aside two days each year to focus on examining each of USDA’s seven mission areas and th... 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 laws that this committee works to enact. We welcome each of you here today. I know that preparing for ... Read more

Remarks as prepared for delivery: I am pleased that Secretary Vilsack could join us for this annual hearing to assess the economic conditions in farm country. Thank you for joining us, Mr. Secretary. In assessing the situation, I think it is fair to say that America’s farmers and ranchers are falling on some very hard times right now. Worse yet, I don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. To quantify what I am talking about, consider these figures: The 2-year drop in net farm income that occ... Read more

Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to consider the impacts of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) actions on the rural economy. Members questioned EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, on the agency’s overreaching, burdensome regulations and policies such as the “waters of the United States” rule, proposed changes to the ozone standard and pesticide uses, and many more. “America’s farmers, ranchers, and foresters are the original conservationists who take great pride in the... Read more

Remarks as prepared: Good morning. I thank Administrator McCarthy for being here today. There is a reason a top issue for nearly every Member of the Agriculture Committee is related to the regulatory agenda of the Environmental Protection Agency. Many members of this committee believe that over the years, EPA has pursued an agenda seemingly absent any recognition of the consequences for rural America and production agriculture. EPA is creating regulations and policies that are burdensome, overre... Read more

Today, the House passed a joint resolution to disapprove the Waters of the United States rule under a Congressional Review Act. This resolution would nullify the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to redefine “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act. “Today’s passage of this resolution is a critical step toward stopping what some believe to be the largest federal land grab in history. From the beginning, the process of deve... Read more

Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway delivered remarks on the House floor in favor of S.J. Res. 22, a resolution to disapprove the Waters of the United States rule. Remarks as prepared for delivery: "I rise today in strong support of S.J. Res. 22, a resolution to disapprove the Waters of the United States rule – a rule that amounts to a massive overreach by the Obama Administration’s EPA. "This rule and the process in which EPA developed it ignored stakeholders, ignored... Read more