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 »
Washington, D.C. - Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) issued the following statement upon the unveiling of the fiscal year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill. “This responsible funding bill is a win for rural America, and I commend Chairman Hal Rogers and House leadership for including many top priorities of farmers and ranchers. I encourage all of my colleagues, e... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) issued the following statement in response to the inclusion of language repealing mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016, also known as the omnibus. “Back in June, the House overwhelmingly passed language to repeal mandatory COOL for products challenged by ou... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) arbitration panel announced its final ruling that the United States’ Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements for livestock and meat imports have cost our trading partners over $1 billion dollars. Canada and Mexico are now authorized to impose retaliatory tariffs in that amount against U.S. exports. House Agriculture Committee Ch... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - The House Agriculture Committee completed its two-day hearing series to review 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 on topics relating to USDA’s seven mission areas, including an accounting for each area’s... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: This hearing will come to order. Since this Committee formally organized on January 21 of this year, the Committee has met 44 times. In keeping with my commitment to hold a top-to-bottom review of a full range of issues and policies within our jurisdiction, we have held 3 executive briefings on trade and conducted 33 hearings. And, stemming from what we have learn... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) and committee members began Part I of a two-day hearing series to review the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) organization and program administration. USDA officials from the Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services (FFAS), Natural Resources and Environment (NRE), and Research, Education and Economics (REE) serve... Read more »
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, Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-TX), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, issued the following statement regarding legislation introduced by Senator Hoeven (R-ND) and Senator Stabenow (D-MI) that ties repeal of country of origin labeling (COOL) to both the elimination of existing market driven programs and the establishment of a so-called voluntary country of origin (C... Read more »
