Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Committee on Agriculture sent its Budget Views and Estimates Letter for Fiscal Year 2018 to the House Budget Committee. In the letter, Committee members urged Budget Committee Chairman Diane Black to consider the estimated $104 billion in savings from the current farm bill, more than four times what had previously been pledged, and the fact that these savings ar... Read more »
The underlying message in the letter is straightforward: America’s farmers and ranchers are in economic trouble right now. Net farm income is down 50 percent from where it stood just four years ago. The Agriculture Committee pledged to save $23 billion in the 2014 Farm Bill but we wound up saving four times that amount. There are holes in the farm safety net that need mending in the next Farm Bill... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) issued the following statement in response to President Trump ordering the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers to begin dismantling their controversial Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. “Over the past eight years, EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers have repeatedly ign... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. David Rouzer (NC-7), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture, held a hearing to examine the international market development programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service. Members heard from a variety of witnesses in the agricultural industry who discussed the ... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Good afternoon, and thank you all for gathering here this afternoon as the Committee continues its work to reauthorize the Farm Bill in advance of its expiration next fall. As was explained in this morning’s Conservation and Forestry subcommittee hearing, the plan is for each subcommittee to hold at least two hearings exploring the Farm Bill programs and issues un... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. Frank Lucas (OK-03), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry, held the first hearing in a series designed to set the stage for the next farm bill. The subcommittee heard from a panel of witnesses, including farmers and ranchers, who shared their perspectives on the effectiveness of the conservation policies in the Agric... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Good morning and welcome to today's hearing. For some of us, it's hard to believe that it's already farm bill time again. To some degree, it feels like we just finished hashing out the details of the last farm bill. But, it's true that we are already entering the 4th year of the Agricultural Act of 2014, and that means we must now set about the hard work of prepar... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today the Senate approved the nomination of Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway issued the following statement. "I am pleased with today's confirmation of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt," said Chairman Conaway. "For too long, farmers and ranchers have suffered from unnecessary, burdensome regulat... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to explore the implications of restricting what can be purchased with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Members of the committee heard from a panel of witnesses who discussed the challenges of implementing product restrictions, the need for encouraging healthy purchasing habits, and the role that ince... 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 views on a very timely and somewhat sensitive topic—the idea of restricting SNAP purchases. This hearing is a continuation of the conversation had in a Member roundtable last October. There are good arguments to be made on both sides of this issue, and this discuss... Read more »
