Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to review the various options available to states when implementing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Members heard from a panel of witnesses who shared the current options available to states when implementing the program and how those options allow states to respond to the needs of their respective popul... Read more »
Remarks as prepared: I want to welcome our witnesses to today’s hearing and thank them for being here as we continue our review of the Past, Present, and Future of SNAP. This is our twelfth hearing within this series, and we have learned a tremendous amount about the complexities of SNAP and even more about the diverse individuals and communities that it serves. As we continue our review, we will ... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (PA-5), Chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry, held a hearing to highlight the unique and innovative conservation practices that farmers and ranchers are voluntarily utilizing to conserve and protect natural resources. Members heard from two panels of witnesses including Chief of the Natural Resources Conserva... Read more »
Good afternoon. I would like to welcome everyone to this hearing of the Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee on the topic of utilizing innovation and technology in voluntary conservation. This hearing provides an opportunity to highlight new practices, innovative approaches to using tried and true methods, and advancing technology as it applies to voluntary conservation efforts. We know that vol... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway issued the following statement after the Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee (EEMAC), an advisory committee of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), released a report recommending the regulator abandon its plans to limit the number of futures contracts a trader can hold on certain commoditi... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. Austin Scott (GA-8), Chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit, held a hearing to review the G20 swap data reporting goals. Members heard from a panel of witnesses who shared the progress being made toward meeting the reporting and transparency goals set forth by the Group of Twenty (G20) enacted in the Dodd-Frank Wall ... Read more »
Remarks as prepared: Good Morning. I want to start today by thanking you for joining the Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit Subcommittee for our first meeting of 2016. As many of you may remember, the full House Committee on Agriculture held a hearing last July on the implementation of Dodd Frank over the five years since it was passed. That hearing highlighted some of the remaining challenge... Read more »
AgWeb By Chairman K. Michael Conaway Cotton farmers in America are facing a crisis. Extreme drought, predatory trade practices by countries like China and India, and the lack of a viable safety net are threatening the livelihoods of thousands of American farm families. While the general farm economy is experiencing the largest three-year percentage decline in net farm income since the Great Depres... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to review the state of the rural economy. According to the latest forecast from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), net farm income in the United States is expected to fall by 56 percent from 2013 to 2016, the largest three-year percentage decline in net farm income since the Great... 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 q... Read more »
