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 »
Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. David Rouzer (NC-7), Chairman of the House Agriculture Livestock and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee, held a hearing to examine the preparedness of the United States in the event of the introduction of foot and mouth disease (FMD) into the country. Members heard from a panel of witnesses who shared what steps have been taken and what still needs to be done to achiev... Read more »
Remarks as prepared: Good afternoon and welcome to today’s Livestock and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee hearing. Today we will be evaluating our preparation in the event of an introduction of a highly contagious animal disease: Foot and Mouth Disease - or FMD. Thank you to everyone for taking the time to be here and I want to thank, in particular, our witnesses for their participation and valuab... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - 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, a... 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 Amer... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to review the 2016 agenda for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Members raised many concerns with CFTC Chairman Timothy Massad, including the importance of strong futures and derivatives markets for end-users, reforms to Dodd-Frank, the Reg AT rule and its potential impact on smaller market participants, and th... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Good morning and welcome to the Agriculture Committee’s Hearing to Review the 2016 Agenda for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Today’s hearing is held against a bleak backdrop for many commodity producers, especially those in farm country. The past two years have seen a dramatic fall in commodity prices, across the board, creating significant operational ... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) sent a written reply to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack’s February 3 letter in which the Secretary denied the request of 100 members of Congress who sent a bicameral, bipartisan letter urging the Secretary to take urgent action to stave off a farm financial crisis in the cotton belt. The members of Congre... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-TX), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, announced the promotion of Mary Nowak to Professional Staff for nutrition and welfare issues. She will oversee the committee’s continued top-to-bottom review of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Last year, the committee held a total of 10 hearings dedicated to SNAP to hear fro... Read more »
