Remarks as prepared for delivery: I talk frequently about the importance of derivatives markets for managing risk. Today, the Committee will take up H.R. 2620 to allow cotton merchants, ginners, and shippers the opportunity to try and craft a new futures contract that better matches the risks they face in a global market place. H.R. 2620 would provide flexibility to U.S. futures exchanges on how f... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Yesterday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee announced a hearing for June 18, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. in Rayburn 2123 entitled “A National Framework for the Review and Labeling of Biotechnology in Food.” Committee members will discuss a substitute amendment crafted jointly by the House Agriculture Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee. Agriculture Committee Chairman ... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway delivered remarks on the House floor in favor of H.R. 1314, a bill that advances Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). With 95 percent of the world’s consumers living outside the U.S., it is imperative for the U.S. to work to reduce and eliminate international trade barriers so that American farmers and ranchers can compe... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (PA-5), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee's Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry, held a public hearing to review the implementation of conservation programs included in the Agricultural Act of 2014. The subcommittee heard from two panels of witnesses, including Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Chief Jason Weller and Fa... Read more »
Remarks as prepared: Good morning. Welcome to today’s hearing to review the implementation of conservation programs in the Agricultural Act of 2014. Since 1985, Congress created over 20 farm bill conservation programs to address specific natural resource concerns. With this piecemeal approach over the past 30 years, we were left with programs that started as regional initiatives and were duplicati... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House passed H.R. 2393, the Country of Origin Labeling Amendments Act, by a vote of 300-131. Introduced by House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX), H.R. 2393 amends the Agriculture Marketing Act of 1946 to effectively repeal mandatory country of origin labeling requirements for beef, pork, and chicken. “I am thankful for the support of my collea... Read more »
Remarks as prepared for delivery: “Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 2393, the Country of Origin Labeling Amendments Act of 2015, and yield myself such time as I may consume. ‘Mandatory country of origin labeling is really a marketing program, a heavy-handed approach by this Federal Government to demand a marketing program that may or may not work.’ “Those were my words before this very cham... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee continued its full-scale review of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known as the Past, Present, and Future of SNAP, by examining the tools that are available to help SNAP recipients climb the economic ladder. Members of the committee heard from a panel of witnesses who have extensive on-the-ground experience working wit... 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 perspectives as we explore the means to helping families climb the economic ladder. This hearing, like those before, builds upon the Committee’s top-to-bottom review of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Throughout this process, we have had an ... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House passed H.R. 2289, the Commodity End-Users Relief Act, by a vote of 246-171. Introduced by House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11), Rep. Austin Scott (GA-8), and Rep. David Scott (GA-13), this bill reauthorizes the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which has operated without Congressional authorization for nearly two years. “I a... Read more »
