Remarks as prepared for delivery: For over six decades, the United States has played a leading role in global efforts to alleviate hunger and malnutrition and to enhance food security through international food aid. Today’s hearing marks the beginning of the Committee’s work to review those efforts. As we begin this process, it is important that we start off with an overview from the top, so I am ... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - This week, Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway announced Rep. Trent Kelly (MS-1) will join the committee. Rep. Kelly will serve on the Livestock and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee as well as the Commodity Exchanges, Energy and Credit Subcommittee. “Agriculture is vital to the economy in the State of Mississippi, and I am proud to have the opportunity to represent... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House passed legislation approving trade promotion authority, or TPA. The bill establishes an unprecedented level of consultation and transparency requirements, ensuring that Congress and the American people know the full impact of any trade agreement. It also gives clear instructions for trade negotiators to follow while establishing additional consequences for faili... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee approved H.R. 2647, the Resilient Federal Forests Act, a comprehensive bill aimed at expediting and improving forest management activities in federal forests. The bill builds upon the work of previous Congresses to address disastrous consequences of catastrophic wildfire, insect and disease infestations, and other threats to our nation’s fo... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today the House Agriculture Committee approved H.R. 2620, a bill that amends the United States Cotton Futures Act to allow for the development of certain new cotton futures contracts. Current law requires that 100% of the cotton tendered under a U.S.-listed cotton futures contract be sampled and graded (classed) by the USDA. This restriction has hampered the development of new c... Read more »
Remarks as prepared: Thank you, Chairman Conaway for today’s markup. As an original cosponsor, I remain in strong support of the “Resilient Federal Forests Act.” Since the inception of the national forest system in 1905, the fundamental mission of the Forest Service has been to manage our federal forests and grasslands. As a result, the Forest Service has played a critical role in rural America: p... Read more »
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 »
