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House Agriculture Committee Action
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On Wednesday, December 9, the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management held a hearing to examine the current state of the U.S. cotton industry. Members heard from a variety of stakeholders—producers, warehousers, ginners, and agricultural lenders—on the current situation unfolding in the cotton belt. Cotton farmers are facing distorted world markets, low commodity prices, and rising input costs, and they are trying to weather all of these conditions in their severest form without the benefit of an effective farm safety net. Members discussed the recent request by the National Cotton Council stating Secretary Vilsack should use his authority in the 2014 Farm Bill to designate cottonseed as an “other oilseed” and thus be eligible for the ARC and PLC assistance and went on to state their support of this request.
Later that afternoon, the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research held a hearing to discuss USDA’s use of the Census of Agriculture authority to acquire farmers' personal financial information. Members heard from the Administrator of the National Agriculture Statistics Service, Joseph T. Reilly, and discussed the extremely time-consuming, burdensome, and over broad in nature, mandatory TOTAL survey.
| Next Week at the Ag Committee |
No hearings are scheduled
Wall Street Journal: WTO Says Canada, Mexico Can Slap $1 Billion in Tariffs on U.S. Over Meat Labels
Farm Futures: USDA's use of Ag Census under microscope
Agri-Pulse: Cotton growers tell Congress help is needed to keep industry alive
Washington Post: We may be witnessing the worst wildfire season in recorded history
Huffington Post: White House Says Food Stamps Don't Make You Lazy
Wall Street Journal: Strong Dollar Shreds Wheat Exports
Rep. Austin Scott (GA-8) in Fox Business: What can Congress do to root out terrorists in the U.S.?
Rep. Mike Rogers (AL-3) in AL.com: Alabama's chances at a House committee chairmanship just increased -- here's why
Rep. Mike Bost (IL-12) in KFVS 12: IL Rep. Bost urges 'no action' on Mississippi River floodway project
Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-4) in NBC Right Now: Dialed In: Congressman Dan Newhouse Talks Farming, D.C. and Down Time
On Tuesday, the House passed H.R. 158, the Visa Waiver Program Improvement Act of 2015, as amended, which would include provisions to strengthen he security of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) to better ensure that individuals entering the U.S. through the program are not security risks, while maintaining the program’s ability to facilitate legitimate foreign business travel and tourism to our country.
On Friday, the House passed H.R. 644, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act Conference Report, would authorize U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP); provide tools to facilitate legitimate trade; improve trade enforcement, measure progress within CBP; strengthen Trade Promotion Authority legislation, by prohibiting a trade agreement from changing U.S. immigration policy, or the way the U.S. issues visas, or altering U.S. law with respect to greenhouse gases; and bolster U.S.-Israel trade and commercial ties. The bill would extend customs user fees and increase penalties for failure to file a tax return.
The House also passed H.R. 2250, the Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2016, which would provide a five-day Continuing Resolution that extends appropriations for government operations at existing funding levels until midnight on December 16, 2015
This week's House Agriculture Committee member photo highlights.
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| Rep. Ralph Abraham visits his grandson's kindergarten class to teach them about Congress. |
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| Rep. Trent Kelly meets America's oldest living veteran, Mr. Frank Levingston who is 110 years old. |
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Rep. Mike Bost gets into the holiday
spirit on Capitol Hill. |
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