Agriculture

As a member of the House Committee on Agriculture, I understand the importance of agriculture to the farmers and families of the 14th Congressional District and the nation, and fight for them every day.  

In my first six months on the Agriculture Committee we passed two important pieces of legislation, held numerous oversight hearings and prepared to write the next farm bill.

H.R. 872, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act, was passed through the House and would eliminate duplicative and expensive permitting requirements for our famers, helping them to be more productive and spend less time filling out unnecessary paper work.

The committee also reported H.R. 1573 to the House. This legislation would ensure that regulators are given enough time to implement Dodd-Frank as Congress intended when it passed the act, by removing arbitrary deadlines and allowing for more public comment.

The full Agriculture Committee has held seven hearings, five business meetings and sixteen subcommittee hearings.  These hearings have helped to fulfill our obligation of oversight and have allowed us to hear testimony from sixteen different Administration officials.  These hearings have also helped us prepare to write the 2012 Farm Bill.  Writing the next farm bill will be a difficult task, but the importance of this bill to our farmers and ranchers cannot be overstated. We must meet the challenges ahead to ensure the best possible results.

As we move forward, I will continue to be a powerful advocate for the interests of Illinois’ farmers, ensuring that their voices are heard.  I will also fight to make government responsive and accountable to the farmers and rural interests I serve, and to all residents of the 14th District.