Today, the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry held a hearing to highlight how voluntary conservation practices have improved the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Witnesses explained how the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is working with farmers and local conservation districts to successfully improve water quality, habitat, and key aquatic species in the Bay area. “The increased health of the Chesapeake Bay area is a prime example of how...
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Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to examine the potential for expanded agricultural trade between the United States and Cuba. Much of the conversation centered on the Cuba Agricultural Exports Act (H.R. 3687) and the potential for removing financing restrictions that have limited agricultural exports to Cuba. “The history between the U.S. and Cuba is long and complicated, with the Castro regime’s stranglehold on the island nation long preventing normalized relations between ...
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Today, the House Agriculture Committee approved H.R. 470, the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest Land Adjustment Act; H.R. 5883, legislation to amend the Packers and Stockyards Act; and H.R. 845, the National Forest System Trails Stewardship Act. “Thank you to my colleagues for advancing these three bipartisan bills. These individual pieces of legislation help prioritize federal forest land ownership, ensure that our nation’s laws reflect technological changes in our livestock markets, and all...
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Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) joined U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and a bipartisan group of Members of Congress in announcing the U.S. has launched a new trade enforcement action against China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a result of China’s excessive government support for corn, rice, and wheat production. Chairman Conaway convened two full committee hearings last year (June and October) ...
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Today, Rep. Jackie Walorski (IN-2), Chairwoman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, held a hearing to discuss the initiatives states are taking to further improve their SNAP Employment and Training (E&T) programs to help recipients transition into the workforce and obtain additional skills to increase their earnings. This hearing is a continuation of the committee’s top-to-bottom review known as the Past, Present, and Future of SNAP. Members heard from representatives from three o...
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Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) delivered remarks on the House floor to draw attention to the negative impacts of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers’ overburdensome regulations are having on farmers, ranchers, and rural America. Watch the video and view the official remarks below. Remarks as prepared for delivery: "Farmers, ranchers and foresters take great pride in their stewardship of the land. They are the original conservat...
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Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN) sent a letter to six federal financial regulators expressing their concerns with the European Commission’s recent decision to delay implementation of their rules on margin for un-cleared swaps. The Agriculture leaders asked U.S. regulators to work with their European counterparts to keep to the agreed timetable or to coordinate a new global implementation timeline. The Congressmen writ...
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Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to examine the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) proposed rule, Regulation Automated Trading (Reg AT). Members heard from witnesses with expertise in automated trading and risk management. “Over the past three decades, computers have revolutionized the way we do business – including how trading is conducted in financial markets. Computer networks have slowly replaced traditional trading pits, often eliminating the human element al...
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Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) issued the following statement in response to the Senate’s recently passed legislation requiring products of biotechnology to be labeled. "After spending the past week and a half studying the legislation and meeting with agricultural producers, along with a variety of other stakeholders, I have come to the conclusion that the Senate bill is riddled with ambiguity and affords the Secretary a concerning level of discretion. I ha...
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Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to examine the on-the-ground experiences of former military leaders and the connection between agricultural policy and national security. This is the fifth hearing in the committee’s hearing series focused on national security. Members heard from a panel of former military leaders who described how the United States' investment in transportation and infrastructure, agricultural research and innovation, and risk management tools for farmers ha...
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