| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
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unidentified
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Los Angeles. | |
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| Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins talked about the price of food, nutrition programs, and research projects before the Senate Appropriations Committee as part of a hearing on the 2026 budget request for the department. | ||
| This runs an hour and 40 minutes. | ||
| We'll call this meeting and DAG appropriations subcommittee to order. | ||
| And I want to begin by thanking Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, for being here today. | ||
| We appreciate you being here. | ||
| We also appreciate you getting out and about around the country as you have and getting a chance to meet with our great farmers and ranchers in our respective states. | ||
| So thanks so much for that as well. | ||
| I'm very pleased to be joined by Senator Jean Shaheen. | ||
| As you can tell, she is very young, but she and I were actually governors together starting about 25 years ago when she was a teenager and I was not as old as I am now. | ||
| And so we've had opportunity to work together as governors and we work together on various appropriations committees like Homeland Security and others. | ||
| And I just want to welcome her in this new role as the ranking member on the Ag Appropriations Committee and just express how much I appreciate her and working with her. | ||
| So welcome and really good to have you on the committee. | ||
| Also, we're joined by our chairman of the Full Appropriations Committee, who also we've worked together a long time and she's providing a strong leadership for the Appropriations Committee and doing everything in her power to see that we get back to regular order. | ||
| And so I would pause here for just a minute and ask if our chairman would like to make a few comments. | ||
| Chairman Collins. | ||
| I just want to say that I am absolutely delighted that Senator Hoven is chair of this committee and that Senator Shaheen is the vice chair. | ||
| That means this subcommittee is in very good hands and we welcome the secretary. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you, Chairman. | |
| Again, Secretary, thanks for being here today. | ||
| We appreciate you and appreciate you being here right away to talk about this ag appropriations budget. | ||
| You had a great chance out in North Dakota and I know you've been to other states as well to see what our farmers and ranchers are doing out there firsthand. | ||
| But I know you really don't, that's not new to you, having grown up on a ranch, which is incredibly important that you have that background, and then having gone to Texas A ⁇ M and ag school. | ||
| Well said, thank you. | ||
|
unidentified
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And a very good one at that. | |
| And they play reasonably good football, too. | ||
| Last I checked. | ||
| Until November, but yes. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yeah. | |
| Well, again, and we are pleased that you're getting out and about like you are and that you're with us here today. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Obviously, our farmers and ranchers across the country are dealing with a lot of challenges right now. | ||
| They always deal with challenges, whether it's markets, whether it's prices, and certainly always the weather, none of which they control. | ||
| So it's vitally important that we do a good job for them in our farm program, but also in the things that we do here in the Ag Appropriates Committee as well as the Countercyclical Safety Net and the other things that we think of, crop insurance that our farmers and ranchers need every day to stay in business. | ||
| And we can't, as you and I have talked about before, we have in agriculture about 16 million people that work either directly or indirectly in agriculture. | ||
| We have a system of small businesses out there in farming and ranching, family-based small businesses that produce the highest quality, lowest-cost food supply in the world that benefits every single American every single day. | ||
| And we as Americans spend less on our food and have the best food and the best choice. | ||
| And we spend less as a percent of our budget than pretty much any developed country in the world brought to us by our family farms and ranches. | ||
| And that we can't take that for granted. | ||
| There's so much concentration in so many industries. | ||
| And we have to recognize that it's not by accident that we have this great system. | ||
| And so good farm policy is so important to keeping that and it benefits every single American. | ||
| Well, you were out in our state, you saw North Dakota State University and the incredible work that our land grant universities do, like A ⁇ M and many others. | ||
| But you also got to see the amazing new technology that's coming with Precision Ag, Grand Farm example that we showed you out there of really leading the world with precision agriculture, as well as the research and so forth that's being done in tandem with land-grant universities through NIFA, ARS, your research function, and our farmers and ranchers, which has revolutionized agriculture. | ||
| When I grew up in western North Dakota, we could grow a couple row crops. | ||
| Now our state grows 40 different crops and we lead the country in about 15 of them, which we try to rub into South Dakota as often as we can because they do the great stuff too. | ||
| And we appreciate all of our ag states very much. | ||
| So again, that's what we're talking about here today. | ||
| And so the funding for these programs, when we talk to you about FSA and all these things, out on the ground, we've got to make sure we're getting it done for our farmers and our ranchers every single day. | ||
| So we want to find savings. | ||
| We want to work with you to find savings, but we got to know that we're still going to deliver that service that keeps those family businesses, those farms and ranchers, going every single day to the benefit of every single American. | ||
| So again, thanks for being here so much. | ||
| And I'll turn to our ranking member, Senator Shaheen. | ||
| Thank you, Senator. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| And I would just echo your comments about how nice it is to work together again. | ||
| Thank you for those very nice remarks. | ||
| Secretary Rollins, thank you for coming before the committee. | ||
| I think it's helpful as we think about questions today to take stock of where we are and how we got here more than 100 days into this administration. | ||
| Because we all know that our farmers, producers, and rural communities are no strangers to uncertainty, to pressure from outside of their control, from fluctuating commodity prices to rising output costs to a rapidly changing climate and more extreme weather events. | ||
| But what I've heard from farmers in New Hampshire is that the federal government has always been a critical partner that our farmers could rely on. | ||
| That is until now, sadly, because What I've heard from farmers over the past 100 days of this administration is that they're not sure they can trust the federal government anymore. | ||
| I've heard from farmers across our state who no longer know if they can rely on the federal government honoring a basic signed contract. | ||
| And I've heard in great detail from all kinds of farms in New Hampshire about the hardship that this uncertainty, this delayed reimbursement causes for their ability to run their businesses. | ||
| And as they say, in New England, where the weather is very problematic, anything that contributes to that uncertainty and disruption is challenging. | ||
| Rural communities can't be certain if their small businesses and operations will survive the added costs of tariffs on top of the other uncertainties. | ||
| Farmers risk losing hard-fought market access due to President Trump's trade war. | ||
| And I'm sorry that we had not yet received the FY26 budget when we were preparing for this hearing because the limited information that I've seen to date has been extremely disappointing. | ||
| The proposed budget top lines released last Friday fall well short of the President's purported commitments to farmers and rural communities. | ||
| I don't believe that we support farmers by gutting research that will boost yields and improve crop quality. | ||
| And I don't believe we put rural America on a path to thrive by slashing core rural development programs from housing to water and waste infrastructure to energy assistance. | ||
| And when grocery prices are too high, we don't help families put food on the table by undercutting vital nutrition programs. | ||
| Yet, that's exactly what this skinny budget would do. | ||
| I hope that we'll have a chance to move forward with bipartisan appropriations with a serious non-defense discretionary number that reflects the urgent needs that are facing families and communities in New Hampshire and across this country. | ||
| Because there are plenty of places where we can work together to ensure that these programs deliver for producers in rural America, from investing in our rural communities and boosting the rural housing supply to supporting programs that help local food systems thrive to investing in cutting-edge research that will allow our farmers and ranchers to feed our nation and the world. | ||
| So again, I appreciate your being here today, Secretary Rollins, and I look forward to the discussion. | ||
| Thank you, Chair Hovind. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you. | |
| Thank you, Senator Sheen. | ||
| At this point, we would turn to you, Secretary Rollins, for your opening comments. | ||
| Great. | ||
| Thank you, Chairman Collins, Chairman Hovind, Vice Chair Murray, Ranking Member Shaheen, and distinguished members of this subcommittee. | ||
| I am so grateful for the opportunity to appear before you to share what we have accomplished at USDA in the last 100 days, but also to answer your questions on the President's budget request and the priorities moving forward. | ||
| When farmers prosper, rural America prospers. | ||
| And I want to thank you all for your shared bipartisan commitment to that effort in ensuring that our farmers and our ranchers and our rural communities thrive. | ||
| During my confirmation hearing, which some of you attended, not all, I quoted Thomas Jefferson's 1787 letter to George Washington, in which he wrote, Agriculture is our wisest pursuit because it will, in the end, contribute most to real wealth, to good morals, and to happiness. | ||
| I have had the distinct privilege of serving American farmers and ranchers for the past 82 days, and I can tell you our farmers continue to embody every single day the ideals that Thomas Jefferson described over two centuries ago, and serving as their champion continues to be my greatest honor. | ||
| We at the Department of Agriculture have wasted no time in implementing President Trump's bold policy agenda. | ||
| The President's fiscal year 2026 discretionary budget that we're talking about today identifies the priorities of our administration with the same degree of prudence and frugality our family farmers practice when they draft their annual budgets. | ||
| Let me touch on a few highlights of the last 82 days and then turn it back to you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| Upon taking office, I was tasked by President Trump to lower the cost of eggs in the short term and also to provide farmers with resources that are needed to combat the avian influenza in the long term. | ||
| In February, at the direction of President Trump, we announced a five-point plan to meet this challenge head-on, and I am proud to report that since that plan was introduced, the wholesale price of eggs has decreased 56%, with the retail price following. | ||
| In taking this position, I fully understood that American agriculture was facing one of the most economically challenging times in our country's history. | ||
| For generations, American producers and consumers enjoyed the fruits of an agricultural trade surplus. | ||
| But under the last four years, that surplus went from zero, or that that trade deficit went from zero to a nearly $50 billion trade deficit. | ||
| And the newest numbers coming in are actually significantly more than that. | ||
| President Trump and I know this problem will not solve itself. | ||
| That's why he is taking action, bold action, which I'm sure we're going to talk about today, to address our imbalanced trade commitments. | ||
| And I am working tirelessly to promote American agricultural products on the world stage. | ||
| In April, USDA launched our agricultural trade promotion programs for fiscal year 2026 and is currently accepting applications for four export market development programs. | ||
| As part of this effort, I will be traveling to seven countries in the next few months. | ||
| The first trip begins Sunday when I head to the UK, where I will be making sure our trading partners know that American agriculture is the crown jewel of American production. | ||
| And in fact, I was talking to Chairman Hovind, I have to leave here at noon because the Secretary of Agriculture from Mexico has just landed here in Washington, and I'm going to meet and talk with him momentarily as soon as we finish. | ||
| We are also streamlining unnecessary regulations and cutting red tape for agricultural producers and industries so that they can continue to do what they do best, and that is to everyday feed, fuel, and clothe America and our world. | ||
| To that end, my team and I have sought to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in all USDA programs, including the SNAP, improper payments, fraud, and programs that fail to fulfill the USDA mission of putting farmers first. | ||
| Our team is meeting daily with our partners at the Department of Government Efficiency with DOE, which again I'm sure we'll get into, to ensure that we are doing right by the American taxpayer while also protecting critical USDA programs. | ||
| What is also of paramount importance at the United States Department of Agriculture is our mission to make America healthy again. | ||
| We've been taking major steps to fulfill this mandate by accepting snap waivers and working alongside our country's great governors, both Republican and Democrat, as we move that project forward. | ||
| The Maha movement at USDA has also supported major, major voluntary changes to make food healthier, including just last week the International Dairy Foods Association's most recent announcement related to dyes in school lunch dairy products. | ||
| We are also working around the clock to address major threats to our farmers and our ranchers, including the new world screw worm, which would devastate our cattle industry in this country. | ||
| Alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, we were pleased to share just last week that we have negotiated a deal with the government of Mexico to allow the best preventative tools we have to land our response aircraft in Mexico without further hindrance. | ||
| Additionally, working to ensure that Mexico abides by the 1944 water treaty, providing the water it owes to our ag producers in America. | ||
| Finally, and again, just a quick summary of the last 82 days. | ||
| Just last week, alongside Senator Rounds and some other great Americans, we stood with Charles and Heather Maud, a South Dakota cattle family, fifth generation cattle ranching family who operate small cattle and hogs who endured a senseless politically motivated prosecution over 25 acres of forest land that had had a fence line on it for almost 100 years. | ||
| The criminal charges against the family were dropped last week and to prevent further injustices against our farmers and our ranchers, we launched a portal for farmers and ranchers to tell us their stories if they too are being treated in a similar situation as to the Mauds. | ||
| And since we launched that a week ago Thursday, so I guess just four or five days ago now, we've had over 100 farmers and ranchers reply and move their stories into our portal. | ||
| So we're already following up on that. | ||
| Again, during my first 82 days as the Secretary of Agriculture, we have visited 15 states. | ||
| We have not visited yours yet. | ||
| We're coming very, very soon. | ||
| I have attended over 100 events, given dozens and dozens of keynote speeches, and met with nearly 1,000 farmers and ranchers across this great country, both here in Washington and out in the States. | ||
| We will continue to build based on their feedback, based on their hard work, and based on reconstituting, rebuilding, and revivifying the United States Department of Agriculture to better serve our customers. | ||
| American Ag does not rest, and I can assure you that under my tenure, neither will the U.S. Department of Ag. | ||
| I'm proud to be at the helm of the People's Department, as President Lincoln so aptly launched and said in the 1860s. | ||
| I'm proud to be at the department. | ||
| I'm proud to be at the table with President Trump, and I'm so proud to be fighting for the most American of all Americans, and that is our farmers and our ranchers and our agriculture communities. | ||
| Thank you so much. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you, Secretary Rollins. | |
| I'm going to start rounds of five-minute questions, and I'm going to defer to our full committee chairman, Senator Collins, to start that process. | ||
| Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| Welcome, Secretary Rollins. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| It is great to see you here today. | ||
| When we first met, we discussed PFAS. | ||
| Those are the toxic class of forever chemicals that are being found in our soils, water, animal feed, crops, and livestock. | ||
| In Maine, the presence of PFAS and wastewater sludge that was spread decades ago as a fertilizer is preventing some of our family farmers from being able to sell their products, causing them significant financial harm. | ||
| To support these affected farmers and to come up with solutions, the University of Maine is undertaking research on the presence of PFAS in agricultural land. | ||
| To build upon this work, I secured $17 million in fiscal year 2024 for the ARS and the University of Maine to establish a new center of excellence for PFAS solutions. | ||
| And the whole purpose is to help address these very serious PFAS contamination in agriculture. | ||
| Madam Secretary, will you continue to support the partnership between ARS and the University of Maine in establishing this research center to help our farmers? | ||
| And I would note that the research that's being done there won't just help the farmers in Maine, but across the nation. | ||
| Across the country. | ||
| Well, Madam Chairman, as we discussed, this is an issue that is very close to my family's heart. | ||
| My mom, Helen Kirwan, is 70, almost 78. | ||
| She is the youngest elected freshman to the Texas House of Representatives in Texas history. | ||
| And her number one issue is PFAS. | ||
| And she decided to run for a lot of reasons, but one of those was, I believe it was the New York Times, did an expose or a big story, if you will, on a farm in Johnson County, Texas, which is close to where we grew up and where my mom still lives, rural Texas. | ||
| And she was so stunned by what had happened to these farmers and specifically through the PFAS contamination. | ||
| It destroyed their lives. | ||
| And so she became very, very passionate about this particular issue. | ||
| She is crushing it in her first session in the Texas legislature right now. | ||
| And in fact, her very first bill that she will get a hearing on is her PFAS bill and it will be tomorrow in Austin. | ||
| So I've been hearing a lot about this at the family dinner table for quite some time now. | ||
| But yes, we remain committed to this research, very proud of that $7 million grant to the Center for Excellence. | ||
| And I think that, at least according to my mom, who is amazing, raised my sisters and me by herself. | ||
| She was a single mom. | ||
| But at least according to my mom, Maine leads the way in many respects on this important issue for all of our farmers and our ranchers. | ||
| And I'm excited to learn more, perhaps even come visit the center in Maine, see the work that they're doing firsthand, and to continue to support it. | ||
| So thank you for your leadership on that. | ||
| Thank you so much. | ||
| And in this case, listening to your mother makes all the sense. | ||
| All the sense in the world. | ||
| I need to tell my four teenagers that. | ||
| Yes. | ||
| In late March, I wrote you a letter detailing my concerns about USDA's delay in releasing some program funds. | ||
| I've heard from constituents who have received grant award letters from USDA in the previous administration, only to later receive letters from USDA informing them that their grant funding is frozen. | ||
| Now, this is obviously very troubling to them. | ||
| It creates a lot of uncertainty. | ||
| And we are a state that has lost 600 farms in the past decade. | ||
| And that is very troubling to me. | ||
| I grew up in northern Maine. | ||
| One of my first jobs was picking potatoes for a farmer. | ||
| And I am aware of how important that heritage is to our state and to our food supply. | ||
| So we've seen a situation where farmers, landowners, loggers, natural resource businesses that have applied for USDA loans still have no clarity on what decisions will be made. | ||
| And the timing of this funding is absolutely critical because, as you know well, agricultural producers are making purchases now for this year's crops, and processing facilities need to order equipment for the summer and the fall harvests. | ||
| Local farm economies are fragile and timing is really important. | ||
| So I know and appreciate that you've made some significant strides in releasing program funding over the past few weeks. | ||
| Could you provide the subcommittee with an update on federal funding at USDA that remains frozen and a timeline for when you plan to finish your reviews? | ||
| I will. | ||
| And I take to heart so sincerely everything you've said. | ||
| And I know many of you have reached out during this process of frozen funds from both sides of the aisle. | ||
| And my goal is to respond immediately. | ||
| Sometimes it's at midnight, sometimes it's at 5 a.m. | ||
| But my goal is always to respond and to be available. | ||
| I have an amazing team. | ||
| Kaylee Bowler is our chief of staff. | ||
| She's here, Jen Tiller, and a few others that you all probably know well. | ||
| And we are working around the clock, going line by line by line. | ||
| We're down to the final 5 billion out of, I believe, almost 20 billion of frozen funds. | ||
| But $5 billion is a lot of money. | ||
| And when you think about that in terms of, you know, grant or contract and moving that out quickly, we're very hopeful to keep moving through that very, very quickly and have that done very soon. | ||
| But what I will say, and you all know this that have worked with me, I am always available. | ||
| So if there is one or a group in particular that you want us to make sure we're getting to, please just let me know. | ||
| I know almost everybody here has my cell phone number, maybe not a few of you, but I'm always available. | ||
| Several of these guys have it too. | ||
| So just call me and just know we're doing our very, very, very best. | ||
| Some of the funding that we have pulled back and then reopened, we've asked for reapplications to realign around this president's priorities, which of course, not surprisingly, is not diversity, equity, and inclusion or some climate programs, but instead to reapply where the farmer would receive, farmer rancher would receive 65% of the funding or more. | ||
| That's another piece of this as well. | ||
| So we again are going line by line. | ||
| We're working around the clock and believe me, we are on it. | ||
| But please know to always reach out if there's something specific. | ||
| And I hear you. | ||
| Thank you very much. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Thank you, Madam Chairman. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Appreciate it. | |
| Senator Sheen. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| And just to follow up on that, I referenced this in my opening statement, but in New Hampshire, USDA has frozen an $11 million RCPP award for the Connecticut River Conservancy. | ||
| It's a project that has leveraged public-private partnerships for critical ecosystem restoration across the watershed. | ||
| And unfortunately, the months-long delay has slowed seasonal work and it's driven up the costs of the project. | ||
| Given that it's been more than three months since the administration froze this program, when will USDA release the funding? | ||
| What is the name of it again? | ||
| It's an RCPP award for the Connecticut River Conservancy, and we're happy to follow up with whoever the appropriate person is. | ||
| And just to follow up on that, one of the things, as we know, that Congress did at the end of last year was to pass disaster funding. | ||
| That included $220 million as a set aside for small farms in the six New England states plus Hawaii and Alaska. | ||
| And we've got apple growers in New Hampshire who in 23 lost about 90 percent of their crop. | ||
| Virtually all stone crops were wiped out in that season. | ||
| They've been waiting desperately for the funding to be released from that emergency supplemental. | ||
| Senator Tillis and I sent you a letter back in March emphasizing the need to get this assistance out. | ||
| So again, along the lines of Senator Collins' question, can you provide an update for when the remaining funds will be released and how we will ensure that the funding goes, particularly to the small farms in states like New Hampshire, where they are desperately in need of some assistance? | ||
| Yes, ma'am. | ||
| I appreciate that. | ||
| The ECAP funding, the economic assistance, of course, we were given a statutory deadline of March 21st, I believe, when you all passed that or when it was passed in late last year. | ||
| I think March 16th or March 17th, the portal opened, and it's a three-day turnaround in most cases. | ||
| I think we've already moved out. | ||
| I don't have the number in front of me, but of the $10 billion, almost $8 billion. | ||
| Y'all correct me if I'm wrong. | ||
| So we've actually moved almost all of that money out in, I would argue, record speed, but maybe there have been a few that we haven't. | ||
| So please let us follow up on that. | ||
| I've got right in front of me, Madam Chairman, that in your state, we have moved out $395 million just into New Hampshire to 17,476 of your producers in New Hampshire. | ||
| So I think we've done pretty well on that. | ||
| But again, if there are instances where you are not hearing those stories and that it hasn't moved as quickly as we believe it has, please let us know and we'll run that down. | ||
| On the disaster relief part of it, which is the additional $20 billion, in the coming weeks, by the end of May, that portal will open also. | ||
| Obviously, as part of that $20 billion, there was specific funding for the Mexican water issue in Texas, and then, of course, up in the Northeast where you are. | ||
| And then I believe Alaska was the third specific instance. | ||
| But we're working with governors across the country. | ||
| That was a little more complicated than the ECAP, the disaster, or the emergency relief payments, but we're really close. | ||
| And within a matter of days or weeks, certainly by the end of this month, that money will begin moving as well. | ||
| Well, thank you. | ||
| I appreciate that. | ||
| As you know, farming is very different in New England than it is in the Midwest and many states in the West. | ||
| And anything that we can do to be helpful in terms of getting information from our farmers to make sure that they qualify for those programs, please be with us. | ||
| Yes. | ||
| I also serve on the Foreign Relations Committee, and one of the things that the FY26 budget request eliminates is the Food for Peace program and the McGovern-Dole Food for Education program. | ||
| In 2023, those programs provided over 1.1 million metric tons of U.S. grown commodities to people abroad. | ||
| For weeks earlier this year, more than 550 metric tons of U.S. grown rice, peas, wheat, beans, super cereal, and ready-to-use therapeutic food sat at risk of spoilage in ports on ships and in warehouses across the world because of the dismantling of USAID. | ||
| We are tracking that more than 350 metric tons of mixed commodities from American farmers are either pending purchase or will not be purchased this year due to the administration's terminations and delays. | ||
| So can you talk about what you are saying to farmers to address this and how we are replacing that food that is so desperately needed by people around the world? | ||
| Yeah, I will talk briefly about the McGovern-Dole program first. | ||
| And I think it's important to realize that that is a $240 million program, but our numbers show only about $37 million of that is directly tied to agriculture, which of course is what I'm focused on. | ||
| So as we are looking to realign the government to reorganize to make it more efficient for the American taxpayer, looking at programs like McGovern-Dole, which obviously all these government programs have a very worthy mission statement with very wonderful intentions, but at the end of the day, are they serving the American taxpayer who is funding them? | ||
| And are we providing and meeting the metrics of what the original intent was? | ||
| And without knowing all the details of the McGovern-Dole program, for example, the fact that of a $240 million program, only $37 million is being used regarding commodities, our American farmer and commodities. | ||
| And I don't say $37 million isn't a big number, and especially for our farmers and our ranchers, but I think in the context of what the effort is to ensure that everything we're doing is aligned with the best and highest use of taxpayer dollars and understanding that the layers of bureaucracy and the administration and all of the money going to lots of other places other than our ag community, that we need a wholesale reapproach to all of it. | ||
| And that's what, and I realize Senator will agree to disagree on this, but that's what President Trump's vision is. | ||
| And while we're going through, it's never easy to change the status quo. | ||
| The easiest thing for us to do is just say, oh, it's great, and we don't want to make anyone mad and let's just keep moving forward and keep adding money to the programs. | ||
| This is what I believe the voters asked for, and we'll continue to have these discussions. | ||
| So I hear you, it is something we are looking at every day in the Food for Peace program as well. | ||
| But programs like McGovern-Dole, it's time to really take a deep look and see what we're spending the money on and if it's being effective. | ||
| I'm out of time, and I appreciate what you're saying. | ||
| And I think most of us would agree that examining the programs and being more efficient and effective is something that we all support. | ||
| But when we do it in a way that allows millions of tons of food and medicine to rot because we have cut off funding to ensure that that goes where it is supposed to go, that is not efficient and effective. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you, Ranking Member Sheen. | |
| Secretary, So at the end of the year, we ended up with a one-year extension of the farm bill because we did not have agreement to update the countercyclical safety net like we need to, which, as you know, we are working on very hard. | ||
| But with that one-year extension, we put in place $33.5 million in emergency assistance. | ||
| For the $10 billion, excuse me, $33.5 billion, for the $10 billion that is market conditions-based, we put a number of conditions on it. | ||
| One, that you would provide it, start providing it within 90 days, and that you would follow a format called WIT Plus, which we put in the statute back in 2017. | ||
| You did both. | ||
| And you started dispersing or started the process of dispersing March 19th. | ||
| I think of that 10, you're probably closing on $7 billion. | ||
| You've already dispersed states, my state, it's about half a billion dollars. | ||
| You already referenced the ranking member and other states as well. | ||
| That is how we want to work with you. | ||
| So I want to put right out front, that's how we want to work between this subcommittee and our, and I think Senator Bozeman will tell you our ag committee, full ag committee, and USDA. | ||
| So then I just want to step over now to the weather-based $20 billion. | ||
| What's your plan on that for getting it going and kind of the format so we know we're getting questions on that now from our producers? | ||
| That's right. | ||
| So we are within days of announcing the application process. | ||
| Of course, that's a little more complicated because we don't have the specifics and it isn't, you know, as you mentioned, in North Dakota, 15,794 of your farmers and ranchers have received money through that first tranche, through the first $10 billion, the emergency aid. | ||
| On the weather-related programs, that application opens in the next week or two. | ||
| And we will be moving very, very quickly. | ||
| We realize that this is a long time coming, and it's related to disasters that happened a while ago. | ||
| And so ensuring that we get that out as quickly as we possibly can with the team that we have in place. | ||
| I'm really proud of, I believe, how efficiently and how quickly the team moved out that first tranche. | ||
| And I believe that you'll see the same sort of efficiency and effectiveness with the second tranche. | ||
| So it's within the coming weeks. | ||
|
unidentified
|
And I know you have to wait until you get the data from the different locations that had the weather disasters. | |
| Like in our case, it was fires and ranchers that we lost some lives, not only cattle, but lives of people. | ||
| And so I know you have to wait to get that data, but you're thinking within weeks timeframe. | ||
| Okay. | ||
| By the end of the month, the applications will be open and we'll be moving out. | ||
| Now, we've already moved out the $280 million to the Texas Department of Agriculture for the water issue in South Texas with the Mexicans. | ||
| And so the ones that were specifically named in the legislation that you all worked on so hard, those have already moved. | ||
| Those have been moving for a little while. | ||
| But this next round, the big round, will be within the next few weeks. | ||
|
unidentified
|
And that's what I was referring to. | |
| And that's, again, in line with what we passed. | ||
| And so I appreciate that very much. | ||
| Restructuring USDA. | ||
| We all want to find waste, fraud, and abuse. | ||
| We want to find savings, efficiencies, reductions. | ||
| Clearly, here in D.C., I think there's plenty of room for that in terms of reducing the size and scope of the bureaucracy. | ||
| One of the keys for us, though, out on the ground, you and I have talked about it, and I know you know this, is FSA, talk to me about how we make sure that we have those frontline FSA officers or employees out there working directly with our farmers and ranchers. | ||
| That's key. | ||
| So talk about. | ||
| So again, yeah, we definitely, and we are seeing the reductions in the bureaucracy. | ||
| Again, we want to find those, but we want the frontline folks out there, the hands-on folks. | ||
| I don't know, at least at USDA, if there's any role more important than those frontline FSA offices, and those remain a priority. | ||
| Of course, right next to that is our wildland firefighters as we're moving into wildfire season. | ||
| That is extremely important in being operationally ready, which we are. | ||
| Also, our APHIS, our veterinarians, et cetera, those are as important. | ||
| But the FSA operators that are managing and working with our farmers and our ranchers every single day, it is not in our plan to close any of those offices. | ||
| There are 4,500, I think, total across the country, which is a big number. | ||
| But we're also working to be, again, more efficient with online, et cetera, technical assistance, et cetera, that in the future may not rely so much on an on-the-ground presence. | ||
| But today, we can't rip that rug out from underneath our farmers and producers, and that remains a priority. | ||
| I signed a memorandum, I don't know, maybe last week, all the days are running together, that put as a priority ensuring that those offices are fully staffed. | ||
| As I know we all in this room know, often hiring in rural America is a little bit more difficult because you just don't have the numbers of people. | ||
| But what I have told the team, and as we continue to focus on rural prosperity moving forward, is that finding the men and women out there, the patriotic Americans that are willing to work around the clock. | ||
| We already have a lot of that in the FSA, but I think we can do better and more. | ||
| So we'll be spending some good time on that moving forward. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you, Secretary. | |
| And I'm from Excuse me. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| And I'm going to turn to our ranking member on the full committee, Senator Murray. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
| Good morning, and thank you very much, Chair Hovind. | ||
| I look forward to working with you and with our new ranking member, Senator Shaheen, in her new role. | ||
| I saw the two of you lead this committee. | ||
| It's a really critical one. | ||
| Secretary Rollins, thank you for being here. | ||
| Let me be really frank with you. | ||
| The very mission of USDA is under incredible threat from this administration. | ||
| We are seeing dedicated researchers and experts who are being pushed out the door. | ||
| Research safety efforts have been put on hold. | ||
| Funds that Congress passed have been frozen and canceled by this administration. | ||
| And nearly $17 billion in investments are now being held up at USDA. | ||
| That to me is really unacceptable and needs to change. | ||
| We are seeing our food banks with less, increased prices at the grocery store. | ||
| We are seeing Forest Service personnel who have been fired. | ||
| They respond to our wildfires. | ||
| We need them. | ||
| Experts working on avian flu gone. | ||
| And my farmers are extremely concerned about these illegal funding freezes and the illegal tariffs that are impacting them. | ||
| We also know that 15,000 employees have been pushed out. | ||
| That's more than 15 percent of your department. | ||
| We know USDA cannot help farmers or communities without the people and the resources that it needs, which is really to me why this arbitrary workforce cuts combined with the sweeping cuts that President Trump proposed in the new budget that we just got is really alarming. | ||
| Secretary Rollins, let me just say to you, this committee needs a lot more information about how your department is spending this funding that Congress provided earlier this year. | ||
| And the FY25 spin plan that you submitted last year, required by law, part of the continuing resolution, just isn't satisfactory. | ||
| We need to have that information in order to write our appropriations bills. | ||
| And I just want you to know I expect you to work with members on both sides of this aisle to provide the details so we understand how you're spending money and what is actually needed in the coming year. | ||
| That is why that's what I really want you to know and why I especially wanted to be here today. | ||
| But I do have some questions for you because in Washington State, my home state, and across the country, these abrupt terminations and resignations of ARS scientists and support staff have really gutted some of our vital agricultural research programs overnight. | ||
| This is really undermining years of progress. | ||
| Research on plant diseases, making crops more resilient, extreme weather. | ||
| That work is really fundamental to our farmers, and they are deeply worried about that being gone. | ||
| I know that many of the ARS scientists have been reinstated. | ||
| Essential support staff has not. | ||
| So will you commit to taking steps to reinstate the ARS support staff and stabilize these research units across the country? | ||
| Well, there was a lot in that, Senator. | ||
| So I'll try to talk really quickly and answer as much as I can. | ||
| And then please reach out to me directly, and we can always have this conversation anytime. | ||
| I don't think you were in here, but I've had long conversations with members on both sides of the aisle about all of this in the last couple of months. | ||
| So I welcome that conversation anytime. | ||
| The first thing I want to say is the 15,000 number, it is less than 15 percent of our total workforce. | ||
| I realize that's still a very, very big number, but I think it's important to realize in the context that every year USDA through attrition loses between 8,000 and 10,000 employees. | ||
| So as a massive government agency. | ||
| They are refilled. | ||
| Well, and that's what we are looking to refill the frontliners. | ||
| That's what I was talking about right now. | ||
| So whether it's FSA, APHIS, the wildland firefighters, those are, through a memorandum I just signed, we are actively looking and recruiting to fill those positions that are integral to the efforts and that you're going to go and you're looking for new people to fill the positions that they had experience in. | ||
| We're having those discussions right now. | ||
| We are working with all of you around the country in your states. | ||
| We believe our firefighters are operationally ready for wildfire season. | ||
| Our FSA offices, we're looking, you know, we're making things more efficient, but bringing on new people that could potentially bring and be a game changer in those offices. | ||
| But by the way, the people that you're talking about, the 15,000, those were all deferred resignations. | ||
| None of those people were fired. | ||
| So if they want to come back and if they were in a key position, then we would love to have that conversation. | ||
| The other thing in the second round of DRPs, which just happened about, I don't know, a couple of weeks ago, we did not accept the DRPs of employees that were in those key positions that I outlined, that a few of them, I think we had several hundred that said, all right, we're going to take it. | ||
| And we said, no, those are your role is too important right now. | ||
| We're not going to accept it. | ||
| So we are very intentionally approaching this. | ||
| Have we done it perfectly? | ||
| No. | ||
| Any type of whole-scale change and big effort to basically realign an entire government agency is difficult. | ||
| And we know that, and we know that it hasn't been perfect. | ||
| But we're working every day to solve for a lot of this. | ||
| And I think we're making a lot of really good progress. | ||
| Okay, well, you didn't answer my question specifically on ARS scientists, research, the support staff. | ||
| Well, what I would love if you or your team could get us exactly what you're talking about, who you're talking about, and where you're talking about it, because we've been, like I say, line by line, keeping the staff in place where we believe it's of utmost import and aligns with the agency's mission in areas where we don't believe we haven't been as focused on that. | ||
| But again, that's a conversation I would so welcome to understand exactly where and what that looks like. | ||
| That's important, but this is on record. | ||
| And so one of my concerns is that you let people go however you want to characterize it who knew these jobs and now you're looking for people to fill these jobs because now we know how essential they are. | ||
| That doesn't seem to me to be very efficient. | ||
| I need to ask you about nutrition programs in my last minute here because we have about 134,000 people in Washington State, 7 million people nationwide, who rely on WIC. | ||
| It provides, as you know, essential nutrition support to moms and kids during the earliest, most vulnerable stages of life. | ||
| It is one of the most effective programs that we have. | ||
| It's always received bipartisan support on this committee. | ||
| It is glaringly absent from the President's budget request. | ||
| WIC, SNAP, CSFP, these are really key, important programs for seniors. | ||
| They're not optional. | ||
| They're essential programs that feed moms and babies and the elderly. | ||
| So I wanted to ask you: do you fully support funding WIC, yes or no? | ||
| Well, okay, so are you talking about the LFS and LFPA contracts that were canceled or SNAP? | ||
| talking about the budget that came over to us on Friday. | ||
| WIC is fully funded. | ||
| SNAP is, so that's why I'm confused by your question. | ||
| I'm sorry, sir. | ||
| In our looking at this, it is absent. | ||
| I'm happy to get the information to you, but for this committee, I know it's something we have always supported on a bipartisan basis. | ||
| It is something we need to continue. | ||
| Yeah, WIC is fully funded. | ||
| I'm happy to talk SNAP or some of the other cuts, but it is eliminated in the budget that the President sent on Friday. | ||
| We also thought that. | ||
| We'll clarify that and get that right back to you. | ||
| I know there have been some realigning in SNAP and in some of the food banks, et cetera. | ||
| That's kind of where we've been talking and focusing on that. | ||
| The committee members, the President sent over his budget on Friday. | ||
| It does eliminate WIC in it, so we obviously need to have better information from the administration. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Our understanding is that, I mean, number one, we fully funded WIC in the last Goron in the CR, as you know, Senator. | |
| And our understanding is that just in the skinny budget, it just wasn't included. | ||
| It's funded for this year. | ||
| Yeah, it's funded. | ||
|
unidentified
|
This is the skinny budget. | |
| There are things we don't have yet. | ||
| So that at least was our. | ||
| It's fully funded. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Well, that would be interesting to see the writing. | |
| You're welcome. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you, Senator Murray. | |
| Thank you, Senator Murray. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Let me turn to Senator Moran. | |
| Chairman, thank you. | ||
| Thank you to you and Senator Shaheen. | ||
| Secretary, welcome. | ||
| Thank you for coming to Kansas, although you came when I had the flu. | ||
| I know. | ||
| We missed you. | ||
| Please come back on a day that's not 16 below zero, and we'll show you a different side of our state. | ||
| I want to talk a bit before I get to a couple other topics about Food for Peace. | ||
| Senator Hovind and I, when we saw what was happening with Food for Peace at USAID and the State Department, we introduced legislation to transfer the authority to manage and operate Food for Peace to the Department of Agriculture. | ||
| It was my understanding that both OMB and the Department of Agriculture, your department, responded to that idea favorably. | ||
| And I'm anxious to have you tell me what it is that I and my colleagues ought to be doing to keep providing the commodities that we grow in the United States to people who are starving around the globe. | ||
| And is this something you're still interested in acquiring? | ||
| Yes, and it's my understanding this program was started in Kansas. | ||
| Is that right? | ||
| That is true. | ||
| Yes, the great state of Kansas with about 150 farmers who came together and came up with the program. | ||
| So not surprisingly, I don't want to get ahead of my boss and certainly Secretary Rubio and I have had very initial conversations about it. | ||
| I would add, I also understood that Secretary Rubio was willing or capable of sharing that responsibility or giving you that responsibility. | ||
| We've had really great conversations about it. | ||
| Obviously, we'll follow your lead. | ||
| And if, in fact, this is the will of Congress, and I think we would be very willing to take that on if that was your direction and would be excited to partner on that. | ||
| And the elimination of McGovern-Dole, which we call in Kansas Dole McGovern, the elimination of that program is not an indication of the lack of interest. | ||
| in the Department of Agriculture making available American-grown commodities to people who are hungry around the globe. | ||
| Is that true? | ||
| That's true. | ||
| Thank you for that clarification. | ||
| That's really important. | ||
| In the conversation that you've had about employees at USDA and the efforts to right-size, downsize, whatever the right words are, the department, let me highlight for you the importance of FSA and NRCS employees in county offices across the state of Kansas and around the country, I assume. | ||
| And it was particularly troublesome when those on probation were those who were eliminated. | ||
| We love the circumstance when a young man or woman out of college returns home, goes to work for USDA in a county office. | ||
| We do not have sufficient personnel in those county offices today, but we particularly love when they're somebody who's in their 20s, they come home and they raise a family in a small county of Kansas. | ||
| And so would you pay particular attention to trying to make certain that county offices where farmers sit across the table from USDA employees and have a conversation about certainly about the farm programs and conservation programs takes place, that's different than ever trying to do that on a computer. | ||
| That's right. | ||
| So can I, what would you tell me about your commitment to that? | ||
| Well, I think it's of paramount importance. | ||
| And you think about what USDA is, who it is called, who we are called to serve, the initial intention of the agency. | ||
| Of course, in the founding of our country, we had the original four agencies, Treasury, Defense, the Attorney General, and Treasury Defense, the Attorney General, and justice, or war. | ||
| And then just a few years later, a couple decades later, Interior was added. | ||
| And right after that was agriculture. | ||
| So this goes back to almost the founding of our country. | ||
| And certainly we take that very, very, very seriously. | ||
| In President Lincoln's best vision and his intention in founding this agency, it was to have that on-the-ground support for our farmers and our ranchers. | ||
| So as President Trump is working to make America great again and restore prosperity across our country, my role in that is to ensure that rural America sees a level of prosperity that perhaps they haven't seen in our lifetimes. | ||
| And there is a lot that goes into that formula, right? | ||
| There's a lot we've got to do. | ||
| We've got to get government off the back of our people. | ||
| We've got to cut taxes. | ||
| We've got to deregulate. | ||
| I'll ask you one more question. | ||
| But yes, the FSA remains at the very top of that list. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| And I do appreciate having employees return to the office to work. | ||
| Yes, that's an important part to be supported as well. | ||
| I mentioned to you when we visited about the National BioAgri Facility that's in Kansas. | ||
| It's the replacement for Plum Island. | ||
| We had this conversation when you're in my office before the confirmation. | ||
| I want to just highlight, because I have one second left, but I want to highlight that facility, that institution, and ask you to either tell me or get me a report on NBAS operational status as of today. | ||
| I think it's a huge asset and it's an important asset to the greater good of the country. | ||
| And as we talked about in your office that day a couple of months ago now, my commitment in fulfilling Congress's intent has not changed. | ||
| And so I think, Senator, you and I could just make sure you need to send me reports if you're hearing anything different. | ||
| But we are committed to ensuring that that facility moves forward in a way that best serves all of America and, frankly, the world. | ||
| It's a really important asset. | ||
| Thank you, Secretary. | ||
| Thank you, Senator. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Senator Baldwin. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| Secretary Rollins, thank you for joining us today. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| The Dairy Business Innovation Initiative has delivered critical and high-impact support to small dairy farms and businesses in Wisconsin and across the country. | ||
| Since its inclusion in the 2018 Farm Bill, the program has helped producers expand their product lines, access new markets, and modernize their operations. | ||
| And in Wisconsin, these small dollar grants have made a real difference in helping expand a globally respected dairy industry. | ||
| As we consider additional funding, as we consider additional funding for USDA in 2026, I am really deeply concerned about the treatment of the Dairy Business Innovation Initiative under this administration. | ||
| Congress has secured funds annually in statute in the bipartisan annual appropriation bills, and they were promised to farmers by the USDA. | ||
| Yet over 400 dairy businesses had nearly $30 million on the chopping block due to a diversity, equity, and inclusion executive order issued by President Trump this February. | ||
| I hope we don't confuse diversity and biodiversity as important issues. | ||
| But I appreciated the opportunity to discuss this with you personally and the need to issue these funds to Wisconsin and other farmers expeditiously, especially when their margins are already incredibly slim. | ||
| But I still have concerns. | ||
| How are you planning to restore Congress's confidence in USDA's ability to implement and fund programs required by statute, like the Dairy Business Innovation Initiative? | ||
| And how will you ensure the agency's communication to farmers and small businesses can be relied upon when they make real-time investment decisions in their operations based on awards? | ||
| Well, I appreciate that question. | ||
| And on my second trip, it wasn't to your beautiful state, but it was to Kansas, as we talked about. | ||
| I think Senator Moran stepped out. | ||
| But we talked about, we actually visited a major dairy operation and have since visited half a dozen more in Pennsylvania and several other states. | ||
| So I look forward to coming to Wisconsin and seeing the operation there. | ||
| The program you're talking about is not frozen. | ||
| I think after we spoke, we looked into that, but I want to make sure that's clear from your understanding as well. | ||
| So that's moving forward. | ||
| After my intervention and our conversation, the funds were released. | ||
| But that was still, you know, people make expenditures in reliance of an award that they've gotten. | ||
| I understand. | ||
| It was maybe a 30-day delay, and I apologize for that. | ||
| Any delay, I think, on a worthy program, especially with our dairy farmers, is one day is one day too many. | ||
| I know you understand. | ||
| Uncertainty of whether they were ever going to get the funds. | ||
| That's fair. | ||
| That's fair. | ||
| Let me move on to another one that you've already referenced briefly. | ||
| I was really deeply concerned when the USDA abruptly cut funding to critical food assistance programs in March, including the local food purchase assistance program and the emergency food assistance program, or TFAP. | ||
| In 2024, through the TFAP program, Wisconsin distributed over 21 million pounds of food serving over 618,000 households. | ||
| Hunger Task Force in Milwaukee had about $615,000 worth of food they expected to help feed people during this summer, halted by the Trump administration. | ||
| And Wisconsin farmers and producers work tirelessly to grow food that feeds hungry children and stocks our local food pantries. | ||
| And the decision to cancel these vital programs only hurts families trying to put food on the table and the Wisconsin farmers who produce it. | ||
| So Secretary Rollins, will you reinstate these critical food assistance programs in fiscal year 2026? | ||
| So let's talk about that for a second. | ||
| First of all, those were COVID era programs. | ||
| They were never meant to go forever and ever. | ||
| This is part of the problem with, and again, not Democrat or Republican, but any government in general. | ||
| You put an ERA program in and then it literally never goes away, which, by the way, is not fair to taxpayers. | ||
| But let me answer your question directly. | ||
| I would also argue that the situation of hunger, may I respond to that part of it? | ||
| So specifically to Wisconsin, your program in Wisconsin, aside from what was pulled back, still has $1.2 million left sitting in a bank account out of $8.1 million in your local food purchase assistance program. | ||
| You also added your state, not you, Senator, but your state asked for a contract extension because they couldn't spend the money fast enough. | ||
| Your tribes have $500,000 left out of $700,000. | ||
| Because the local food assistance purchase creates opportunities for local farms to produce fresh produce. | ||
| Some of these others get canned commodities, et cetera. | ||
| I visited several food panels in Wisconsin right now. | ||
| And we have 200 to 300 farms that were engaged in this, and this was an expected customer that they no longer have. | ||
| But, Senator, it was a COVID-era program that, by the way, you still have millions of dollars left, right, that you can use to pay those farmers. | ||
| That's the point. | ||
| Most of that, a lot of that money was never spent. | ||
| You couldn't spend it fast enough. | ||
| That's not fair to the taxpayers. | ||
| Do you know USDA spends $400 million a day on nutrition and food programs, just USDA? | ||
| That's aside from this food bank. | ||
| There is plenty of money in the system. | ||
| We just have to be better about how we're spending it. | ||
| So I hear you, but I think that it's important to look at where this money is sitting, how it is being spent, and making sure that we're using the taxpayer dollars effectively. | ||
| But thank you. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Senator Fisher. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| Secretary Rollins, it is so good to see you here today. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| I share your desire to realign and reprioritize resources across USDA to put our ranchers and our farmers first. | ||
| This is especially important for USDA's Agricultural Research Service to ensure that we are funding innovative and high-impact research that benefits our farmers and ranchers. | ||
| I've been working to secure funding for an ARS facility that's focused on innovative precision agriculture research that is co-located at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. | ||
| And I look forward to continuing to work with you on that facility to ensure we can have high-impact, high-priority research taking place there. | ||
| You have also talked about having more USDA's workforce located closer to the people that they serve. | ||
| And while no official announcements have been made, I think this would be a great step. | ||
| And I know Nebraska would be a great location to relocate parts of USDA, like the Ag Research Service, giving our proximity to a number of strong land grant institutions, lower cost of living, and strong existing relationship with the agency at the facilities I mentioned beforehand. | ||
| Can you talk about your plans for relocating parts of USDA to the heartland and how do you anticipate relocation efforts could save taxpayer dollars and create greater efficiencies for the agency itself? | ||
| We are very close. | ||
| I'll say in the coming weeks, you will hear a lot more about these plans. | ||
| And I have really, I'm so grateful because I've gotten a lot of feedback from you and from others about potential locations around the country. | ||
| What I'm most excited about in this realignment, though, is exactly how you outlined it, Senator, that we have to move. | ||
| This is a customer service-oriented agency. | ||
| And why do we have so many people in Washington, D.C.? | ||
| And then you bring the forest part into that and then the nutrition into that. | ||
| And it just doesn't make as much sense. | ||
| It'll also be cheaper for the taxpayer, and the customer service agent will be closer to the people that they serve. | ||
| So we are very in the weeds on that today, and an announcement is forthcoming. | ||
| I appreciated your comments to Senator Morand about the FSA and keeping those local offices open. | ||
| I am very well aware in rural communities across my state how important it is that farmers have that in-person access. | ||
| And while we may be using technology in many areas, there still, I think at this point in time, needs to be that face-to-face contact. | ||
| I agree. | ||
| So thank you for that as well. | ||
| In Nebraska, we are also so proud of the work that's being done at USDA's Meat Animal Research Center at Clay Center. | ||
| That is a strong relationship that the center has with our livestock producers in the state. | ||
| Last month, both Nebraska Cattlemen and Nebraska pork producers talked to me about how they valued the research that's being done there. | ||
| The President's budget does call for cuts to ARS funding, but I think it's also important for us to make sure that the dollars that we do spend on research and facilities gets stretched as far as it can. | ||
| Due to over-regulation, you've touched on that in some of your answers, a lot of burdensome contracting requirements out there, simple maintenance and upkeep costs end up costing sometimes three to four times more than they should. | ||
| And this is especially true for unique research centers like US MARC at Clay Center, who operate, they are working farms, they are working ranches, they handle livestock on a daily basis. | ||
| So would you agree that research done in collaboration with the livestock industry at USMARC's working farm and ranch is important? | ||
| And would your team work with mine to ensure that the improvements that we make to ARS facilities don't end up dramatically costing more than it would for the private sector to operate those? | ||
| I will, Senator, and I appreciate that and the great research that happens in Nebraska. | ||
| A quick note on ARS. | ||
| While we are decreasing the budget, it's $2.1 billion currently under the President's budget from Friday. | ||
| It goes down to $1.9 billion. | ||
| That's about a 7.5% decrease, and that's really focused on just some out of, Some facilities that are way behind on repair and just out of date and not meeting the mark, obviously not yours in Nebraska. | ||
| So that is a very targeted decrease in funding that shouldn't affect. | ||
| We remain highly, highly focused on the priorities of ARS and ensuring those are funded. | ||
| You know, I hope you can also look at that overregulation that we have with contracting that I mentioned, because a lot of times just those really simple maintenance does end up costing more and more and more. | ||
| Where if we can, you know, you always hear about government regulation and how burdensome it is, and there's some good examples that we need to get rid of those good examples and make sure that we're dealing with common sense and in the real world to meet those lower costs that should be available. | ||
| And the most important thing you can do is send us, have your team send us those examples, and we'll get on it right away. | ||
| Great. | ||
| Thank you, Senator. | ||
| Thank you, Madam Secretary. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Senator Heinrich. | |
| Thank you, Chairman. | ||
| Secretary, the iron fire is currently burning in the Gila National Forest. | ||
| And you and I have talked about the Silver City Dispatch Center, which is in charge of coordinating the response between air assets and frontline firefighters in the Southwest. | ||
| It is still among the dispatch centers that Doge is seeking to close. | ||
| And in our conversations, you assured me that you would seek to keep this dispatch center open, that you would designate it mission-critical. | ||
| Talk to me about what you're doing to make good on that promise. | ||
| Yeah, we have been in conversations with GSA on that, Senator, and certainly as we have many hands working across the Trump administration to deliver on our promise for a more effective and efficient government. | ||
| We agree that this is important, and especially as wildfire season is heating up, ensuring that we are operationally ready at every turn in your state and in other states that are highly affected by that. | ||
| So we remain focused on that. | ||
| And if you hear something different, please call me. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Let's return to something that you discussed with my colleague from Wisconsin. | |
| The local food purchasing assistance and local food for schools programs, in my view, are two of the best, and they may be COVID programs, but they're two of the best examples of using American-grown produce to produce healthier outcomes in our students. | ||
| To me, that is making America healthy again. | ||
| You've canceled both of those contracts, even though those contracts were signed and farmers had bought supplies for planting based on those contracts. | ||
| So what would you say to both the producers and the schools who made financial decisions based on those commitments? | ||
| Well, I would love, Senator. | ||
| The first thing I'll say is could you send me specific information on that? | ||
| Because that would be really helpful. | ||
| We've talked a lot in broad strokes, but if I can see the details, in New Mexico, you still have $1 million and a half dollars of the last tranche left out of $6 million. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I can't speak to what the state is doing, and we'll be happy to run that to ground. | |
| But the people I'm hearing from are literally the schools and the producers who were impacted, the growers. | ||
| Yeah, I would love to get more details on that and what that looks like. | ||
| Again, as a COVID-era program, the other side of this, and I want to make sure you've got plenty of time to ask your other questions, but the other side of this, as far as the local nutritious farms, et cetera, I mean, I think that's a massive push. | ||
| I think it's important we remain prioritized on that. | ||
| But again, the $400 million a day we spend at USDA on nutrition, just on nutrition, I believe sincerely that we'll be able to check a lot of those boxes without continuing a program that was supposed to end at the end of COVID and that in fact most states still have a lot of money left in the bank. | ||
| They haven't been able to spend it. | ||
|
unidentified
|
My colleague from Kansas mentioned Food for Peace and McGovern-Dole. | |
| These programs have provided life-saving American-grown food to people around the world. | ||
| I have literally met with mothers and children who relied on American food aid for their survival. | ||
| So I appreciate that you've had initial discussions with Secretary Rubio about these programs, but what I saw two weeks ago with several of my Republican colleagues on the ground at a refugee camp was kids who were on fractional rations who didn't have enough calories per day to thrive. | ||
| So what are we doing to fill the gap between the historic commitment of those programs and whatever that replaces them in the meantime when the impact is kids who are not getting enough to eat? | ||
| And you're talking specifically on the international programs. | ||
| Yes, that's a great conversation. | ||
| We continue to talk about it. | ||
| The President has been very clear that we have to ensure that our kids here in America that are hungry, that we're serving, obviously they are the priority. | ||
| It doesn't mean that we don't care about or want to move out our American farmers' produce and we should in commodities across the world, but really focusing here in America first. | ||
| But secondly, understanding how effective those programs are, which I talked a little bit about with the back and forth with Senator Baldwin, I think it may have been Senator Murray, but how important and effective those are, where we're spending the money, how it's being spent, and what that looks like. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I think you'll get a lot of support from this committee to go after overhead, excess overhead. | |
| I think we have to check too many boxes, and there are a lot of entities that have gotten good at running those contracts because they can check those boxes. | ||
| But what we saw on the ground was kids who had malaria and other diseases because they simply didn't have enough food to eat because commitments we made were not being made good on. | ||
| Well, I would love more details on that. | ||
| That would help me understand and, in fact, where it was y'all went. | ||
| And then my commitment to you is to study that. | ||
| And my heart is with what you're saying. | ||
| But again, putting America first, understanding how we're feeding our children. | ||
| And we haven't had a Maha discussion yet, but if we do, we can talk a little bit more about that is important. | ||
| But also understanding that, again, the mission and the intention of these programs are always good. | ||
| It is how we are effectuating them and putting them into play and really looking at that closely. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thanks. | |
| Senator Hyde-Smith. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Ranking Member. | ||
| And thank you, Madam Secretary, for being here. | ||
| Thank you, Senator. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I am thrilled to have you there. | |
| I think you've already proven to be a great Secretary of Agriculture. | ||
| My hat is off to you. | ||
| The challenges that you're facing in reorganization and a new administration is a tall drink of water. | ||
| And I certainly want to be helpful any way I can. | ||
| And I can attest to those 5 a.m. texts that I don't know when you sleep. | ||
| But there's so many challenges out there. | ||
| And of course, as the former head of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture, I know all the players. | ||
| And getting the calls I'm getting now on the concerns that you are desperately trying to address is very much appreciated because there's a lot of glaring concerns that we have to take a look at. | ||
| And I just admire the speed that you're tackling this and the tasks that you have in front of you. | ||
| And before I go to the questions, and I know that this is about the 2026 budget request, but before I go into these questions, I just want to say this to everybody in the room. | ||
| Congress needs to address the outdated and inadequate safety nets that in the farm bill during the budget reconciliation process. | ||
| There's a lot of farmers in Mississippi and across this country that are not going to be able to continue unless we do address this. | ||
| It is so concerning for me. | ||
| And addressing one aspect of the farm bill snap and reconciliation without making improvements to the farm safety net, it will make it extremely difficult to pass a farm bill. | ||
| But it is so critical. | ||
| So American farmers, as you well know, desperately want a new and improved farm bill. | ||
| And I think it's our job to improve the farm bill. | ||
| So let's give that to them by addressing the safety net and reconciliation. | ||
| I can't scream that enough. | ||
| And like I said, I know this is about the budget, but that is so critically important that we do this now. | ||
| I want to just commend you on how efficiently and fast the department got out the $10 billion in disaster aid Congress passed in December to help commodity producers cope with the unbelievable input in cost and the depressed commodity prices. | ||
| You were excellent at doing that and I've had my farmers call and thank me for that. | ||
| But through the USDA's Emergency Commodity Assistance Program or the ECAP that you've referenced, you know, many farmers are able to farm this crop this year that literally they would not be able to otherwise. | ||
| When I have bankers come to me and say, we are not going to finance your farmers next year without something, it was that critical and it was not sounding the alarm. | ||
| It was just pure fact is what we were dealing with. | ||
| So thank you for that. | ||
| But when can we expect USDA to distribute the remaining disaster funds for 2023 and 2024 for the weather related losses? | ||
| That's the questions that we're being asked right now. | ||
| If you could address that. | ||
| Yes, ma'am. | ||
| And I appreciate all the good words. | ||
| And just quickly, it is the team sitting over my right shoulder and the people back at USDA that literally worked seven days a week, 18, 20 hour days to get that first tranche of funding out. | ||
| And I'm so grateful to them and the unbelievable amount of time and effort they put into it. | ||
| They're putting that same amount of time and effort into this now second tranche on the disaster relief. | ||
| The portal should open within a matter of weeks before the end of the month to allow those grant applications to begin being processed. | ||
| Our goal is timely, efficient, and turn it around quickly. | ||
| With the first tranche, that first $10 billion, the ECAP, we were turning it in two to three days, which I believe is unprecedented for any government program, but certainly for USDA. | ||
| And our goal is to have the same sort of speed, timeliness, and hopefully effectiveness on the second launch as well. | ||
|
unidentified
|
And thank you for that. | |
| And there's no doubt that you're not going to accomplish that because you've done so well so far. | ||
| And we've talked about the FSA county levels and the staffing and the decisions that have been made. | ||
| But again, as I hear from all of my producers and so many throughout the country, we know that some of this is so necessary and it is going to benefit us in the long run. | ||
| It's kind of like cleaning out a closet. | ||
| You dread doing it and you get everything out and it's just stuff everywhere until you get it sorted and organized and put back. | ||
| And I know that I can completely understand and appreciate. | ||
|
unidentified
|
So with four children, we can clean out caused sweetness. | |
| But that's where we are. | ||
| Yes, ma'am. | ||
|
unidentified
|
And to get it organized, put in the proper place, but to get to the end of the conclusions, is it being spent properly? | |
| And are we doing the most that we can to make it efficient? | ||
| So my question is just it's so critically important that support continues to reach these producers. | ||
| And can we just ask that you work with the subcommittee on doing that? | ||
| Absolutely. | ||
| And it brings up a bigger question, I think, Senator, that the average age of the farmer is 58. | ||
| That's a whole other hearing for another time, how we reverse that trend. | ||
| But I think it goes to not to cast any of us, you know, around that age or older aspersions at any of us, but that moving to online is important at some point. | ||
| But that's my point. | ||
| It isn't today. | ||
| And especially with all the challenges and the headwinds against our producers, we have to keep those frontliners in place as we're moving these projects out. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Well, you have an unbelievable task with a huge agency, but I just want you to know you've got my support. | |
| I've been on the front lines. | ||
| I've been there. | ||
| And I am very, very pleased with what you're doing in the direction you're headed. | ||
| And thank you for being willing to do it. | ||
| Thank you, Senator. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Senator Peterson. | |
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
| Secretary Rollins, good to see you again. | ||
| Welcome to the committee. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you. | |
| Secretary, as part of the 2018 farm bill, Congress passed the PAUS Act legislation, which I authored to establish a grant program to provide shelter options for domestic violence survivors with companion animals. | ||
| Research had found that up to 84 percent of women entering domestic violence shelters reported that their partners had threatened, abused, or had killed the family pet, use that as a source of intimidation for these survivors. | ||
| In fact, nearly half the survivors report that they've stayed with their abuser longer, sometimes months, sometimes years, because of fear of what would happen to that beloved part of their family. | ||
| Pause funding is a priority that I pushed throughout my time on this committee and in the Senate. | ||
| And it's a line item that I hope to see in the President's budget once we receive the details. | ||
| So my question for you, Secretary Rollins, is would you be willing to support this important issue? | ||
| And certainly I'd hope to count on you to get that continuing support that survivors have been able to get these last few years. | ||
| Senator, if we could follow up and have a longer conversation, I would welcome that opportunity. | ||
| This is the first I've heard of it, so I don't want to commit without knowing more, but I really appreciate your leadership and your quiet, steady hand in all of this, and I would love to have a longer conversation about that. | ||
| Great. | ||
| We will follow up on that. | ||
| Yeah, it would be great. | ||
| I'd be happy to do that. | ||
| In my home state of Michigan, food and agriculture is the second largest contributor to our state's economy. | ||
| Everybody thinks about manufacturing and making cars. | ||
| We do that really well, but ag is incredibly important. | ||
| And specialty crop industries are the biggest part of that equation. | ||
| That's why I've long fought for strong, consistent funding for the APHIS specialty crop pest program. | ||
| And that's also why I'm so alarmed by some of the recent reports that more than 1,300 APHIS employees have accepted the deferred resignation option. | ||
| So my question for you, Madam Secretary, is how will your agency continue to meet its responsibilities after such a major reduction in staffing? | ||
| Well, it's a really important question and one that I have been talking about quite a bit in media. | ||
| I think that while we are moving through the reduction in force, but one point that I made, Senator, I don't know if you were in the room, that while 15,000 of our employees of 106,000 staffed agency, so a little less than 15 percent, have accepted the deferred resignation program, our typical attrition is between 8,000 and 10,000. | ||
| Now, obviously, this is a significant jump from that, but it is one that I believe is manageable. | ||
| I signed a memorandum a few weeks ago at USDA putting our key areas, such as APIS, such as wildland firefighting, such as FSA offices, at the very top of the list. | ||
| So as we have lost important employees as part of this process, we are out recruiting and ensuring that they become and are prioritized as we rehire, realign, and reorganize the agency. | ||
| Okay, well, I look forward to working with you on that as well. | ||
| So a major concern for us. | ||
| As you know, public investment in agricultural research has decreased since 2002. | ||
| While we've seen competitors such as China surge in their research efforts, they've now far surpass U.S. investment in agricultural research as well as development. | ||
| And given the critical importance of food security to national security, China competitiveness in this context I think is of much utmost importance for us to keep an eye on. | ||
| That's why I'm frustrated to see that the President's budget calls for hefty cuts in ag research funding. | ||
| So my question for you, Madam Secretary, is, is ag research a priority for this administration? | ||
| And if so, how do you square that with this year's budget request? | ||
| Obviously, the research is a key component of this, of the work at USDA. | ||
| In this budget discussion, we're just talking about the discretionary funding, which is about $30 billion of our total $200-plus billion dollar annual budget. | ||
| So about 20 percent total is what we're discussing today in total. | ||
| Of that, the research part of it in the budget that came out Friday went from $2.1 billion down to $1.9 billion. | ||
| So while it is a cut, it's not a massive cut. | ||
| It's a 7 percent cut, and it's very much focused on outdated facilities. | ||
| So as we continue the high priority and the focus on the important research, I believe that none of that will be compromised, Senator. | ||
| If you see something different on the ground in Michigan or across the country, would you please flag it for us? | ||
| Because it shouldn't affect the key most important parts of the research. | ||
| All right. | ||
| Well, thank you for that. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | ||
| Thank you, Senator. | ||
| Good to see you. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Senator Oshoff. | |
| Good morning. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. | |
| Good morning, Madam Secretary. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you for joining us. | |
| I want to follow up on hurricane disaster assistance. | ||
| Key, key priority for farmers in Georgia, Madam Secretary. | ||
| It's worth noting that after Hurricane Michael in 2018, it took the Congress the better part of a year to pass disaster assistance. | ||
| We worked together across the aisle here to get it done after Hurricane Helene in less than 90 days. | ||
| Here's a quote from Arin Moses, owner of Moses Pecan in Uvalda, Georgia. | ||
| We lost almost our entire 2024 pecan crop when Hurricane Helene hit our orchards. | ||
| We lost the majority of our mature pecan trees, which will set our farms production back for years. | ||
| We were thankful that Congress approved disaster assistance funding at the end of last year, but it's critical that these funds get to those that need help. | ||
| Here's a quote from Chris Hopkins, a cotton producer in Tombs County. | ||
| He said that the storm has created a void due to loss of yield and quality as well as cost of cleanup that has become untenable to a first-generation operation like mine. | ||
| When can farmers in Georgia expect that hurricane relief, which we passed timely in Congress, to be out the door? | ||
| Yeah, first of all, thank you for that. | ||
| That relief was passed very quickly and very impressively at the end of last year. | ||
| And so we have been tracking it very, very closely. | ||
| I have visited Georgia. | ||
| Hopefully next time I'll see you. | ||
| I've visited some of those peanut farmers especially. | ||
| I've seen the devastation firsthand. | ||
| It is heartbreaking to witness it. | ||
| I had mentioned earlier, but it is good to keep repeating it, that within a matter of weeks, the portal will open on those grant applications. | ||
| ECAP, which was the first tranche, that first $10 billion that went out for emergency assistance. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Economic assistance. | |
| That's right. | ||
| I understand. | ||
| But I just want to use that as an explanation of how we are going to be also doing the second tranche, which is the disaster. | ||
| We on March 17th announced it. | ||
| On March 20th, funds were moving out and into farmers. | ||
|
unidentified
|
When will the portal be open for the disaster results? | |
| By the end of the month, hopefully in the next week. | ||
|
unidentified
|
And how will that impact states that are using a block grant arrangement with USDA? | |
| Well, that's a state-by-state question, so I'll be happy to follow up with Tyler Harper, your Ag Commissioner, who I know is tracking this very, very closely, and ensure that we fully understand. | ||
|
unidentified
|
When do you expect those discussions with the state to be resolved? | |
| Well, again, there are 50 States. | ||
| We are talking to all of them. | ||
| When we open that portal, hopefully it moves almost immediately. | ||
| We've already moved the $280 million that was outlined in that disaster relief into Texas because it was outlined. | ||
| It was obviously easier than the open book on the rest of the States, but it will move very, very quickly. | ||
| If you don't see that, then would you please let me know and we'll do everything we can. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Madam Secretary, are you familiar with the Local Foods for Schools program? | |
| Yes, sir. | ||
|
unidentified
|
So here's a few quotes from my constituents. | |
| This is from Scott Richardson of the Dawson County School District. | ||
| Local Foods for Schools program has transformed our ability to bring healthy, fresh, and locally grown fruits and vegetables to our students. | ||
| Prior to the LFS, purchasing from local farmers was often cost prohibitive. | ||
| Here's a quote from Parrish Aikens. | ||
| They own a family farm. | ||
| He owns a family farm in Nashville, Georgia. | ||
| Mr. Aikens said this program, quote, has allowed our farming operation to capture some of the profits which in the past would have gone to another member of a supply chain and has allowed us to increase our revenues. | ||
| Here's Colquett County School Nutrition Office. | ||
| Purchasing local foods has significantly enriched our school community by providing fresher, healthier meal options for students. | ||
| Here's Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School Nutrition. | ||
| Quote, we bought some Georgia shrimp from a guy who has been in the shrimping industry since he was a teenager in Brunswick, Crisp County School Nutrition. | ||
| Through the Local Food for Schools program, we were able to establish reliable and stable local food sources. | ||
| This is a program, of course, that helps Georgia farmers sell food to Georgia schools. | ||
| Why did you cancel the program? | ||
| Well, let's talk about Georgia for a second. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I have 50 seconds left. | |
| Well, that's a big question. | ||
| You've got to give me a little bit more time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I want to know why you canceled the program. | |
| Well, we canceled the program. | ||
| It was a COVID-era program, first of all. | ||
| Second of all, the money wasn't being spent. | ||
| In the current tranche, your State has $2 million of $7 million left in the account. | ||
| You are asking for contract extensions because you can't spend the money quickly enough. | ||
| The food for the FPA, the LFPA, we have got $10 million of $20 million left. | ||
|
unidentified
|
If you've got money, it's not a good use of taxpayer funds. | |
| When you've got taxpayer dollars, well, I would love to talk to your constituents. | ||
| I wonder if they know that the State of Georgia has not moved that money out of the school. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Will you please provide to the committee an economic justification for the outright cancellation of that program? | |
| An economic justification for the outright cancellation of the COVID-era program that was due to end. | ||
| Yes. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Of the local food for schools program that my constituents enjoy and rely on. | |
| Yes, we will be happy to do that, sir. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you, Madam Secretary. | |
| Thank you. | ||
| Senator Merkley. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and welcome. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you. | |
| So agricultural research is very important in the State of Oregon. | ||
| We have such varied types of agricultural activity. | ||
| Just to give you an example, in Corvallis, the work is done on sudden oak death, which has a huge threat to our nursery stock industry, but also a huge threat potentially to our timber. | ||
| In Pendleton, the research being done on drought-resistant dryland wheat varieties is essential. | ||
| In Burns, the research on how to reseed grasses that are beneficial to cattle after a fire rather than having cheatgrass take over is essential. | ||
| So we were shocked when all these scientists were fired. | ||
| We lobbied like hell to get them back. | ||
| We got them back. | ||
| Thank you very much. | ||
| But I'm very concerned about the proposed cut of $160 million to research in the proposed budget. | ||
| Can you ensure or can you assure the farmers and all these ranchers and all these different places in Oregon that the research will go on in a vibrant and significant way, not only for these reasons, that's just a shortlist. | ||
| I mean, we have invasive flies affecting the berries. | ||
| We have so many, we have warmer conditions in the ocean affecting our shellfish. | ||
| Can you assure us that we are not going to end up without this essential research being done? | ||
| Yes, sir, and I really appreciate this question, Senator. | ||
| So the ARS portion of USDA has a $2.1 billion budget. | ||
| The President's budget suggests, as you mentioned, the $160 million decrease that takes us down to 1.9. | ||
| That's about a 7 percent decrease. | ||
| So it's not as big as maybe it's being made out to be in the press. | ||
| And that specifically is focused on closing outdated facilities around the country that have nothing to do with the different issues that are being researched that are outlined. | ||
| So yes, we can commit to ensure that the robust body of research that is so important to our agriculture producers continues. | ||
| And I look forward to working with you. | ||
| And if you hear anything differently, please call me. | ||
| Are there any outdated facilities that you think are outdated in Oregon? | ||
| I don't believe so, but we'll follow up on that. | ||
| I don't know if I visited, I think, all of them, and they're incredibly important. | ||
| We'll follow up on that today, sir. | ||
| I want to turn to the question about the funding to decrease essentially the challenge of food insecurity. | ||
| And we have one in six kids in Oregon who are facing that insecurity, which basically means they're going hungry. | ||
| And so the suspension of the Commodity Credit Corporation payments to food assistance programs, including TFAP, have really been shocking. | ||
| I don't think President Trump campaigned on I'm going to help increase the number of hungry kids. | ||
| So what's going on there with that? | ||
| Well, and let me pull up the Oregon numbers just so you are aware. | ||
| So again, USDA spends about $400 million, sorry, yes, $400 million a day on nutrition programs. | ||
| That's a stunning number. | ||
| The specific program you're talking about, sir, to answer your question, was a COVID-era program that at the time probably made a tremendous amount of sense but never was meant to continue indefinitely. | ||
| And specifically to Oregon, of the $2 million under the LFS program and the $7 million under the LFPA, Oregon has $330,000 left in the first and $5 million left in the second. | ||
| Almost every state was asking for contract extensions because they couldn't spend the money quickly enough. | ||
| So I think it just goes to the balance we have to strike every single day on ensuring that every taxpayer dollar is spent to the best and highest use. | ||
| And it was the decision of our president and this administration that perhaps that COVID era program had fulfilled its purpose, but we can still continue to make sure that we are supporting our farmers in getting nutritious foods into the schools and into the food banks, but through different and other programs. | ||
| You know, I guess I'd like to have you look at this from the perspective: is there a current need that needs to be addressed, whether or not it was originated under COVID or not? | ||
| I have visited those food banks. | ||
| I have seen the high increase in demand, which it is kind of scary to see how that need has grown. | ||
| I have the estimate from the Oregon Food Bank that the changes that are currently happening under Credit Corporation suspension will reduce their ability to provide about 3 million meals, 2.88, they said, 3 million meals. | ||
| It seems like a pretty significant impact to an ongoing problem, regardless of whether the program was created under COVID. | ||
| So could you just take a look at that in more detail? | ||
| I'll look at the numbers you provided. | ||
| I didn't catch if one of those was a TFAP number. | ||
| Yes, sir. | ||
| Okay. | ||
| Because I know that has been the top priority of the Oregon Food Bank, is being able to move produce around the State, which has been very helpful to our farmers in one place that have a surplus or grocery stores that have a surplus. | ||
| They are donating it, but it has to be moved where it is needed. | ||
| It has to be moved in a timely fashion so it doesn't rot on the vegetables and so forth. | ||
| So I see that five minutes has vanished in my stack of another 10 questions. | ||
| Well, I am always available, so I welcome a phone call. | ||
| Just call me anytime, and we'll be so happy to walk through any of the questions. | ||
| Thank you very much. | ||
| Yeah, thank you, Senator. | ||
| Nice to meet you. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Secretary, we know you have a timeline. | |
| We certainly want you visiting with the Mexican Ambassador. | ||
| We'll go to close up. | ||
| Let me turn to ranking Member Shaheen for her final comments. | ||
| Yeah, and Senator Shaheen, if you have any other questions, we can go a few more minutes. | ||
| Well, I just wanted to clarify what Senator Murray and I think we were asking you about with respect to the WIC program, which, as you pointed out, is not mentioned at all in the skinny budget. | ||
| And what also is not mentioned is the cash value benefit for fruits and vegetables. | ||
| So what we wanted to know from you is whether you would fully support fully funding WIC, including that cash benefit. | ||
| If you don't mind, I'd like to take a good look at it. | ||
| Since it wasn't in this particular round, I haven't spent the time on it. | ||
| But obviously, this administration believes that WIC is very important. | ||
| Secretary Kennedy and I have had conversations about it pretty extensively already. | ||
| So the more that I can learn and be in contact with y'all, I would welcome that. | ||
| We would appreciate your getting back to us on whether you support both aspects of the WIC program. | ||
| The other thing I just wanted to clarify is I wasn't quite clear where you got the numbers of money that has gone out to New Hampshire and number of recipients, because when we checked the online dashboard, New Hampshire has received 24,000 only of the $10 billion in economic disaster assistance that was provided in the December supplemental. | ||
| And the dashboard states that 51 applications have been approved. | ||
| So I'm not sure where those numbers came from, but they're a lot higher than any numbers I've ever heard related to the agricultural sector in New Hampshire. | ||
| So. | ||
| You know what, Senator, my apologies. | ||
| It looks like there was a typo on your you have you and South Dakota are exactly the same on this sheet. | ||
| And we know that those are two very different states. | ||
| So my sincere, sincere apologies, this is unacceptable. | ||
| It will not happen again. | ||
| And we'll make sure and get it right. | ||
| And today we will follow up. | ||
| Now, I don't know. | ||
| The numbers are not as big a concern for me as making sure that the funding goes to the people who need it in New Hampshire. | ||
| That's the concern. | ||
| We will follow up with your team today on that and make sure you have the up-to-date numbers. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yeah, and I can add there, again, I think that's weather-related, which you'll have coming out. | |
| We put a number of different components in there. | ||
| Right. | ||
|
unidentified
|
So I think Senator Sheen, correct me if you're wrong, you just want to make sure in that weather component, they're cognizant of the language you talked about with the allocation specifically regarding small farms. | |
| Is that right? | ||
| Well, the $220 million set aside for the eight states is a concern. | ||
| But the other concern is the halt on funding and the applications that have been submitted for all of the assistance programs. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| We'll get direct information. | ||
| Mr. Chairman, that. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Right. | |
| And there were like five different pieces to that. | ||
| And so I think she's referring to a piece that was weather-related, separate from the market conditions base, $10 billion base that we talked about. | ||
| I think that's the confusion, and I'm sure you all can follow up with her on that. | ||
| And again, from what I've seen, you are following very well what we laid out in that emergency assistance, and we appreciate it. | ||
| And we just squared away. | ||
| Just final couple comments or questions. | ||
| Any update on tariff agreement timelines that I don't want to speak for Secretary Lutnick, Secretary Besant, or our U.S. trade rep, Jamison Greer, or the President, but we are exceedingly close to having significant announcements that of anyone that will be impacted. | ||
| No one will be impacted positively more than our agriculture industry as these announcements begin to roll out very quickly. | ||
|
unidentified
|
And we think weeks, not months. | |
| Oh, yes, that's right. | ||
| That's exactly right. | ||
| Within weeks. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yeah. | |
| Okay. | ||
| And then there was some discussion regarding ARS, restructuring, those kind of things. | ||
| Obviously, the policy centers, you've got one at AM, FAPRI, NDSU, Nebraska-Omaha. | ||
| We're going to want to be involved in that very closely with you. | ||
| Very important, as well as the NIFA funding. | ||
| So those are things that we're going to want to talk to you about closely more. | ||
| We would welcome that. | ||
| Yes, thank you. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yeah. | |
| And then just anything else that you want to add for the record, Secretary, before we adjourn? | ||
| I would just say that I really, really appreciate the opportunity. | ||
| This is my first hearing other than the confirmation hearing. | ||
| And I have been, you know, obviously there are some differences of opinion and we can agree to disagree, but the agriculture side of this effort, we're all in this together. | ||
| And I think even on the other side of the aisle, you know, understanding that every one of our elected officials on both sides really want what's best for our ag producers and our farmers and our ranchers. | ||
| And I know you know this, Senator Hovind. | ||
| Senator Shaheen, you may not yet, but I am always available. | ||
| And I just want this to be a productive conversation and productive four years where we can hopefully get these farmers and ranchers back to a place of prosperity and where they're not worrying about losing their farm every single year. | ||
| So that's my goal and I look forward to working across party lines to do that. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Well again, Secretary, thank you for being here. | |
| Questions for the record are due by next Tuesday, May 13th, and we would appreciate responses back from USDA within 30 days. | ||
| Oh, easy. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| I shouldn't say that before the questions come in, but we'll do that. | ||
| And one other thing for y'all to know, too, we're working really hard on the letters to make sure we're timely on responding to letters. | ||
| We've gotten about 140 since I took office about 80 days ago, and we've responded to more than half of those to date, and we've responded to everyone on this committee. | ||
| So I feel really good, and this is, we are way understaffed. | ||
| So I think that we'll be able to be much more timely moving forward, and that's really important to me as well. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you, Secretary. | |
| Thank you. | ||
|
unidentified
|
that, we are adjourned. | |
| On Monday, Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen will discuss the Trump administration's potential violations of due process rights when it comes to deportations. | ||
| The discussion is expected to touch on Kilmar Obrego Garcia, the man deported from Maryland whom Senator Van Holland visited in El Salvador last month. | ||
| From the Center for American Progress, watch it live at 10:30 a.m. Eastern on C-SPAN 2. | ||
| Also, C-SPAN Now, our free mobile app, or online at c-span.org. | ||
| Carthyism, Whitaker Chambers, Alger Hiss, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Paul Robeson, House Un-American Activities Committee, the Smith Act, the Hollywood Ten, the Joint Anti-Facist Committee, the Truman Loyalty Program, the Blacklist. | ||
| Book Burning, and Communism. | ||
| All subjects of controversy during the 30s, 40s, and 50s here in the United States. | ||
| Clay Risen, a reporter and editor at the New York Times, has a fresh look at all this in his book, Red Scare. | ||
| Mr. Risen writes in his preface that his grandfather was a career FBI agent who joined the Bureau during World War II, and he recounted stories of implementing loyalty tests for the federal government in the late 1940s. | ||
|
unidentified
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Author Clay Risen, with his book, Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America on this episode of Book Notes Plus with our host, Brian Lamb. | |
| BookNotes Plus is available wherever you get your podcasts and on the C-SPAN Now app. | ||
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