Agriculture a Top Priority in 112th Congress

January 18, 2011 The work of 112th Congress will be tremendously important to the lifeblood of our state's economy—agriculture. Between preparing the next farm bill (the current one expires in 2012) and checking the power of an overreaching Administration, the Senate Agriculture Committee will be engaging in issues of great significance to our state’s farmers, ranchers, agribusinesses, and rural communities. In anticipation of this important work, I've outlined to the top members of the committee my objectives and goals to ensure American ag producers remain globally competitive and continue to lead the world in food and energy production. About five years ago, I was touring the country as Secretary of Agriculture, using what I heard from producers as the foundation for writing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s proposals for the 2008 farm bill. I appreciated the insight that folks from across the countryside provided for that undertaking, and I look forward to again deepening my discussion with the ag community about the future of farm policy. The Senate Agriculture Committee will continue to hold hearings to examine various farm bill provisions; I am hopeful that the Committee will utilize the expertise of Nebraskans throughout the process and perhaps even hold a field hearing in our state. The Agriculture Committee will also play a central role in overseeing and counterbalancing the increasingly stifling regulatory efforts of the Obama Administration. Over the last two years, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been especially busy proposing new ideas to regulate—and unnecessarily interfere with—agriculture. Among EPA’s many misguided efforts are the development of a duplicative permitting scheme for pesticides, consideration of more stringent standards for dust, and even the regulation of milk spills. In all of these endeavors, the Administration has shown a disregard for both common sense and the realities of life as a farmer. I take the Senate’s oversight responsibility very seriously and will tirelessly work to rein in these ill-advised regulatory efforts. The Senate Agriculture Committee must be especially diligent in exercising oversight over the Administration’s attempts to regulate greenhouse gases. If EPA’s backdoor cap-and-trade agenda is carried out, it would be devastating to our agricultural producers. Numerous studies have shown that a cap-and-trade regime will drive up costs for farmers and ranchers, businesses, and consumers, while at the same time driving down productivity. I co-sponsored a resolution to disapprove of EPA’s regulation of greenhouse gases in 2010, which came close to passing, and I am hopeful a similar effort will succeed in 2011. The Senate Agriculture Committee must also work on initiatives to open markets and level the playing field for our agricultural producers. It has now been a year since President Obama announced the goal of doubling exports by 2015; we must continue our spirited advocacy of the trade agreements still languishing on the President's shelf. I am committed to all of these efforts and more, and I look forward to continuing my unwavering supporting for agriculture in the 112th Congress.