One of the newest members of the Senate, Democrat Raphael Warnock of Georgia, who won a special election on Jan. 5, was named chairman of a Senate Agriculture subcommittee, announced committee leaders on Monday. Warnock, who faces re-election in 2022, will chair the subcommittee that oversees farm subsidies, futures markets and agricultural trade.
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, a second-term Democrat who also joined the Agriculture Committee this year, was appointed chairman of the subcommittee on nutrition. One of the top issues for the Agriculture Committee this year is expected to be reauthorization of child nutrition programs, such as school lunch, last updated in 2010. The committee also may begin preparations for the 2023 farm bill.
Three other subcommittee leaders were named: Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith to chair the subcommittee on rural development and energy, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet to chair the subcommittee on conservation and climate, and New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand to chair the subcommittee on livestock and food safety.