House Agriculture Committee
Calling impeachment ‘a mistake,’ Peterson votes against it
House Agriculture chairman Collin Peterson of Minnesota and committee member Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey voted against the impeachment of President Trump on Wednesday.
Farm support for Trump is highest ever ahead of impeachment
On the same day that President Trump praised soon-to-be Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a straw poll of farmers gave Trump an approval rating of 82 percent, his highest tally yet.
Peterson leaning, Van Drew certain to vote against impeachment
“Blue Dog” Democrats Collin Peterson and Jeff Van Drew voted in October against the House impeachment inquiry of President Trump — the only Democrats to do so — and they may vote against the impeachment articles next week. As Agriculture Committee chair, Peterson would be the most prominent House Democrat to oppose impeachment.
Keep trade war payments flowing, say ag bankers
The Trump administration has sent $10.5 billion in cash to producers since mid-August to mitigate the impact of the Sino-U.S. trade war, aid that comes on top of $8.6 billion paid for 2018 crops and livestock. “Yes, [the payments] are helpful,” said a Kansas banker on Wednesday — and the government should keep writing the checks.
Growing portion of Democratic ‘aggies’ supports investigation of Trump
Peterson increasingly isolated as Dems take aim at Trump
Ninety percent of House Democrats are on record in support of an impeachment inquiry, making House Agriculture chairman Collin Peterson an outlier in arguing against it. Sometimes called the most conservative Democrat in the House, Peterson is nearly alone among members of his committee in questioning the investigation.
Southeast will get most of $3 billion in agricultural disaster aid
Floods and crop-delaying rains in the Midwest generated a lot of attention, but the hurricane-hit U.S. Southeast will see the bulk of the $3 billion allocated by Congress for agricultural disaster relief, said Agriculture Undersecretary Bill Northey on Thursday.
House Ag chairman’s re-election called a toss-up
Rep. Collin Peterson “is a good fit for his district, but outliers like him have become less and less common,” said the political website Sabato’s Crystal Ball on Thursday, listing him as a toss-up for election to a 16th term.
Former Ag chairman Conaway, farm subsidy defender and SNAP skeptic, will retire
Staunch conservative Michael Conaway, an eight-term Republican from west Texas and the most divisive House Agriculture chairman in decades, said on Wednesday that he will retire at the end of 2020.
‘Minnesota Millionaire’ is House GOP’s food stamp poster child
Rob Undersander has been dining out on political outrage for more than a year with his story of how he purposely abused the food stamp system. On Thursday, House Republicans brought the wealthy Minnesotan to Congress to support their arguments for SNAP reform.
House USDA-FDA spending bill delays hog slaughter rule, blocks ERS/NIFA move
Don’t look for farm bailout by Congress, warns Peterson
On Thursday, hours before the second-largest U.S. farm group said producers “are in desperate need of a lifeboat to keep them afloat,” the House Agriculture chairman said that fiscal constraints would preclude Congress from a multibillion-dollar bailout for farmers.
SNAP defenders blast USDA time-limit proposal
The administration is motivated by conservative ideology, not facts, with its proposal to toughen the 90-day limit on food stamps for able-bodied adults, said the chair of a House Agriculture subcommittee on Wednesday, vowing “to do everything I can to stop this rule.”
First-term Rep. Spanberger to chair House Ag subcommittee
Democrat Abigail Spanberger, who defeated Freedom Caucus stalwart Rep. Dave Brat in a central Virginia upset last November, will be the only first-term lawmaker to chair a House Agriculture subcommittee this session, announced committee chairman Collin Peterson on Thursday.
GOP adds three newcomers to House Ag; former chair Lucas takes a break
Although they’re in the minority, Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee will work for regulatory relief at home for farmers and ranchers and market access abroad for U.S. farm exports, said Rep. Michael Conaway, the GOP leader on the committee, on Wednesday.
Democrats put muscle and lots of newcomers on House Agriculture
As House Agriculture chairman, Peterson plans extensive oversight hearings
Incoming Agriculture Committee chair Collin Peterson spelled out an ambitious plan for hearings on topics from the farm economy and the trade war to rural broadband and a review of Sonny Perdue’s decision to move two USDA agencies out of Washington.
House ag sends farm bill to Senate, reports say
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway has backed off dramatic changes to SNAP in the stalled $87 billion farm bill, sealing a deal with ranking Democrat Collin Peterson and sending a version of the bill to the Senate, according to press reports.