I rise in strong support of H.R. 2051. This bipartisan legislation reauthorizes the Mandatory Price Reporting Act, the National Forest Foundation Act and the U.S. Grain Standards Act. This bill continues the tradition of bipartisan, bicameral work done by the Agriculture Committees.

USDA’s work covers a lot of ground. Given the size and scope of the department it’s good that we understand the full picture of the work being done in the various mission areas.

The letter urged continued assistance in three areas – complete biosecurity research in a timely manner to ensure industry can take immediate steps before fall, complete bilateral trade talks with international partners to ensure vaccine usage will not harm export sales, and complete research and development of a viable commercial vaccine.

I think USDA and my state of Minnesota have done good work. And they continue to do a good job addressing the situation. It hasn’t been perfect but perfection is hard to come by in times of crisis. Now is the time to go over lessons learned that will help us develop a better plan if we have a future outbreak.

I look forward to hearing our witnesses’ views on the areas that need more work, particularly what they feel would be the most appropriate role for Congress to support Chairman Massad in his efforts to coordinate the CFTC’s rules with those of foreign regulators.

Importantly, the bill changes the current review process to ensure that every new genetically engineered plant destined to enter the market goes through an FDA safety review. The bill also sets a national, uniform standard to define genetically engineered products. Food producers and processors choosing to market their products as non-GE will be able to do so with a USDA-backed label.

Oversight of USDA is a responsibility the Committee takes very seriously. Having an open dialogue with the department is important to ensure that USDA is operating in the best interests of our constituents and implementing programs as Congress intended.

It has been about seven years since the financial crisis and five years since the Agriculture Committee finished its work on Title Seven of Dodd Frank. We can look back now and see the results of that work.

As the Chairman said, land-grant universities play an important role in agricultural research, extension and educational programs. Research is vital to agriculture. USDA’s research, education and extension programs help increase productivity, prevent plant and animal disease, improve human nutrition and health, and discover and utilize new technologies.

Consumers increasingly want to know more about where their food comes from and how it is produced. I think H.R. 1599 satisfies that demand while also recognizing what we know about the safety of the foods that our farmers produce.