WASHINGTON - House Agriculture Chairman David Scott of Georgia delivered the following statement after today’s hearing with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack:

“I would like to thank Secretary Tom Vilsack for providing a comprehensive update on USDA’s work to address the issues facing our rural residents and agricultural producers over the last year,” said Chairman David Scott.  “Congress took great care to authorize programs that would help our critical food and agriculture industry come back from the pandemic, and the Biden-Harris Administration is doing its part, deploying significant resources to provide pandemic relief and bolster our supply chain.”

Chairman Scott added, “Our food system and rural communities were hit hard by the pandemic, which is why it’s encouraging to have a strong partner in Secretary Vilsack as USDA works to continue getting various pandemic and disaster relief provisions out the door. I will continue to press upon the Administration to take vigorous action to address the supply chain challenges that have persisted as a result of the pandemic, and to build upon its progress restoring our economy. We are already seeing promising signs with unemployment lowered to 3.9 percent and wages increased 4.7 percent for American workers.”

Video of Chairman Scott’s opening statement can be found here.

Video of Secretary Vilsack’s testimony can be found here.

Photos for use from this hearing can be found here.