Liz Friedlander (202) 225-1564
Liz.Friedlander@mail.house.gov

James Ryder (202) 225-0020
James.Ryder@mail.house.gov

Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin C. Peterson of Minnesota convened the Agriculture CommitteeÆs first hearing of the 110^th Congress and thanked the Secretary for the time and consideration that went into his Farm Bill proposal. 

"The Committee is receiving Farm Bill input from many sources, including USDA, and I was pleased to see that Secretary Johanns included some good ideas in his proposals, even though there are some areas where we disagree," Chairman Peterson said. 

"I intend to make sure that we protect the safety net, while adding new initiatives that will revitalize rural America and help our country achieve energy independence. It is an ambitious agenda, but I am confident that we can do it."

Ranking member Goodlatte also welcomed the SecretaryÆs testimony. 

"Today, we had the opportunity to engage in a good dialogue with Secretary Johanns and delve into the details of the USDAÆs farm bill proposal.  One of the ideas warranting further investigation is the proposal to convert the current price-based counter-cyclical program to a revenue-based counter-cyclical program.  We need to understand exactly how that might work and the implications for farmers and ranchers," said Ranking Republican Bob Goodlatte.

Prior to the hearing, the Committee held a short business meeting to approve the Oversight Plan and staff list.  The members unanimously approved both items.

Secretary JohannsÆ testimony and the Committee Oversight plan are available on the Committee website:  http://democrats-agriculture.house.gov. 

http://democrats-agriculture.house.gov

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