Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) will chair the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. The incoming chairwoman announces her agenda, as the 117th Congress begins its work.
“I am pleased to once again be serving as chairwoman and to have Senator Boozman as my partner. We’ve worked closely together on many issues, and will be operating in the same bipartisan way as Senator Roberts and I did,” Stabenow says.
The Senate Agriculture Committee will first “examine the nomination of Tom Vilsack to be Secretary of Agriculture.”
“We’re lucky to have his experience,” Stabenow says. “(He is) someone who understands what USDA, agriculture, and rural America is all about. I appreciate the fact that he’s going to embrace new ideas as well.”
Stabenow pledges to “move forward aggressively” in addressing “issues affecting our food and agriculture system.” Furthermore, she plans to promote policies, which “create jobs and economic opportunities for farmers, families, and rural communities.”
“We have to focus on responding to COVID-19 and the effects on farmers, families, and food supply chain. Our farmers have faced financial strain from a lot of directions,” Stabenow says. “We also have as many as 50 million Americans who are not able to feed themselves and their families. When we look forward to working with the new Secretary, we want to make sure we’re addressing issues with the supply chain and that we’re not leaving families or farmers behind.”
Other primary focuses of the Senate Agriculture Committee include:
- Addressing the Climate Crisis with Voluntary, Producer-led, Bipartisan Solutions
- Fighting Childhood Hunger with Stronger Child Nutrition Programs
- Creating Jobs and Improving Quality of Life in Rural America
- Filling Key Leadership Positions at U.S. Department of Agriculture and Related Agencies
- Laying the Groundwork for the Next Bipartisan Farm Bill
