WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, delivered the following opening statement at the Agriculture Committee hearing: Perspectives on Reauthorization of the U.S. Grain Standards Act. Testifying at the hearing was Minnesotan Nicholas Friant from Chanhassen, who is the Chairman of the Grain Grades and Weights Committee at the National Grain and Feed Association.
A rough transcript of Klobuchar’s full opening statement is available below and a video can be downloaded here.
Senator Klobuchar: I’m really excited that you’re having this hearing, Mr. Chairman, to focus on the grain inspection system. And I'd especially like to welcome Mr. Nick Friant from Chanhassen, Minnesota, who is joined here today by his daughter, Clara, as well.
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Before we begin, I’d like to underscore how damaging USDA's recently announced reorganization could be to American agriculture. I truly appreciate that Senator Boozman is having a hearing, and we’re going to hear from the Deputy Secretary tomorrow because we had little analysis and zero consultation with all of this.
A hearing on Grain Standards may seem unusual. But this statute and the services provided by the Federal Grain Inspection Service serve a critical role in the U.S. and global marketplace for grains and oilseeds. And we’ve had bipartisan support for working on this issue in the past, and plan to have that keep happening in the future. Any lapse in this authority, which is set to expire at the end of September, will only create more uncertainty for farmers.
Though the Grain Standards Act was first enacted in 1916, the current grain inspection system was born out of the 1970s when the credibility of U.S. agricultural exports was seriously called into question following a series of scandals in our private inspection system. While American farmers were producing high-quality grain, private individuals and companies tasked with inspection were shortchanging customers abroad through intentional mis-grading, inaccurately weighing grain, and even bribery, that led to several Federal indictments and convictions.
Following those events, Congress created the Federal Grain Inspection System to return integrity to the U.S. brand.
The official USDA certificate of inspection and weighing helps ensure American farmers are getting a fair price and guarantees international customers can trust the products they are buying – whether it’s from Minnesota with our soybeans or rice from Arkansas.
Since that time, with various periodic updates, the trust associated with this certificate has become the gold standard for international customers and has made American farmers the premier suppliers of high-quality grains and oilseeds.
These export markets have been a bright spot in our economy in recent decades, and with all the uncertainty going on with tariffs, it is more important than ever that we maintain the integrity of our grain inspection system today. I look forward to working with you, Mr. Chairman Boozman, to do just that as we begin to work together in a bipartisan way to reauthorize this legislation.
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