Minority News
Ranking Member Stabenow Opening Statement at Agricultural Research Hearing
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry, today released the following opening statement at the hearing titled "Agricultural Research and 2018 Farm Bill Implementation." Stabenow's statement, as prepared for delivery, follows: Thank you Chairman Roberts for holding this very important hearing. Dr. Hutchins, welcome back and thank you for being here. Agricultural research has always been the heart of the Dep… Continue Reading
06.25.19
Ranking Member Stabenow Urges USDA to Make Climate Change Research Public
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry, raised strong concerns that the reported suppression of significant climate change research at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is harmful to agriculture and urged the Department to publicize past and future research. A Politico article published on June 24, 2019 reported a number of instances where USDA leadership downplayed the public release of several st… Continue Reading
06.25.19
Ranking Member Stabenow Opening Statement at CFTC Reauthorization Hearing
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow(D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today released the following opening statement at the hearing titled "The State of the Derivatives Market and Perspectives for CFTC Reauthorization." Stabenow's statement, as prepared for delivery, follows: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and welcome to our witnesses here today. It's good to be with you all to discuss the CFTC and its reauthorization. It has been o… Continue Reading
06.20.19
Ranking Member Stabenow Statement on Forest Service Jobs Corps Announcement
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry, issued the following statement regarding the Administration's decision to halt their harmful proposal to shut down or transfer management of all U.S. Forest Service Civilian Conservation Job Corps Centers nationwide. Stabenow helped lead a bipartisan, bicameral group of members of Congress to urge the Administration to reverse their plan. "After broad bipartisan obje… Continue Reading
06.13.19
Ranking Member Stabenow Applauds Dairy Margin Coverage Sign Up
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry, issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Department of Agriculture's announcement that dairy farmers can sign up for affordable benefits through Dairy Margin Coverage. This program provides improved support for dairy farmers facing financial uncertainty. Stabenow authored improvements in the 2018 bipartisan Farm Bill to support dairy farmers and strengthen t… Continue Reading
06.13.19
Ranking Member Stabenow Opening Statement at Agricultural Trade Hearing
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry, today released the following opening statement at the hearing titled "Certainty in Global Markets for the U.S. Agriculture Sector." Stabenow's statement, as prepared for delivery, follows: Thank you Mr. Chairman for holding this hearing. Ambassador Doud, Under Secretary McKinney, and Dr. Johansson, welcome back to our committee room, and thank you for being here t… Continue Reading
06.05.19
Ranking Member Stabenow Joins Bipartisan Group of Senators and Representatives to Press the Administration for Answers on Forest Service Closures
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry, today joined a bipartisan, bicameral group of 18 senators and 33 representatives, led by Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, along with Congressmen Peter DeFazio (D-OR-4), Dan Newhouse (R-WA-4), and Kurt Schrader (D-OR-5), to push the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to reverse their decision to shut down Civilian Conservation C… Continue Reading
05.30.19
Senators Raise Concerns that USDA Trade Aid will Continue to Benefit Foreign Corporations
WASHINGTON -Nine U.S. Senators, led by Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today raised concerns that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will continue to allow foreign companies to profit from the Trump Administration's plan to assist American farmers affected by their trade policies. Last week, the Administration announced it would provide up to $1.4 billion to purchase commodities targeted by retaliatory tariff… Continue Reading
05.23.19
Ranking Member Stabenow Statement on the Administration’s Trade Aid Announcement
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry, issued the following statement regarding the Trump Administration's announcement of new aid to assist American farmers affected by their trade policies. "Too many farmers are struggling as this Administration continues to pursue a chaotic trade agenda. Our farmers need a focused strategy, access to export markets, and long-term stability. "Unfortunately, this comple… Continue Reading
05.21.19
Ranking Member Stabenow Opening Statement at Hearing on Climate Change and Agriculture
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry, today released the following opening statement at the hearing titled "Climate Change and the Agriculture Sector." Stabenow's statement, as prepared for delivery, follows: Thank you, Mr. Chairman for holding today's very important hearing on climate change and the solutions that can come from agriculture. I believe there is no greater challenge that will affect th… Continue Reading
04.17.19
Senators Urge Department-Wide USDA Initiative to Prioritize Farm Bill Water Quality Improvements
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy, led a bipartisan letter urging U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue to utilize a department-wide National Water Quality Initiative to prioritize conservation measures in the 2018 Farm Bill to address water quality. "The 2018 Farm Bill made hi… Continue Reading
04.10.19
Ranking Member Stabenow Opening Statement at Child Nutrition Reauthorization Hearing
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry, today released the following opening statement at the hearing titled "Perspectives on Child Nutrition Reauthorization." Stabenow's statement, as prepared for delivery, follows: Thank you, Mr. Chairman for holding this hearing. I'm very proud of the work we have done together on this Committee to expand access to healthy foods for families. Our recent Farm Bill st… Continue Reading
03.29.19
Senators Urge Implementation of Farm Bill Dairy Improvements
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) led a bipartisan letter urging Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to prioritize the implementation of the dairy provisions in the 2018 Farm Bill. As dairy farmers across the country continue to struggle from market instability, the 2018 Farm Bill dramatically expands support for dairy producers, providing flexible, affordable cov… Continue Reading
03.28.19
Bipartisan Group of 47 Senators Urges Trump Administration to Withdraw Proposed SNAP Rule
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) led a bipartisan letter that raised concerns about the U.S. Department of Agriculture's proposed rule to make harmful changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and urged Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to withdraw the proposal. "The proposed changes would take food assistance away from Americans struggling to find stable employment while doing nothing to help them to actually becom… Continue Reading
03.13.19
Ranking Member Stabenow Opening Statement at Hearing to Consider CFTC Nominee
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry, today released the following opening statement at the nomination hearing to consider Heath Tarbert to be Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Stabenow's statement, as prepared for delivery, follows: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is good to be with you this morning to consider the nomination to this important position at the CFTC. Mr. Tar… Continue Reading
03.11.19
Ranking Member Stabenow: Trump Administration Budget Undermines the Bipartisan Farm Bill
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry released the following statement in response to the Trump administration's fiscal year 2019 preview budget proposal. The Administration calls for a 15% cut to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), on top of a $267 billion cut to Farm Bill investments. "Just months after the President signed the historic bipartisan Farm Bill into law, his budget proposal… Continue Reading
02.28.19
Ranking Member Stabenow Opening Statement at Farm Bill Implementation Hearing
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry, today released the following opening statement at the hearing titled "Implementing the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018," featuring Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. Stabenow's statement, as prepared for delivery, follows: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's great to be back in our committee room for our first hearing this Congress. First, I'd like to recognize o… Continue Reading
02.19.19
Ranking Member Stabenow Responds to Forest Service Sexual Misconduct Report
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry, issued the following statement regarding the release of a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Inspector General report to evaluate whether the U.S. Forest Service effectively implemented initiatives to address the agency's longstanding history of sexual misconduct. "I asked the Inspector General to conduct this audit because of longstanding reports of har… Continue Reading
02.07.19
Ranking Member Stabenow Urges Banks to Consider Farm Bill Dairy Improvements
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry, raised concerns that the government shutdown has delayed the dairy safety improvements from the 2018 Farm Bill, jeopardizing dairy farmers' ability to access loans and credit. In a letter to three regulators who oversee agricultural credit providers, Stabenow urged lenders to estimate the Farm Bill benefits as they work with farmers to analyze their f… Continue Reading
01.24.19
Ranking Member Stabenow Raises Concerns on CFTC Shutdown Impacts for Farmers, Businesses and Consumers
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry wrote a letter to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to raise concerns and request information regarding the impact of the government shutdown on farmers, businesses, and consumers. It has been 33 days since funding has lapsed for the CFTC - the longest shutdown on record. The CFTC's mission is to promote and ensure competitive, tran… Continue Reading
