nuclear ought to be in the mix. >> c-span.org. on our home page and by searching the video library. president trump's nominee for agriculture secretary, former georgia governor, sonny purdue, testified at his confirmati confirmation hearing. he was questioned about proposed white house budget cuts to farm programs, crop insurance, forest management, immigrant labor and farm bill reauthorization. good morning, members of the committee. i call this meeting of the senate committee on agriculture, nutrition and forestry to order. this morning we welcome governor sonny perdue, the president's nominee for u.s. secretary of agriculture. members of this committee have great appreciation for the farmers, ranchers and consumers and other stakeholders that are directly affected by decisions made by the secretary. the department of agriculture is made up of 29 agencies and offices. it employs nearly 100,000 men and women that work in all 50 states and all around the globe. the department provides leadership on food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, nutrition, scientific research, and related issues that impact americans virtually every day. throughout our nation's history, our farmers, ranchers and folks in rural america have survived, drought, disease, floods and lately, yes, lately prairie fires in kansas and whatever else mother nature throws at them. year after year, they produced the safest, most abundant and affordable food and fiber supply in the world. however, today, growers from across the country are facing tough economic times with multiple years of low prices. these same producers need a strong market for their goods. during this critical time, the importance of trade for agriculture our agriculture industry cannot be overstated. and if that was not enough, over the last previous years, farmers and ranchers and rural businesses have been burdened by regulations from agency all across the federal government. i have heard time and time again, as well as many members of this committee, about the costly and hard to understand regulations that endanger the ability of our producers to simply stay in business. this committee will continue its efforts to make government a partner in their success, not an adversary. and this committee has a lot of work to do over the next two years, including the reauthorization of the farm bill. we intend to do that work in the bipartisan fashion that has served us so well in the past. in this respect, i want to personally thank the distinguished ranking member and former chairperson of this committee, the senator from michigan. now more than ever, agriculture needs a voice, and advocate at the highest levels of government. and governor perdue has been nominated to serve in exactly that role. he is from georgia and has spent his entire life in and around agriculture. the governor has raised on a farm and was a practicing veterinarian before returning to his home county to work in the grain business. he was elected to serve in local and state government, including two terms as governor of georgia. while serving farmers throughout the southeast, he gained firsthand experience with a complexity of transportation and the global commodities market. governor, the senate's role of advice and consent is an important responsibility. and today is a key step in that process. we look forward to hearing your testimony and to asking you questions about how you view the role of agriculture secretary, should you be confirmed. in addition to the governor, i would also like to welcome and recognize his wife, mary, his four children and their spouses, and his 14 grandchildren. the governor is also joined by so many of his friends and former staff in georgia, we can't count them. we welcome you all to the committee. and i am especially glad to have our former ag committee chairman and senator from georgia, the honorable sacksbly chambliss and georgia congressman, david scott, who serves on the house agriculture committee -- pardon me, the sometimes powerful house agriculture committee. with us to provide introductions of our nominee and i see congressman sanford bishop here in the audience to support the nominee, as well. sanford, it's good to see you again. but before we hear from senator chambliss and congressman scott, i want to turn things over to senator stab now for any remarks to make. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. it's great to be with you today as we're moving forward on this very important position. and welcome, governor perdue, and it's pretty impressive, seeing you've got some beautiful grandchildren, as well as children and family members. and we know that you're proud of your grandpa, and we're happy to have you all here today. and to my friend, senator chambliss, we worked on a lot of farm bills together, and worked well, and thank you for your services, chair, and as somebody advocating for georgia, and all of the interests in agriculture. it's great to see you. and representative scott, welcome, as well. we've got a lot of work together with our colleagues in the house to be able to get the next farm bill done. so we look forward to doing that. it's clear that agriculture and rural america need to have a seat at the table. we always do. but it's clear that we need to make sure that's happening with this administration. looking back at our history, our presidents knew that farmers were the foundation of the country. that's why president lincoln created the usda and called it the people's department, because he understood that agriculture is the cornerstone of our economy in that had a special relationship with the people it served. america's farmers and ranchers grow the most affordable food supply in the world and we should be proud of that. i always say that food security is national security, because having a food-secure nation makes our country safe. our food and agriculture sector also supports 16 million american jobs. it's usd a's job to ensure we can continue to make things and grow things in every state. and that means celebrating the diversity of american agriculture, as well. michigan is the second-most diverse agriculture state in the country. and it's important that you usda is a voice for michigan farmers, as well as kansas, as well as georgia and all of those across our country. large and small, conventional and organic. those who sell overseas, those who sell to their neighbors. we need a voice for all of our farmers. and agriculture secretary will need to look past regional divides and partisan pressures. to support all farmers, all families and rural communities. and right now we need an advocate to stand up for them with this administration. usda not only helps a farmer weather storms, they also safe communities from wildfires in the west, help to make lakes and rivers safe for families to enjoy and ensure children have the healthy food they need to learn and grow to be healthy adults. rural america is the economic backbone of our country, and it's true that too many rural towns are still struggling to recover from the great recession. over the past eight years, usda has made targeted investments in rural economies and now we're beginning to see these communities on the road to recovery. but we need to make sure that these important investments continue so we can keep moving forward. unfortunately, during the two months of the administration, it's clear that rural america has been an afterthought. even before president trump took office, he sent a message by waiting until the last minute to name his pick for agriculture secretary. last week's budget proposal has made it clear that rural america is not a top priority for this administration. the proposal cuts usda funding by 21%. the third-largest cut to any federal agency. in addition to eliminating critical world development in international food aid programs, the administration has put a target on hundreds of critical programs that go through the appropriations process. in fact, under the budget, important resources for farmers and families are facing cuts averaging 33%. we need a secretary of agriculture who will advocate for the important services usda provides, and rural families and farmers need. we need a strong voice to insist that the president listen to the 500 groups that are saying that agriculture, conservation, food assistance and other farm bill programs should not be cut further after agreeing to a $23 billion cut in the last farm bill. we also need someone who will partner closely with congress, especially as we put together the next farm bill and look at other key issues like immigration and trade that have a tremendous impact on farmers and rural communities. in the 2014 farm bill, we made bipartisan reforms that save taxpayers billions and protected the integrity of the farm and family safety net. the congressional budget office recently estimated that the current farm bill, if we did no changes, would save $80 billion more than initially projected in the next ten years. largely driven by crop insurance costs going down, and reduced spending on food assistance. as the economy is improved. in this congress, we will be working hard to move another bipartisan farm bill. i'm excited for this challenge, mr. chairman. with the usda leadership, with all of our stakeholders, i know we can get it done. we have worked before on a comprehensive bill, we will do it again for the communities that we represent and for the entire country. especially during these times of low prices for ago conduct and uncertainty around the budget, trade and immigration we need the next secretary to be an unapologetic advocate for all of rural america. we need someone who will be tenacious, much like a georgian bulldog. governor perdue, we need a champion, and i know you know that. right now, more than ever. today i look forward to learning more about your views and qualifications to lead one of the most important departments in our federal government. thank you, mr. chairman. >> i thank the senator from michigan. it is my privilege and pleasure now to recognize the distinguished former member of this committee and chairman of this committee, our colleague, our friend, the honorable saxby chambliss. >> mr. chairman, ranking member stabenow, distinguished members of the committee, i am truly honored to be before you today. and i'm humbled to be on this side of the die js, but glad to be on this side. for a number of reasons. but i'm particularly pleased and honored to be here today to introduce my good friend, governor george sonny perdue, president trump's next nominee to be secretary of agriculture. i spent the best years of my life here, and when people ask me what do i miss of the senate, i'm quickly to respond, the good friends i made over my 20 years in congress. and members of this committee are right, the top of the list are those best friends on both sides of the aisle. i am truly pleased to be here. when i was sworn in as a new member of the house of representatives in january of 1995, i was given the next to the last seat on that committee, which was made up of more than 50 members. the chairman of that committee was the gentleman from kansas, mr. roberts. now, mr. chairman, you probably are the only person in the history of our country to chair both committees. and i'm going to steal your phrase, because i've heard you say it so often that sometimes powerful ag committee. but you're -- to be crated. >> sonny grew up on a farm in houston county, georgia, graduated at the university of georgia and after touring the air force, returned to howston county to be actively engaged in row crop farming, as well as in the operation of very successful grain elevator business. when i was elected to congress, sonny was a constituent of mine and was by that time in his life a member of the georgia state senate. howston county is the home of robbins air force base. so sonny and i shared the interest of defense, as well as agriculture, in our respective positions. and we began a dialogue that has lasted to this day. in 2002, sonny decided to run for governor of georgia, and i decided to run for the united states senate. and needless to say, we spent many hours campaigning over the next year prior to that election. and when you eat a lot of fried chicken and a lot of barbecue and ride a bus with somebody for a long period of time, you get to know them. and i got to know sonny well. that november, sonny was elected as the first republican governor in our state in 130 years. sonny has been a leader in everything he's been involved in doing. as a farmer, he was a leader in the field of agri business in our state. as a member of the state senate, he was elected by his peers to be the president pro tem of the senate. and as governor, he was the chairman of the republican governor's association. when he was elected governor, sonny did what good leaders do. and that is to surround himself with good people. he went out and found a very experienced ceo and a very experienced cfo. he also improved the state's leadership by implementing a meritocracy, in that he went out and found the very best and most qualified people to run every one of our state agencies, irrespective of the political affiliation of those individuals. he committed to make georgia the best-managed state in the nation, and he received significant national recognition for his accomplishments. when he was elected, the state couldn't produce an audit, so he created the first state accounting office to focus on the time limits and usefulness of financial information. technology and purchasing systems at the state level were antiquated. under sonny's leadership, those systems were updated and the state purchasing system has received many awards for its efficiency and accountability. a new state data center was established, and much of the appropriate technology was outsourced in order to stay current and technologically state-of-the-art. now we all know that technology at usda today is way behind the curve. it's inefficient, and it is not farmer-friendly. this will be a challenge to sonny, but i am very confident that he will be up to that challenge. one of sonny's most significant initiatives was the customer service focus to treat citizens of our state as customers. and to create services for them that were faster, friendlier and easier. that initiative significantly reduced the time and improved the customer experience in everything from getting a driver's license to getting a tax refund. it also produced a cultural change as state employees bought into this initiative. such an effort at usda would be a vast improvement in the relationship with washington and its largest customers at usda, farmers and ranchers. this kind of executive experience and leadership, combined with sonny's knowledge of usda programs, make him ideally suited to be the next secretary of agriculture. and mr. chairman, i would urge this committee to approve his nomination and bring his confirmation to a vote on the floor of the senate as soon as possible. and i thank you very much. >> thank you, senator chambliss, for an excellent -- an excellent statement on behalf of the governor. it is also my personal pleasure and privilege to introduce a member of the house agriculture committee, very valuable member, congressman david scott. david, we're delighted to have you here in the upper body. we won't go any farther with that. please proceed, sir. >> chairman roberts, thank you for that. but i do want to make one slight correction. when you said that house agriculture was sometimes influential and powerful, may we add an addendum to that, so it will go out that the house agriculture committee has always been and will always be powerful and influential. i -- >> i appreciate that correction. it just was only one chairman that had the tenure of when it was sometimes powerful. >> touche, my friend. i will certainly take that in consideration. general roberts, i am greatly honored and very thankful to have this opportunity to come and stand with my dear friend, my long-time friend, sonny perdue. i want to just take a few minutes to share with you some things about sonny that you need to know. my good friend, senator saxby chambliss, went into great detail to share with you his immense qualifications. his education. the fact that he went to university of georgia's veterinarian school. but i am here to explain to you why sonny perdue is indeed the right person at the right time to do the absolute best job. the talents that i have shared and have witnessed with him, and coming up through georgia state senate. you see, committee members, i was chairman of the senate rules committee in georgia for ten years. first african-american to get that position. my good friend sonny perdue was the president pro tem of the senate. now, i'm not saying that to shake a bell on our credentials here. but i think that if you put that in the context of the georgia legislature, and i assure you that georgia legislature was under the most exciting places to be every 40 days that went on for almost 80 days. now, sonny and i had to meet every single day to work together, to set the agenda, to determine what bills got on to the floor and the house and the senate. sometimes night after night. and when we did that, we had to also sit with the governor and the speaker and you talk about some fireworks, there were plenty in that georgia legislature. but you get to understand a person's temperament when you're on the battlefield with them. the courage. the decisiveness. and sonny perdue was just such a person. and so on of the major pieces of legislation that affected every georgian of every stripe, of every condition, sonny perdue had a very integral part of that. so i want to take just a few minutes, if i may, because what's important to me is to make sure that my friend, sonny perdue, becomes the secretary of agriculture very quickly and that he comes with his record unblemished. that's why i wanted you to know at the outset, ladies and gentlemen, sonny perdue and i worked into the midnight hours, night after night. you get to know a person. he and i were like brothers. and i am grateful for that relationship. i want to take just a minute, though, to address an issue that i don't know may or may not come up. but i think i will be derelict in my duty if i did not set the record straight on the confederate battle flag business. that has been in the air. i want to make sure that when you measure sonny perdue on that issue, as well as all issues, that you measure sonny perdue right. now, let me just give the committee and the nation just a preview and a setting. first of all, sonny perdue and i came along at a very significant time, when georgia made one of its most historic moments in changing the confederate battle flag emblem from our state flag. it took time, it took experience, it took talent. and it also took, committee members, god's providence, his divine intervention, at a very critical need when we needed it most. and because of leadership at that time, there were three governors. you can't just tell the story with just one governor. this has been an ongoing process. and it took education. it took commitment. but the people of georgia, black and white, rose to that occasion. i want to just state that the first governor that had the courage to step forward, to change that confederate battle flag, was zel miller, one of your former colleagues here. that took courage. and zel paid the price for that. but it's very important to know that it was the white leadership in georgia that stepped forward to lead that fight. took great risk to do so. then there was the second governor, governor roy barns. and as i said, god puts the right people in the right place at the right time. and governor roy barns, one of the most courageous governors, a man of sterling strength, chose to do it. and he put forward the new flag. and he too -- and let me tell you something, committee members. many of those senators -- state senators and state representatives, when they stood up to vote for that, many knew that they were not coming back. because they were defeated. we have to measure people correctly. and they build on the foundation that each one laid, and then came sonny perdue. the flag issue was in his lap. it was on everybody's mind. so when you judge a person, you have to judge them based upon the circumstances that he was placed in. sonny perdue, let it be known, when he was elected governor, he put forward a referendum. it was a tremendous campaign. governor roy barns lost the governorship for that. many members of the house and the senate lost their positions for that. and they deserve to be pointed out, respected, for that. they paid the price. and when it came time and sonny was elected, he promised a referendum, because the people of georgia, it was their decision to make. but you talk about brilliance, you talk about achievement and a tough area, sonny perdue negotiated the compromise. and put together the referendum. and gave the people a choice. and he put governor barns' flag there, which had a small emblem of the confederate battle flag on there, and then governor sonny perdue did a tremendously smart thing. he got an agreement on another flag that did not have the battle flag emblem on it. and he put that flag there with georgia's state seal. and he said, people of georgia, choose which one. you know what chairman and committee members, the people of georgia chose the one flag that sonny perdue provided the leadership, that did not have the small confederate flag that roy barns had. and we didn't get to that point easily. but it was a great moment for the white and black people of georgia. and it could not have happened if we didn't have a person with the level-headedness, with the brilliance and the tactical maneuvering. the willingness to sit and bring together democrats, republicans, urban and rural together, to solve that and let the people solve it. i often referred to that experience, chairman and committee members. i call to your reference three people. god chose three people. to get us to the promise land. jacob, which was our zel miller. because zel miller had to go up and wrestle with this issue. and then came our moses, roy barns, who provided the leadership right to it. but then we had our joshua. that got us on across the jordan river. with that, mr. chairman, i urge you, with all speed and urgency, to please confirm my good friend, a great georgian and a good american, a great american, who will make one of the best secretaries of agriculture this nation has had. sonny perdue. thank you. >> congressman, thank you for that very inspiring endorsement. i think every member here, if they would like to be endorsed for anything would welcome you to do that. that was very special. and i appreciate it very much. governor? >> mr. chairman? >> oh, i'm sorry. >> oh -- pardon me. senator perdue would like to have the opportunity to -- endorse governor perdue. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i promise to be brief. as it's been stated -- >> you take all of the time you want. you were waving your arms and i couldn't see you over there. >> i just want to make a brief statement. as it's been stated, governor perdue and i are first cousins. we grew up together. we have a strong family. it's an extended family. i know this man all my life. and i can think of no one in the united states more qualified to be the next secretary of agriculture. you know, representative scott, joshua caused us to be strong and courageous. i know this man to be both strong and courageous. today he's going to answer all of our questions, and the only thing i can say to him is, "good luck, cous." >> governor perdue, would you please rise and raise your right hand, please, sir. first, do you swear that the testimony you are about to present is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you god. >> i do. >> and second, do you agree that if confirmed, you will appear before any duly constituted committee of congress, if asked to appear? >> yes, sir, i will. >> thank you. please proceed now with your testimony, governor. >> thank you, mr. chairman. good morning. chairman roberts and ranking member stabenow, and distinguished members of the committee. it's an honor to be here with all of you today, as the president's nominee to serve as the nation's 31st secretary of agriculture. before i go any further, i want to thank both of my good friends and fellow georgians, both saxby chambliss and david scott for their words of encouragement and inspiration to me, as well. , mr. chairman. and also i want to thank my good friend, sanford bishop, congressman sanford beneficiary some, whom we served in the state senate together as well for being here this morning, also. i know from visiting with many of you in your offices, there was some anxiety over whether there would be a secretary of agriculture nominee, and i must say with all of the human illustrate i can muster, i think the president must save the best for last. i would like to thank each of you for making time to meet individually with me over the last few weeks. and i hope and trust that our meetings will not just be introductory episodes, but an ongoing opportunity to listen and to learn from one another. my goal today is to answer your questions transparently. you've -- and to your satisfaction, not only to earn your affirmative vote, but your trust. and if you will afford me the opportunity, i will carry out this awesome job with integrity, complicit with the laws and policies that set forth by congress, and with a compassion of a golden rule hard. before i get started, though, i would like to take a moment and introduce my family members who are with me here today. i'm accompanied by my lovely wife mary over my left shoulder. i had no idea when i married her 44 years ago, she would be such a prolific grandmother. as you can see, our four children and 14 grandchildren. and who are more familiar with my being called "big buddy" rather than any fancy other titles. i'm also pleased and frankly humbled after seven years to have more than 30 of my former co-workers here who labored side by side with me while serving the state of georgia and its people. >> governor, could you -- pardon this interruption. we would like for your family and your you would, please. >> please. >> thank you all for being here. >> good looking crowd if i say so myself. you read my bio and pored over my professional and personal history but i want to tell you about my myself. as youngster growing up on a dairy farm and a diversified row crop farm in middle georgia i everyone in really full -- i never really realized that the blessings of meaningful work would serve me in my life. when i was a young boy feeding the calves and plowing the fields i was an integral part of the workforce there on my family's farm. my mother was an english teacher, 42 years. >> governor, if you would just cease for a moment and we'll take care of this problem. please proceed. >> yes, sir, thank you. my mother was also an english teacher for 42 years so i have -- i benefited from her teachings for years. not just by raising me with the believes that i hold dear. baseball, training bird dogs and riding my horse trigger. even as a youngster i was determined and goal oriented early on. i set my heart on becoming a veterinarian having been influenced by dr. davis a kind and gentle veterinarian who cared for the dairy herd. i enrolled in the university of georgia and i walked on to play football for the university of football bulldogs, senator. play's probably not an operative word but i was on the team. realizing my future was not on the football field i decided to ply myself to my studies. in 1967, you may remember vietnam was roiling so i signed up for the early commissioning program in the united states air force. as i finished my veterinarian education in 1971 i was assigned to columbus, ohio, as a base veterinarian. let's -- as i complete my active duty commitment i joined a small annual veterinarian practice in raleigh, north carolina. i realized though that even though our practice was thriving and i missed our farm and my formal agricultural way of life. so in 1976, mary and i and our two small girls moved back home where i partnered with my brother in law to build a grain elevator in our home county. sadly, my brother in law passed away after three years. so i was been in the agribusiness since 1977, the founder of three transportation firms serving farmers across the southeast united states. farming and farmers have been my life ever since. i have lived and breathed the exhilaration of a great crop. and the despair and devastation of a drought. i have learned by experience what my father told me as a child if you take care of the land it will take care of you. so let's fast forward to what you're probably more interested in. my years as a public servant. i want to be clear. growing up i was not one of those young men, young boys who shook a president's hand at the age of 16 and aspired to run for office. i was tuned in to current events but i had no interest in elected politics. i did understand we all have civic grants so i agreed to chair the local planning and zoning commission, but after ten years of that service, the state senate became open and i was asked to run for that seat. i initially declined but after a preplanned family vacation to williamsburg, virginia, i changed my mind having observed the founders demonstration of citizen engagement. in 1990 the people of district 18 elected me to serve the state senate. i was elected by my colleagues as congressman scott said to be. it's interesting to note that i served as both a democrat and a republican in the georgia state senate. in 2002 i was elected the first republican governor of georgia in more nan 130 years as senator chambliss reminded us and i assumed that office believing it was a big job not just a position. our team worked diligently for eight years striving to make georgia the best managed state in the nation. as you remember, the period of time for 2002-2011 were not the best xhibeconomic times in our nation but we learned with the help that we could continue to provide value to the citizens of georgia even in times of budget pressures. even though georgia may not compare to your states in some agricultural sectors i'm proud to say i come from the state whose number one economic driver is agriculture. agriculture is one area that democrats and republicans consistently reached across the aisle and worked together. i'm pleased to know reaching across the aisle is common practice within this committee. where partisanship doesn't get in the way of good solutions for america's farmers, ranchers and consumers. if confirmed, as the secretary of agriculture i look forward to working with you. the makeup of this committee speaks to the size, the reach and diversity of the agriculture sector and includes one guy that i picked watermelons with side by side in my youth. i appreciate that the department of agriculture touches the lives of americans in many ways that go beyond just farming itself. including in a very small way improving the lives of the least of these. to continue that role, if i'm honored with senate confirmation, i will work tirelessly to advance four primary goals and each is focused on the important constituency -- the stakeholders of american agriculture. first, i will maximize the opportunity and an ability of the men and women of america's agriculture to create jobs, to produce and sell the food and the fiber that feed and clothe the world. and to reap the earned reward of their labor. we want to remove every obstacle and give them opportunities to prosper. second for the taxpayers i will prioritize customer service every day. they expect and have every right to demand that we conduct the people's business officially, effectively and with the outmost integrity. third is our taxpayers are also our consumers. they expect a safe and secure food supply and usda will continue to serve in that critical role of ensuring the food that we put on the table to feed our families meets the strict safety standards to which we have established and are accustomed. i will never forget we are the fortunate beneficiaries of past generations who put a premium on smart stewardship, protecting, preserving and entrusting us with those valuable resources. that's the basis of our fourth goal. american agriculture bounty comes from the land and today those land resources sustained more than 320 million americans and countless millions more around the globe. mr. chairman, thank you for your time this morning and rest assured that if confirmed i look forward to working with the dedicated men and women of the usda who are committed to serving the people's department. and i look forward to answering your questions. thank you very much. >> at this time, before we begin questioning, senator chambliss and congressman scott, if you would like to excuse yourself, why please do so. >> governor, i'll begin by saying our farmers and ranchers depend on strong trade relationships around the world. expanding market access and ensuring that our producers have a level playing field is absolutely critical to our rural economy. the u.s. department of agriculture and the office of u.s. trade representative have a history of working hand in hand to make sure that u.s. agriculture has an influential seat at the trade table. as this administration takes shape i have been concerned that there may be -- there may be too many cooks in the kitchen when it comes to trade and we want to make sure that they are familiar with the main ingredients. in addition to the u.s. gr, the president established a new national trade council that the white house -- of increased trade responsibilities under the department of commerce. the question is, what is the best way that the department of agriculture can continue and strengthen its involvement in establishing strong trade policies? how can we best work with the u.s. trade representative, the lead trade negotiator, along with other officials throughout the executive to make sure that agriculture is a top and i mean top priority? >> thank you, mr. chairman. you're absolutely correct and i think as senator stabenow mentioned agriculture needs a strong advocate regarding one of the top issues. we're blessed in this nation to be able to produce more than we can consume. we're grateful for that but obviously i -- that implies we need to settle the bounty all around the world and you're correct. the relationship between the usda and the trade representatives as well as the ustr and secretary ross and commerce will be vital. those really begin with the relationships i think personal relationships. i have had conversations already and this -- in this pending time awaiting confirmation to discuss with mr. light howser and the conversation with secretary ross over the great opportunity they have to use the bounty of american agriculture to promote agriculture products and to sell the products around the world. i think building goodwill as well as doing the moral aspect of helping to feed that world. >> thank you for your response. governor, let me advise all members of the committee we will have a second round. i know members have other things and other responsibilities and other committees are meeting. but we will have a second round. in preparation for the 2018 farm bill, this year the committee has already started our process of listening to farmers, ranchers and other stake holders. before we write any farm bill the committee examines the program and asks what is working and what is not working. we will continue the listing and learning process over the weeks and months to come as we craft the next farm bill. i would greatly appreciate your commitment of the department's resources to assist our committee during this entire process. can we expect support regarding our efforts on behalf of america's farmers and ranchers? >> mr. chairman, i look forward with great interest to be involved with you all as you look to deliberate and create the 2018 farm bill. i will absolutely commit to you if confirmed the resources and the research of the u.s. department of agriculture to provide you the information you need to make good decisions. i value my own self as governor in being a facts based data driven decisionmaker and i think it's important that we learn from the past, those things that vh1 no wo have not worked and create a farm bill for the future in 2018. i know you and ranking members are on the job and doing that in your respective seats -- states and listening to our producers across the country as well as our consumers. so i will absolutely commit to you that you will have access to the resources of the department of agriculture and anything that you believe you need to the depth that you need if i'm allowed to be secretary to utilize those resources. there's great talent over there. we know that the men and the women of the usda have a great wealth of knowledge, career employees, they have been doing this for years. there's a great opportunity to learn from them as well as our producers. i see the 2018 farm bill as an opportunity to meld the wisdom of those career people and with what you all here in your own districts to make sure that our 2018 farm bill meets the needs of the producers and taxpayers in 2018. >> thank you, governor. we have had the first hearing in manhattan, kansas, 600 people in attendance that's what the building held. that's what the fire marshal said would stop and pretty much all of them as i recall, senator, stayed. we had 21 good witnesses. and i am going to michigan st e state. i will probably have to wear gle green and white. and may apologize for the 20 point victory -- >> okay, you can stop now. i wore purple when i went -- i want you to know. i wore purple for the chairman and he's reminding of something i'd like to forget. >> maybe you could wear black or something. senator stabenow? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i'm actually going to defer to former chairman senator leahy who has responsibilities in the judiciary committee. we know there's an important supreme court nominee being considered and he does need to leave so with your agreement, i'm going to defer to senator leahy. >> the distinguished senator and father of the northeastern dairy -- always presented to us in the 11th hour -- >> that's true. >> is recognized. >> and don't forget i wrote the organic farm bill too. mr. chairman, thank you. and senator stabenow for your usual and gracious courtesy. we know how important the department of agriculture is in supporting our nation's farmers, rural communities our hungry and malnourished people abroad and here. they also advance innovation, research and energy to the environment, the mounting climate crisis. we have to address what is happening in climate change. because of the nearily doubling of the western acres over the last 30 years and governor, you know that problem in georgia. it's left unchecked in ten years two out of every $33 -- just think of this. two out of ever revery $3 for te fire service we appropriate on the fire programs and also loss of life. last year we lost a young vermonter, justin beebe who was killed while battling a fire in nevada with the hot shots. so we have to work on this. and i would commend to you as i did when we had our private meeting the dedicated and competent and loyal federal employees. agriculture department employees, many of them. they deserve your support. it is a time when they wondered what is happening with hiring freezes or cutbacks. you should spend time with them. now, i'm going to submit a number of questions for the record. but as i was reminded by the chairman i never would have thought of this otherwise. i should mention our dairy -- they're desperate for new farm bills. but they're asking for some -- your support in developing much needed risk management options for milk producers. dairy farmers cannot be left behind. they look at cotton farmers in georgia and in arkansas who are given generous payments like the $300 million last year in the cotton ginning cost sharing program. i think we have to have help for our dairy farmers. i would hope that we have as we have had direct support provided cotton producers by the usda outside of the farm bill. i recommend -- recommended by the usda for the inclusion in the next farm bill. will you work on a proportional and immediate support for hard working dairy farmers? >> senator, i will commit to you as a son of a dairy farmer and having dairied myself i understand the hard work seven days a week, 365 days a year that our farm families, particularly smaller farm families, particularly your area and others go through. these are family operations and they don't take a holiday, they don't take a break. and i understand the pain when the profitability of these farms for the milk prices are just not there. and it puts many farm families into under duress to do that. >> i appreciate that. one of the things that -- problems they face too, they have a well documented farm labor shortage. now, the federal temporary agriculture visa program which helps many -- it's worked in your state of georgia, the -- it only allows for seasonal farm workers. we had the senate -- the senate had passed comprehensive immigration reform which the house did not take up. they said even though it would have passed it would violate e the -- apparently the sacred rule they have, the dennis hastert rule. and so they didn't bring it up, but now we have with the operations of i.c.e. and othe others,sky yothers others,sky -- i ask you to support to find a way to include dairy farms. you can't have someone come in for six months and say, okay, to the cows, i'll be back in six months and to milk you again. your own experience you know that doesn't work very well. so we have sheep and goat herders who have that exemption. will you work with us to find a way to have dairy farms -- dairy farm workers in this same program, in the same way goat and sheep herders are? >> senator, if i'm honored by your confirmation of the senate, then i will commit to you to certainly advise and council the administration over the need for an agricultural program that's for workers, that is year round. as you indicated, cows can't be milked half a day, they're 365 days a year. and i'm very well aware of that. so there's a need obviously many of our dairy workers are immigrant workers and while there are exemptions in place, i believe that dairy qualifies for that as well. >> thank you, thank you, mr. chairman. and thank you senator stabenow. >> the chair recognizes the distinguished senator from michigan -- >> thank you very much. welcome again governor perdue and we're glad to have this hearing. we need a secretary of agriculture and we need to move forward. i appreciate the fact that you understand the agency and the agriculture and grew up in it and support the mission of the agency. so that's very, very important. i want to first start where i think senator leahy left off in terms of dairy. you and i have talked about this. and i know growing up in a dairy farm you understand the challenges and certainly when we look at the last farm bills, chairman roberts and i worked very hard to expand crop insurance. we didn't expand it -- crops which we have seen are very important with the weather challenges in michigan and other places for our growers and to expand help for young and beginning farmers but dairy farmers have not been able to qualify for crop insurance. so as you and i talked about yesterday three national groups that speak for dairy farmers both the american farm bureau, national farmers union and the national milk producers have suggested a way that the usda could provide additional risk management tools for dairy farmers in the short run because while we're putting together the farm bill, we have folks -- family farmers in michigan and across the country that are in very, very difficult situations. so i wonder if you're confirmed if you'll commit to working with me and working with the industry and all of the colleagues who care about this to use administrative authority available to you to provide our nation's dairy farmers with reliable risk management tools including the crop insurance proposal that was put forward in the letter by the national organizations. >> senator, i welcomed our meeting today and i was intrigued by your suggestion of that as i indicated to you many of your colleagues have regretted the fact that the 14 farm bill really didn't meet to your expectations for dairy farmers or maybe even the cotton program as well. not under title i. as i indicated yesterday i'm absolutely committed to look for a way that can give immediate and temporary relief even prior to the '18 farm bill. if it's within the discretion of the secretary, if i am confirmed, and also we've got to be mindful obviously of budget periods as well so it's got on the within the parameters that meet the budget as well. i think the ideas have been proposed are intriguing to me. i have no philosophical difference with the definitions that have been suggested. and i would absolutely look forward to us providing a short and a long term solution for the dairy and even the cotton program that may help really in the context and the formation of the 2018 farm bill. i think it would be great if we had some ideas that we believe could work even prior to that time. >> thank you very much. i think we do have an opportunity. and i really look forward to working with you to achieve that. you mentioned the budget. and i have to focus on the budget because i'm deeply concerned about the budget put forward by the administration. the signals in terms of lack of understanding of agriculture. i have always said to have an economy and have a middle class you have to make things and grow things. it's clear the president has focused on making things which i appreciate in michigan. but not growing things which is equally important. so when we look at it a 21% cut, in the budget, it's extremely concerning to me and to so many of us that care about small towns and in fact i grew up in one of the small towns in northern michigan. so i'd like to go through a series of questions quickly, just in terms of -- and get your yes or no on whether or not you would support those things. do you think that small communities should have the same access to clean water as large cities? >> of course. >> yeah. do you think it's important for individuals in small towns who live far away from a health center or a hospital to have access to telemedicine service? >> i absolutely do. >> do you think it's important that farmers have access to the latest research and tools to make their farms more productive? >> certainly. >> and do you think real small businesses should have access to capital to keep them competitive and grow their business? >> certainly. >> do you believe organic farmers have a place and -- >> i think consumers across the country have demonstrated that. i'm sorry senator leahy had to leave. >> yes. do you think it's important to feed seniors and children in need of assistance? >> yes, ma'am. >> i indicate all of this because these are some of the cuts, these are some of the areas that have been zeroed out like water and sewer or have taken severe cuts in the budget which are deeply concerning. if you just in the final moment here, if you could tell me first if you had any input in this process of the budget and secondly, how do you move forward when we are looking at these cuts, how would you as secretary of agriculture address this to be able to meet the needs of rural america? >> i think you're probably aware, senator, without confirmation and not being confirmed i have no input into the budget. i think you saw it before i did. also having some concern obviously as a member of the administration i view this budget similar to what as government when i get a revenue estimate i didn't like as well. i didn't like it, and we managed to it. my goal -- i think you indicated the words in your opening statement that you want a secretary who can be a strong advocate and tenacious advocate. if i'm confirmed, i want to get on to the boards and get some room and work for agriculture producers and consumers to let this administration and any of the people there making those decisions in that budget area know what's important to america. i think the president understands that many of his votes came from the areas that you're mentioning and referred to. and i hope in the context of a balanced or a budget that meets the objectives that we can get agricultural share there. i will do everything in the confines to match what our desires are. i flippantly say sometimes i grew a $20 billion budget in georgia to $16 billion during the 2003 to 2011 period of time. not necessarily voluntary, but with the dedicated work of the civil workforce in georgia who really worked hard in those areas. we did do more with less. some of that has to do with the efficiency and effectiveness which i look forward to engaging this usda federal workforce in and inspiring them that we can do more. obviously if it takes money in many of the areas and i promise to you i'll be a strong and tenacious advocate for that. >> thank you. let me just stress again, agriculture has been doing more with less. that was our charge and we met it in the last farm bill. but the cuts we're talking about here will be really devastating for farmers and small towns. >> sure. >> thank you. >> speaking of the budget, senator boozman you'll be recognized next. but first we want to hear from the chairman of the distinguished senate appropriations committee and the former chairman of this committee and would remind everyone of that saying that everybody knows, that the president proposes and the congress disposes. senator cochran? >> mr. chairman, thank you very much for your kind remarks. me and my interest in agriculture and the obligation that we have as government to ensure the fair funding of important government programs that in many cases help farmers when they are in desperate straits with weather disasters and other challenges that come along from time to time that really could put our country in very difficult economic situations. so i know you are familiar with most of the programs that are authorized by our committee and first are recommended by our committee and passed and signed and nurtured by both houses of congress. you've got a lot of people watching you and urging you to do this and that. and i'm confident in your leadership and your insights, your experiences, all to be brought to the challenge of -- the office of the secretary of agriculture. i'm confident that you're going to do a fine job and we look forward to working closely with you to identify problems when they arise and can be addressed in a positive way to suit our country's interests. economic interests as well. thank you. >> we thank the distinguished chairman. senator boozman? >> thank you, charge and thank you governor perdue for your willingness to serve. i enjoyed getting to know you over lunch and getting to know more about you than your wife. you have a big job before you and yet you have a history of doing big jobs so we do appreciate your willingness to throw your hat in the ring. arkansas, you know, is such that agriculture's its number one industry around 25%. it's interesting, you know, when you look at the statistics though, agriculture farming income is going to be cut from $124 billion to $62 billion. so literally halved which is a real problem in much of our states because much of our states are rural in nature. one of the things though that we can lessen that pressure is looking at other markets and in arkansas, cuba would be a very important market with the rice production and various other things. poultry. can you talk a little bit about efforts that you would take in this -- not only cuba, but other markets throughout the world so that we can have the attitude that we've got customers here, but very importantly customers spread out all over the world. >> certainly, senator. i think in respect specifically to cuba for those of you on the gulf coast and those on the east coast as well as even had been mentioned by your colleagues in the upper midwest, i think we would love to have cuba as a customer in many things. i led the ag delegation from georgia to cuba as governor in 2010. i found then as much of the problem there regarding demand was the ability to pay and the ability to finance there as much as anything. i think they would love to have our products and they're certainly appropriate customers for the rice that louisiana grows and for arkansas grows and other -- beans, edible beans up in the upper midwest they grow. if you can see fit to look into the private financing operation one of the things they mentioned to us is they had to buy the re -- by the restraints they had to go through europe and have a hair cut -- financial hair cut in that regard of being able to purchase the products. so i think we have the product, they need it and they would like the product. i think the real issue regarding cuba is the financing part. and certainly that would come probably under another area, not the usda, but i would support their efforts if we could get private financing. regarding other areas certainly in central south america, europe and southeast asia as well, their new and developing markets there. i hope we can work very closely with trade representative lite howser and secretary of commerce ross in order to put agriculture first in their repertoire of things to trade. i believe that we have the ability to produce a very efficient crop and food products as well as other products, clothes and other things around the world they need and i look forward. that's certainly from visiting from most of your colleagues trade was at the top of the list. i think when you talked to farmers around the globe that's what they're motion concerned about. we have a worldwide supply and demand issue that's weighing heavily on prices currently. we are seeing the lowest prices in many years that's putting a lot of pain out there. which is a direct result of the financial situation that you mentioned in your comments. farmers are really struggling to be profitable. hold on and many times even the best farmers are not able to produce a product even with the best production capabilities they may have. so i think trade is really the answer. i look forward to being an adviser and a council to this administration, u.s. trade representative especially about the farm products to sell around the world. >> that's excellent. and as you said in regard to cuba, the financing really is key. so we actually have a bill that says that not government backed but, you know, if an individual or, you know, a private bank or whatever wants to do the financing that they'll have the ability to do that. i'm running out of time, but i want to comment. one of the things that i have real concern about and i think the committee does is you have the feeding programs in the schools. summer comes and then you have a bunch of kids -- you know, that don't benefit from that. what we're trying to do is get a smooth transition. and just if you would just, you know, affirm your recognition of the importance of that. those rules that govern you know that transition and stuff, they haven't been changed since the '60s. if you could just in five seconds -- >> certainly. i was able to share with several of your colleagues who mentioned that privately and in our offices is that i would love to facilitate that kind of transition and make sure that those kids who are able to get meals while they're at school are able to continue that through the summertime and th that -- they don't fall into the problem during that period of time, to keep kids healthy. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thanks, governor. >> senator bennet? >> thank you, mr. chairman. governor perdue, congratulations to you and your family. >> thank you. >> on your nomination. i wasn't going to raise it, but senator boozman did that's a bill he and i have together on the school lunches so i'm -- in the summer. i'm glad to hear him raise it and your comment. i was going to raise trade and i'm so pleased with your answer because as you know, commodity prices are just terrible right now. for all of our farmers and ranchers and throughout colorado our rural communities which led the recovery for us coming out of this terrible recession now face commodity prices that really challenge them as they're trying to -- as their inputs are higher and higher. there was so much negative talk about trade during this presidential campaign that i think we're looking to you to help resurrect that with respect to agriculture in the united states. 80% of the wheat that we produce in colorado is exported. all of the growth for our dairy farmers is going to come from trade with countries many of which are countries that were involved with the tpp. our potato growers in colorado need to have access to these markets so knowing that you will be a zealous advocate for trade on behalf of our agricultural sector is enormously important, to my state and if there's anything i can do to help you help translate that to this administration i will commit to do that to you. i also wanted to raise with you the issue of our national forests. a lot of people don't know that that comes within the department of agriculture. you mentioned in your statement the importance of smart stewardship. and one place where we have not had smart stewardship is with the maintenance of our national forests. you and i discussed when you were in my office last year we spent over 50% -- i think it was 60% of the budget the forest service budget fighting fires. we have had in 2015 the colorado state forest service estimated around 834 million dead standing trees in colorado. that's up 30% from 2008. estimates -- i have said to my colleagues on this committee and other places in the senate, if you are downstream from colorado which almost everybody is, you need to care about what's happening in the head waters of these rivers. and that's the forests that are managed by your folks if you're confirmed. so let me first say this. will you please come to colorado and look at these forests firsthand? >> i would look forward to that, senator. i think i mentioned to you i saw the ravages of that terrible fire over at -- north of glenwood that occurred many years ago with the loss of life. i see on those beautiful mountains there that what the effects of forest fire from years ago. so absolutely. i will come and look forward to visiting with you as well as many of your western colleagues mentioned this as one of the primary areas so it's a concern. >> i hope -- maybe you can say a word about this too. senator thune and others have been concerned about this. you know, every year, secretary vilsack has tried to put something in the budget to end this borrowing process to make sure we treat the fires like every other disaster that we have or somehow we budget kreblgtd correctly so we can mitigate on the front end, because what we're doing we're spending the money in the least illogical way possible. do you have a comment on that? >> i certainly do. i heard you loud and clear. i also had an extension conversation about the upside down portion of the budget and him having to borrow to manage the forest fires or to help put out those forest fires. that's a bad way to do as we talked about on the front end as you know the healthy forests are he helpful in preventing forest fires, whether it's the underbrush and the dead fall that we haven't gotten to, using two-thirds of the budget to fight we're underside down on that. we need to be doing at least two-thirds there of the budget in managing healthy forests in order to prevent forest fires. my goal would be to reverse that. and i would love for you and your colleagues to consider looking at forest fires like we do many other natural disasters as well to put a funding mechanism in there where just like hurricanes or tornadoes or things that are floods that we use there would qualify for those types of funds because secretary vilsack was very disheartened by the fact of having to come up with the millions of dollars many times from other parts of the budget and borrowing there. it just -- it wasn't very effective. >> well, if you can break this gordian knot you will be a hero in my state and others as well. i look forward to having you in colorado. >> i look forward for us to break that gordian knot. >> let's do it. mr. chairman, thank you. >> senator ernst. >> thank you. governor perdue, thank you so much for being here today. i want to thank your lovely family for joining you as well. it's good to see everybody here. as some of my colleagues have already stated the ag economy has been in a down turn the last number of years and a lot of our producers are hurting, especially those young and beginning farmers that have just gotten their start really in the last ten years. the renewable fuels revolution bolstered demand for our commodities driven by the renewable fuel standard and energy programs in the farm bill. trade deals like nafta helped to fuel grain and meat exports which are very vital to our producer's profitability. as we have seen, farmers innovate and find new ways to grow more food with fewer inputs and have not only met this new demand, but they have exceeded it. and done quite well. leading to the slump in commodity prices we have been feeling so acutely. when i travel around the state, i engage in a 99 county tour and i consistently hear how challenging it is to be a farmer or a rancher right now. due not only to the low prices but also because of the onerous government regulations. i hope you're prepared to work with all of those who are engaged in our ag economy to ensure it remains one of the strongest in feeding and fuelling our growing world. whenever i do visit those farmers and ranchers and others in the ag community one of the common refrains i hear is about federal regulations especially from the epa, how they're harming their operations and making their lives pretty difficult. whether it's their misguided woe us the rules the epa seems to haven a agenda against those -- ha have an agenda against those in the agriculture community. how will you collaborate with the epa to make sure their work is helping rather than hindering our farmers and ranchers? >> thank you very much. i think like many solutions it begins with personal relationships. i have taken the opportunity to visit with the administrator pruitt already. i think we develop silos that are unfortunate because as you well know, many of our producers when a regulation is made in other places whether it be labor or epa or others, our guys get pushed off the boat. and my goal is to have an ongoing communications team identified with each of these agencies that may be whether it's fda, epa, labor, osha or others to identify the things that would be -- that maybe the unintended consequences of regulations and to work together ahead of time before those regulations are promulgated to give us an opportunity in representing usda both agricultural producers and consumers to let these other agencies know what the impact would be and what the cost benefit reward would be to agriculture producers. i think it becomes -- i'm a kind of a face-to-face sort of person. i believe in going directly and communicating transparently about the needs and about the desires there. i come from the part of the world that have seen our farmers as good stewards. i think they want to be. if they have the right tools from a conservation perspective, they want to care for the land. they're the ones that are making their living out there and i believe they want to do that. rather than prescriptive onerous type of regulations, let's incentivize them in a way and they can be better than in the past. in the progress that we have made over the last several years with doing more production with less inputs, precision agriculture, better use of water, and those kind of things and no till, all those sorts of things preserving our soil, our producers have done a good job at that. they want just kind of a fair shake in being able to produce without the onerous proscriptive type of regulations that harm their ability to continue to farm. >> i appreciate that very much and i certainly support your willingness to work with the other departments and the heads of the agencies. we simply can't operate in a vacuum and developing those relationships and keeping those relationships is very important. i think you're absolutely the right person to do that. so i appreciate that very much. i also i just want to make a comment too. i know that in the 2014 farm bill, congress really recognized the importance of trade and congress directed the usda to establish an undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs. i hope you'll take a look at that and make sure that we have the right person for that job established as well. so thank you very much, governor. good to see you. thank you, mr. chair. >> senator gillibrand? >> thank you. thank you, governor, for being here. thank you for our meeting that we had previously. i want to talk a little bit about immigration. it's been an issue that's had a toxic debate that's been harmful in our state. one area that it's harmful is in agriculture because we rely on immigrant labor for a lot of our fruits, vegetables and dairy and so i hope that you can speak to president trump and secretary kell kelly about the priorities that the president has announced and how it impacts our agriculture sector. it's estimated about 50% of the workers are immigrants so if we don't have proper immigration reform and a date -- and a debate about wholistic policy it's going to harm families and harm agricultural workers throughout upstate new york and long island. so i ask will you make a commitment that you'll work towards making sure our farms have the workers they need? >> i will certainly commit to you that, senator. particularly in your dairy industry in upstate new york and as senator leahy mentioned that's not a seasonal job. if you go into the dairy farms most of the time the cows are being milked by immigrant labor and i do plan to be a voice in the administration to persuade policymakers there over this issue. i recognize that many of our producers, both seasonal types of crops that you mentioned as well as dairy farms have a good bit of anxiety about that. considering that. i will -- >> enormous anxiety. the other area as you mentioned, our h-2a program is a visa program to recruit temporary workers on a temporary basis, but cows need to be milked every day. it's cumbersome and it's difficult and i will ask you to work and streamline it and make it available for all agriculture workers. >> i have heard that loud and clear from our customers there in georgia as well. you mentioned obviously your state, but i think virtually every state in the nation is affected by that to some degree. i think there's some things that we can do with h-2a and if i'm confirmed, i will commit to you that that and trade are two issues that we will begin posthaste to work on. >> so as you know, we are significant dairy state. the third produce -- fourth i think most recently in the country. and i would love it if you'd come to upstate new york and do a field hearing. i know you have to go to colorado but can you please come up to upstate new york? we want to have a field hearing and talk about dairy pricing because the pricing system as you know has been so destabilizing. and it's not something that farmers can rely on. the insurance programs we have written are not working. so i really need to do a top to bottom reform of how we do dairy pricing in this country and have products that can work for small dairies. >> senator, i'll come if you promise not to make me milk any more cows. >> i promise. >> but the volatility of business -- there's no business, not just agriculture, that can sur v survive with the range of prieflss that the dairy -- range of prices that the dairy farmers have had to undergo. the prices they're expeerntionziexpeerntionriencin are unprofitable and even the best family farms cannot survive under those. >> another issue is the s.n.a.p. program. it is so important that we have food for our families. some of the work that the committee has done for making sure s.n.a.p. gets to rural families, using farmers markets. making sure that we can do summer meals, that kind of work, i would ask your commitment to focusing on how we can deliver more food to more families throughout this country as our ag secretary. >> we hope that we can do that even more efficiently and effectively than we have. it's certainly important to the children and the families of america to do that, senator. i hope that we can work together to accomplish that. >> thank you. my last issue is funding and budgets. i was very concerned about the president's budget and how it would take away access to water systems. we have so much -- so many unmet sewer needs in new york state. our rural water systems are in desperate need of investment. we have desperate of need of investment in rural broadband. it is important that we get high speed internet to our small areas. our small businesses depend on it and the rural program is really important. i want to your commitment that you'll work with this committee. >> certainly. i'm hopeful obviously that the president's proposal over infrastructure will be recognized of the agricultural broadband issue. if we keep the kids on the rural areas, if they thrive and survive like cities do, with the density, we have to have the connectivity. it's as important as sewer, clean water, is the connectively to the world and that's what we are advocating, will advocate and continue to advocate. i know members of the usda have already been in a meeting with the white house infrastructure team over that. and we will certainly promote that to the best of our ability. >> thank you. >> well, it's time for you, sir. >> well, thank you mr. chairman. it's almost high noon so time for me to ask questions. thank you, governor per ddue, f taking this on. we have commodity prices and live stock prices below the cost of production, uncertainty about trade and concerns about disease and two years left before we write a new bill. and i look forward to working on the next farm bill and continuing to implement this one. i know we don't have any problem getting you to come do south dakota as long as we have pheasants there so i expect you to be there. i have a number of questions. so if you could just answer yes to all of them, that would be fine. in terms of the current farm bill the past administration showed a lot of inflexibility with regard to administration. in a number of areas. the commodity title title i, the data that was used to calculate the payments. crp vegetative cover management practices and equitable acreage distribution were all things that we don't think the past administration was following the intent of congress. with two years left on that farm bill, will you be willing to work with me and my staff on these issues to make improvements in program administration, make sure those programs are up orating in the way that congress intended? >> yes. >> thank you. governor perdue, i know you're aware of the recent tainted brazilian meat scandal which has resulted in usda issuing a press release announcing additional steps they're taking to ensure that our food supply is kept safe. none of the facilities implicated in the brazilian meat scandal have shipped meat to the united states. but the question is do you believe that accelerated testing of the incoming shipments of raw meat from brazil will be adequate protection or should we trigger the usda to impose an outright shutdown if there's unsafe meat? >> senator, i believe that the men and women of the fis -- fis are doing a wonderful job. i'm concerned obviously if we go to embargoing at this -- where and these plants were not shipping to the u.s., if we go to embargoing or putting a shutdown on there, there will be retaliation there for our products maybe around the world as well. we have had high path avian influenza and some countries have responded in that way. while that's localized i don't want to punish another country but i do want the usda inspectors to be on the job with 100% type of inspection of any type of products coming into the united states. >> okay. we both come from states where we grow trees. the trees in south dakota grow a little slower than the tree -- the plains trees do in your half state, but in the last half decade we have seen a rapid increase in mortality. we have seen a decrease in growth down 69% in our state. unfortunately, our situation isn't unique with over 82 million acres of national forest under stress from fire, insects and pest or both. can i get your commitment to focus on turning around the national forest and expanding the management that we need to create jobs and healthy stands of timber? >> senator, i absolutely, you can have my commitment. i think that the -- i view the united states forest service and our united states forest as challenges -- opportunities cloaked in challenges right now. i think there's real opportunity to make these forests healthy. i do come from a state where it's mostly private ownership. my sense from visiting with many of you is that we have just not really been good neighbors in a lot of places. and taking care of the public stewardship portion of where many private land owners would. i look forward to giving the best management practices leading and expanding the united states fire service to take pride in their care for it as if it was their own. >> thank you. i know this got touched on once already as well, but agriculture helps build a strong u.s. economy. it's a number one industry in my state. but i think it's critical to our national economy and especially in our rural communities. in the rfs they have been an essential driver of growth in rural areas in our country. and the certainty of the policy has created jobs and spurred added research and investment. can you commit to ensuring that we'll have a strong rfs to provide economic security for the rural communities? >> i can do that and i'm happy to have the president's commitment and concern in that area as well. you can have that commit. >> appreciate that. my time has expired. thank you again for taking this on. we look forward to working with you and not only on -- as i said this farm bill but the one to come which will be getting started on very soon. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank the senator. i know he has a date at high noon. so we -- you can excuse yourself at any time. senator heitkamp? >> terrific. i thank my colleagues who went out for a cup of coffee or something else. so it boosted me in line. governor perdue, welcome to your beautiful family. what a legacy you leave. i think there's someone who looks a whole lot like you back there. you used to about lot more handsome when you were younger, i think. >> i think it was the first human cloning i think. >> it's remarkable. i was checking it out. i was thinking, wow. well. you used to be very handsome i might add. i want to associate myself with the remarks of senator thune who talked about the importance to really have flexibility as we implement the next farm bill. we saw some great necessariabilinecessarflexibili and we ran into some roadblocks so i appreciate your commitment. i also know that you kind of had me in -- when we were visiting when you i knew that you and i on the same wavelength, that that is a critical component. but my concern is what we're seeing really out of the white house and out of the budget doesn't seem to be pro-rural or pro-agriculture. so we need to be you as absolute voracious and active fighter on beof ha of rur behalf of rural america and in that white house with agencies such as epa and omb and the uspr. can you commit to doing that? >> agriculture is in my heart and i look forward to fighting for the producers of america just because, as you said that, we know how vital it is and i will absolutely be a tenacious advocate and fighter where necessary to do that. >> i hope that you will engage us. we are a very bipartisan, collaborative committee. we all represent agricultural states but we also know how vital, as senator thune said, how vital agriculture is to our national economy. a couple unique north dakota issues. we have a lot of prairie potholes as part of what we do in terms of the resource and it provides for some great duck hunting and geese hunting. but we have a lot of farmers who would like an opportunity to farm their land and not just raise ducks. i think one of the problems that we have is not only running into maybe an attitude sometimes that the wetlands is more important than the farmer, but also not having enough staff to do the work that needs to be done in order to make the determination within usda. can you commit that you will staff up so we won't have farmers waiting to find out if they can title their land? >> not only staffing but also the relationship we talked about earlier, with the administrator of epa to make sure that our producers and farmers don't get caught in some of these unintended consequences of rules that have gone awry in a conf confiscatory kind of way. sometimes as they are trying it would be xlind they gcaught up . i'll work with our administrator at epa to do that as well. >> we love our neighbors to the north but sometimes we'd like maybe a little tougher enforcement on some of the grain standards. we've been working on a project out of my office as it relates to the treatment of our grain which becomes feed category as opposed to what it really is, which is good-quality wheat. of course we offer a different opportunity for canadian grain. can you commit to working with the ustr to change their policies and continue to prevent discrimination of grain going to the north? >> certainly. i think this is one of those areas where many people have talked about the benefits of nafta. i think there are some inequities in that, cattle and some milk products which we can look to serve our neighbors to the north which we have a very great relationship. we just want to make sure it is a share proposition for all. >> the share program is critical. i don't know if anyone's raised this with you but it's been a program that's guaranteed a steady supply of sugar to this country. i think it is done equitably. doesn't cost the united states taxpayer really anything, but yet it provides that value-add the opportunity in my community and my state and the state of -- many states across the country. will you continue to commit to supporting the sugar program as it's been outlined in the farm program in the past? >> senator, if confirmed, i commit to you that i will look to that as the foreign program going on and will commit to support the best benefit of that. i think maybe that's an issue of trade to the south. we need to look at some of the issues over sugar inequities that may be coming in to the country that have been harmful to your growers. >> i was kind of hoping for a "yes." but thanks so much, governor, and congratulations on your nomination. >> thanks. >> senator perdue. >> mr. chairman, for the sake of the republic, i'm going to withhold questions today. thank you. >> two appear it would be senator strange. welcome to committee, sir. >> well, thank you very much, mr. chairman. it is an honor to be at the first alabamian in over 20 years to serve on the agriculture committee. i look forward to serving with you and my colleaguesen ot committee. i am especially pleased to welcome you, governor perdue, this morning. it is nice to have a potential secretary -- i'm sure future secretary who speaks the same language as i do as your neighbor to the west. enjoyed watching you in your career and i look forward to working with you. i'm also going to spare the committee a number of lengthy questions today. i do just want to build on something that was mentioned. for the last six years i was honored to be the attorney general of our state, and i got to work very closely with our now-epa administrator, scott pruitt. we it spent a lot of time litigating against the federal government and its overreaching federal agenda, as we saw it. we were successful in a lot of cases. one of the things that i took away from that experience, and i've discussed this with administrator pruitt, is the lack of cooperation, if you will, between the federal agencies that affect agriculture. agriculture is the big part of our economy in the state of alabama, because we share many of the same industries. forestry, catfish farming and all types of other farming activities. the lack of cooperation between those agencies was very frustrating to our farmers. what i'm hoping that you will do is to make sure that you as secretary of agriculture, are communicating with administrator pruitt and others so that we are eliminating unnecessary, inefficient and really inconsequential barriers to our farmers so that they can produce the products that we need in this country and internationally. so i appreciate your comments to her. i don't have another question for you right now. i can submit some others later. but that's of particular concern to me because it is a real-world concern to the people who have to live under the regulations that we pass here in washington. >> thank you, senator. just like i mentioned to senator ernst, we've seen the harm that it causes when one agency looks like they're working at cross purposes with another. i think we're all americans and we're all beneficiaries of all these agencies. i really look forward to developing the relationship, mutual, respectful relationship with other department heads in other agencies that can communicate possible unintended consequences. so thank you for mentioning that. >> i look forward to continuing to work with you as you assume your responsibilities. i also wanted to welcome your beautiful family. thank you for your public sacrifice. the family is a partner in this venture, as i well know. thank you. >> thank you. >> senator donnelly, you were awol last night. so i want a written response back to me as an excuse, but i am going to recognize you anyway. senator donnelly. >> i was afraid you were going to send me to iwo jima, sir. which would have been a great honor. governor perdue, one thing i want to ask you, i noted that you played football for the university of georgia. an on september 9th in the state of indiana, in notre dame indiana with be georgia was playing notre dame, my alma merma ter. i want to invite you to the game. we'll have a big pork barbecue and we'll have all the indiana farmers there and you can see the irish beat the bulldogs. would you like to come? >> i'll accept that invitation accept for the last clause there. >> i wanted to talk to you a little bit about crop insurance. it's critically important to my state. it is something that we're going to be working on in the foreign bill and to my farmers in indiana, that is something that they want to make sure stays strong and stays protected. i wanted to get your views on that. >> thank you, senator. i thought you all in the '14 farm bill made a lot of progress in the crop insurance area. obviously it can always be refined and made better, but it is -- it's vital to farmers, good producers there, that need that safety net of both the risk of production and pricing that you all did so well in that area. i hope we can even continue that and enhance that, and as some of your colleagues that mentioned, look at risk management proposals in other commodities that make sense. to me, think the american taxpayer gets a good value for that, and hopefully we can work together. i look forward to working with you all as we continue. if i'm confirmed, to make sure that the crop insurance program is sound, solid and a good economic value for not only the producers but the taxpayers as well. >> one of the things that we're all shooting for, i know in kansas and michigan and indiana and mississippi, is for growth of our rural areas and maximizing economic opportunities there. that is a passion of mine, to make sure we have 92 counties, that every county has a chance, every community has a chance, chance to buy a home, raise a family, take a vacation, retire with dignity. and the secretary of agriculture plays a huge role in rural communities especially. we need to make sure our rural communities have broadband so companies located there can compete with those across the world and that they have the same access to educational opportunities our children do in the cities, to expand market opportunities. and so i want to make sure that as secretary of agriculture you look at this in a way that you'll be looking at things like broadband and others to maximize economic opportunities for our rural communities. >> certainly. not only broadband, senator, but the opportunity the usda has in rural development and so many other areas. i mean the vitality of our small communities around your state and all these states really depends on a strong agricultural economy. but the usda is, in the past, its rural development program, has been able to help communities. maybe just get them over the line, to do some things they wanted to do, whether it is health care or other types of things, to do that. that's one of the great benefits that i look forward to being able to do, if confirmed, to make the lives of people across america, particularly in rural areas, better because of the presence of the usda. >> one other thing that we work on, a lot of conservation programs. we're very, very proud of our cover crop programs. i think we're first in the nation with that. and as our chairman and ranking member always talk about, nobody cares about the environment more than the farmers and the families that live there. and so we want to make sure that as you look at your job going forward, you're going to commit to work to support and improve the conservation programs as well. >> certainly. nrcs is a big part of american agriculture, and as more farmers learn how to preserve and care and create clean water, reduce runoff, use more efficient use of water in irrigation and precision agriculture, those are the research arm of usda, an extension arm pushing that education information out is critical to continue to improve. good thing, what i like about farmers is, they're all about continuing improvement and they're competitive and they want to do better each and every year. >> i apologize, i'm running out of time so i want to ask one last thing. the usda has worked to increase access to treatment for opioid and heroin abuse in rural communities. it is breathtaking. they have take assisted in creating transitional housing, funded initiatives to improve education and raise awareness to the dangers of this. perdue's been an amazing partner in all of this, and i want to make sure that the usda is our partner in this critical battle against opioid and heroin abuse. >> secretary vilsack and i had an extended conversation about the ability just to do that. that's one thing i mentioned of the ability of the usda in its rural development program to add value in rural communities, even the areas of health care. so certainly. >> thank you. mr. chairman, marines are my heroes and i'd be honored to go to the mess with you any time you want to bring me. i'll be your wing man, sir. >> semper fi. senator danes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. ranking member stabenow. governor perdue, thank you so much for your willingness to step up and serve as our next secretary of agriculture. there is a big deal for my home state of montana because agriculture is our state's in hum ber one industry. it is $6 billion a year back home. without agriculture montana does not have a strong economy. our farmers are ranchers. they produce wheat, barley, cattle, sugar beets. we're the nation's leading producer of pulse crops now which is an exciting development to see in our state as we diversify our ag prortfolio. our products play a critical role in not only feeding our current but feeding the entire world. ag production across our state is diverse. montana ag presents some unique and especially specific challenges, but great opportunities. with that in mind i want to make sure i extend an invitation to you, governor perdue, we'll have an ag summit may 31st and june 1st in great falls. would love to have you consider coming out. if nothing else, we can do some preseason elk southing there for fall. regarding trade, in 95% of the world's consumers are outside the united states. certainly we have more spending power today on a per capita basis. as we think about the longer term, as wayne gret zky famousl said, skate where the puck is headed, not where it is at. i think it is for future generations farmers and ranchers, we are seeing low commodity prices. our cattle producers, it is pretty tough climate right now because of low prices. the access to foreign markets for long-term growth in ag i don't think can be overstated. vast amounts of our wheat, beef, barley, pulse crops with exported every year and that helps us in this price arena, helps create jobs, help grow our economy. governor, as secretary, how will you ensure that ag's position will be loud and clear with this administration to fight for our farmers and ranchers to ensure we have access to new markets abroad and not face retaliation? >> thank you, senator. i think the good news is we've got a growing middle class around the world that's hungry for those products. food is a noble thing to trade, and as i've indicated several times before, we've got a great story to tell. we've got producers here that can produce more than we need to consume. that's not the case in many parts of the world. so why don't we use that bounty to supply one of the fundamental needs of mankind around the world? and i will continue tirelessly to advocate that within our administration and in conjunction with you all in development. i plan to be on site as usda's chief salesman around the world to sell these products, to negate these deals side by side with usdr, side by side with secretary ross, and our whole team there. i believe that usda will be intimately involved in the personal, on. the-ground, boots on the ground negotiations at tables around this world with ag ministers and foreign dignitaries there selling our product. >> i know that's that will be music to the ears of montana farmers and ranchers, to have an advocate like yourself. i think as a governor, you bring that unique experience of having to be the chief sales person certainly on behalf of your farmers and ranchers across the world. i want to shift gears and talk about forest management reform. we always refer to this committee as the ag committee. that's always been one of our highest priorities. it is the agriculture, nutrition and forestry committee. back home in my state, one of my highest priorities is restoring active management to montana's national forests. unfortunately, excessive federal regulations, laws, we have chronic litigation from extremist groups. have limited management of our national forests. a healthy forest is a forest that's actively managed. even projects that we move forward through collaboration bringing sportsman groups, conservation groups, folks in the logging industry. we move forward and were litigated at the end and will oftentimes lose our cases before the ninth circuit as they unfortunately have continuous litigation. unfortunately, we have a recent ninth circuit decision called the cottonwood environmental law center versus the forest service. it is added another layer of unnecessary red tape and is threatening dozens of forest management projects. the supreme court won't hear this case, unfortunately. but we think we can change the outcome here statutorily. i have bipartisan support for this legislation and i would ask, would you work with me to reverse this disastrous decision that we've seen from the ninth circuit? >> if confirmed, i would welcome the opportunity to work with you. i've seen your legislation -- proposed legislation. i agree with it wholeheartedly. i think at some point you've got to say the end is the end, and rather than stopping things that are -- have been agreed to with continuing legislation or litigation, rather, is just unproductive and creates what you talked about, about unproductive and unmanaged forests. at some point we've got to say that's it, we've done that, we have made a decision and we're moving forward. many of your colleagues have already approved projects we haven't gotten to yet. that's a top priority. but then to continue to move forward. i am hopeful, senator, that as we demonstrate good stewardship and good management of the u.s. forests, litigators on the other side will see, this is good. this is productive. forests are renewable. they're healthy. they're better. they're better for everyone when they're managed well rather than just to lie out there and die from themselves. hopefully we can do that. >> well said, governor. thank you. thanks, mr. chairman. >> senator klobuchar. >> thank you very much, mr. senator. thank you, governor. i enjoyed our meeting. we discussed the differences of the southern and midwestern agriculture. some things in common. one of them may be birds. as you know, we were hit by the avian flu hard in it the midwest and around the country as a result, almost 9 million birds died causing economic losses of $650 million. given the recent detections in tennessee, alabama and wisconsin, are you prepared to respond immediately to prevent the possible spread of the disease if and when you are confirmed as secretary? is. >> certainly, senator. as you know, the poultry production of this country is amazing. the whole ecosystem that's been developed around that protein, being able to export worldwide, whether it's eggs or poultry protepr protein is critical. i'm very proud of the work that i've seen that the usda has ton in tennessee and their very quick confinement and working cooperation with both states of alabama and tennessee. i think the hard working people in that animal health area have done a wonderful job. i think they learned a lot from the 2015 outbreak where we might have been a little slow there. they got on this very quickly and we are praying that that's confined. so certainly we cannot afford an industry such as our poultry industry in any sector to be affected by the damages of a very severe high-pathogen avian influ influenza. >> but what if the 20% proposed cut to fda went through? >> i'm hoping that we with work with you and the appropriators. we hope we can work with the president's proposal and that you all will look at the keeper's amount of purse. >> that's a good answer. thank you. i am the lead sponsor of the senate bill to end the embargo with cuba and how would you respond to farmers who are concerned about the administration cutting off opportunities for american business in cuba or somehow changing president obama's executive order? i mean we'd like to go further, of course, and pass legislation. we are aware where we are right now. >> again, i answered earlier, i think if we can get the private financing done there, and there are some proposals already to do that, i think american agriculture, both in the upper plains and the gulf coast and the east coast have a wonderful opportunity. that's a country that's hungry. i led a delegation there in 2010 from georgia, and they wanted our product. they just could not afford it and pay for it there based on the financial crisis that they were in. so hopefully we can mitigate that. >> i know senator thune asked you about the rff and will you work to advocate for a strong renewable fuel standard during interagency review with some of your other secretaries? >> i will. >> okay. that's a great answer, too. t what would you do as secretary to ensure resources needed are available for the margin protection program to be a meaningful safety net for dairy farmers? >> thank you, senator. i think we've -- i've heard some recent ideas recently that hopefully will even enhance that margin protection program with a risk management program for immediate relief, as well as possible solutions for the 2018 farm bill. the volatility of the prices that we've seen in dairy are just unsustainable and you've got not only family dairy farmers but large dairy farms that are just unprofitable and many of them don't have the equity to continue in that area and it will change their whole lives. >> thank you very much. senator danes was just discussing forestry with you. in the 2014 farm bill, i worked on expanding the good neighbor authority that gives the forest service additional flexibility to work with willing state and private landowners to imflemt forest management processes. will you commit to ensuring the good neighbor authority and other tools to improve forest health from the 2014 farm bill are fully implemented and emphasized as we continue to work on the next farm bill zp. >> i love that name, good neighbor. that's what i hope that we can become. i think, again, where the u.s. forest service becomes a welcome part of the community in dwelling there and working with the private citizens there. not only for jobs, but for good forest management and just literally being good neighbors. there's not a better way to say that. >> thank you. and last, i'm the co-chair of the senate broadband caucus and am also on the commerce committee. you and i talked recently in my office about the importance of broadband in rural areas. you want to just end with that and what you'd like to see there coming out of usda? >> i'd love to see it get done all across this country with an infrastructure proposal. we are going to have a seat at the table there. the white house has already asked usda for their ideas about that. that's number one. >> thank you. >> as well as water resources, as well. >> okay. very good. thank you very much, governor. >> governor perdue, it is great to see you. i want to welcome you and mary and your beautiful family. >> thank you. >> thanks for being here and for your willingness to serve. i chair the ag appropriations committee, so i want to express my appreciation for senator klobuchar's question, and even more, i want to express my appreciation for your answer and i look forward to working with you on that very important issue. also, one of our former colleagues, senator mike johanns visited north dakota on several occasions. i want to ask you if in fact you would be good enough to show up and visit our farmers and ranchers in north dakota who do a fantastic job and would love to see you? >> what's the record, senator? >> i don't know. but i know johanns was there multiple occasions and you can't let him show you up. i need your commitment. >> i look forward to surpassing my mentor. >> i appreciate it. can you build a coalition we need to build north, south and midwest to pass a strong farm bill that really works for our producers? >> i believe we can. i think in working with you all and you working on behalf of your constituents, i think that we can. think there was a great progress made in the '14 farm bill. we know we got a couple of areas that got left out. we talked about those today. and i think we can get ahead of that and it's even more critical today in light of commodity prices and where they are if we get a safety net not only for our producers but also our consumers in going forward. so that's a challenge i look forward to, senator, if i'm confirmed to work with you all in providing the resources and enabling you all to get a farm bill that will be embraced by american agriculture. >> but you agree, it takes to north, south, midwest coalition to get it done? >> oh, absolutely. as well as our nutrition people as well. >> you also agree it is the heart and soul -- but the heart and soul of risk management comes down to the countercyclical safety net building on arc and c and p. do you see that as the heart and soufl risk manageme soul of risk management? >> certainly. a well run, well administered, well designed program gives the department confidence. >> we talked about the importance of trade and i absolutely agree with that. but ag research is making such a difference in the crops we can grow, disease resistance. our yields which lead to profitability. talk a little bit about your willingness -- this goes back to the budget issue as well but talk about your commitment to ag research. >> it's interesting, we talk a lot about high-tech manufacturing. i would submit to the president or are nyone our tech manufactug has had phenomenal growth and productivity. it's really phenomenal. the basis of that is not only good, basic research in our land grant universities and others, but the transmission of that information through our extension service as well. >> are you committed and willing to support sugar program? >> i have. as i mentioned earlier. certainly i think you all have done a great job in the past for the sugar program and those who grow the beets as well as the cane. they've come together with a pretty unified front. >> talk about trade. it looks to me like we're in kind of a new era in how we're going to do trade. clearly the administration like bilateral agreements over larger group agreements which can work. but really important that we continue to press the trade issue. how do you go about doing that as ag secretary leading the world of agriculture? >> i think speedily i think. because our farmers cannot wait very long. the tpp had been around for a while and negotiated by the bilateral will take time and we just need to get about the business of selling u.s. products. if confirmed, my first stop's going to be at mr. light houser's office door. pe indicat he indicated 80% of what he had heard was about agriculture. i think that's good news. we just got to get on it. >> your background is so strong inning a curl tur ing agricultu but clearly your background in trade is going to be really important that you play a lead in negating those agreements. thank you for your willingness to serve. >> i remember well back in 19 1918 -- [ laughter ] >> -- when senator joseph france became the member of the committee. he was a good man. very willing and able to work with. 99 years later we have the benefit of senator van hollen coming from from maryland to join us on the agriculture committee. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and thank you for noting that. very proud of the fact that i'm the first maryland senator to serve on this committee since back in 1922, i believe. governor, it is great to see you and i enjoyed our conversation as well. i want to pick up on one of the things we talked about which is the chesapeake bay which is a natural treasure. it is also vital to the economy in the state of maryland, having a healthy and clean bay, both for the watermen, the people who get the bounty of the bay, the oystermen and the crabs which many people around the country enjoy, to our tourism industry where people from around the country come to the bay because of its beauty, and the boating industry. and what we've worked in maryland to do is work closely with our farmers to make sure that we have a vibrant farming industry on the eastern shore of maryland, along with a healthy bay. so the conservation programs are very important to our state and the bay states, as many others. and in the 2008 farm bill i worked very closely with our ranking member and others to create a ves peek bay conservation program. that became in very popular with other states with water bodies. it became a regional conservation partnership program. our conservation efforts also rely on the equip program and conservation reserve program. my question to you is do you agree that these are important programs that we've got in place that we need to continue? >> senator, i certainly agree because we cannot continue the progress that's been made in the chesapeake bay. you've articulated what a vital resource nationally it is and certainly for the people who live in that waterheshed and around that body of water for so many reasons. but i don't believe we can continue the progress that has been made, much to the credit of farmers, agra businesses and others who have acknowledged that the runoff, nitrogen and phosph phosph phospho phosphorus has damaged that. i hope we can work with the national -- nrcs -- there, that we can continue that program. so i certainly hope that we will be able to, and even increase and continue the progress. >> i appreciate that. as you indicated, we've worked on a very cooperative relationship with the farmers in connection with this particular program as stewards of the land, it is very important that we have a good working and cooperative relationship which we have had. i do just want to say as a number of senators have raised the issue of proposed budget cuts to the rural water and waste disposal, lone grant program, i listened carefully when chairman of our committee said that the president proposes and the congress disposes. it is great to have the chairman of the appropriations commit here as well as the chairman of subcommittee appropriations for agriculture. we're going to hopefully work to make sure we address those issues. i can tell you 15 of maryland's 24 counties would be in really tough positions if they don't get the benefit of those loans. i also look forward to working with chairman of the appropriations committee on the epa budget, the trump administration proposal wipes out the proposal. senator donnelly and others talked about crop insurance. dealing with the risks. in maryland most of our farms are small and medium size farms and especially with respect to specialty crops. some of the way that crop insurance is currently designed does not fully meet their needs. so i just want to hear from you a willingness to talk and explore ways where we could modify some of those provisions to make sure we address the needs of some of the small or medium size farms. >> certainly. by the way, congratulations on your desire to be on this committee. i don't think many people understand the value of agriculture to maryland but it is significant in that way. your smaller farmers particularly. the '14 farm bill recognized the need for crop insurance in specialty crops in many ways. i think that was a great beginning. can we go further? i believe absolutely if we look what we learned from the '14 farm bill, how we continue to enhance that and to make smaller specialty crops of particularly smaller farmers a viable alternative for them. >> all right. finally, on the food and nutrition programs, i just want to add my voice to our senators who have said how important that is to our states. finally, mr. chairman, if i could just say that we have in maryland an 1890s land grant hbsu, university of maryland eastern shore, that's doing innovative work. you know that our hbcus have faced significant challenges including maintenance funds and others and i know you have worked on this issue. i would just like to get your commitment to follow up in a conversation to try and address the issue of strengthening the 1890 hbcus. >> i would welcome that. we obviously have those in georgia as well. i think i was pleased to see our president welcome them as well and commit to -- make commitments about those areas. i look forward to working with you directly regarding your specific hbcu. >> we have a particular challenge and issue with one of our hbcu 1890. so thank you. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thausnk you, mr. chairman. welcome, governor. nice to see you again. my colleagues don't know, but during the secretary designee's time in the air force, governor perdue spent time in columbus, ohio. glad you will always put ohio second right after georgia. senator van hollen had a couple points i want to reemphasize. one, the importance of the chesapeake bay. a lot of those same exact issues apply to the great lakes initiative. the president has cut it almost 100% which is just ludicrous. senator portman and senator stabenow, it really won him the election. i'm old enough to remember what the great lakes looked like when i was a kid, and it is one of the great accomplishments of government and communities and the federal government especially to clean this up. we can't see us backside. i would emphasize the importance. chesapeake bay is pretty important. but the great lakes are the largest collection of fresh water in the world. chesapeake bay isn't even fresh water. anyway. >> i object. >> you could object. >> also, i want to emphasize and thank you chairman roberts' comments about ag and nutrition of the farm bill holding it together when there's always pressures to divide it. i know that the governor has supported that, too. but thank you, chairman roberts, for your statements about that and the statements of senator van hollen on the historically black colleges. it is really, really important and i want -- central state and my state particularly important. i know you have worked with georgia's hbcu as governor and ft. valley state university as an 1890 land grant. thoughts -- if you would give us, real briefly, because we are running out of time and a vote is coming. what specifically are your thoughts and ideas of next step you plan to take in support of those universities? >> again, i was pleased to hear the president welcome them and commit to do that. ft. valley state in our adjacent county. we know the work that they do as a land grant university and unique, niche programs there in the state and i look forward -- they've got a value to serve. i look forward to helping them with the research, providing -- asking them for particular research projects with usda that has the opportunity to do that. give them an opportunity to compete in those areas and to listen and learn from them, as well as they can provide good information for us in areas in which they operate. >> i appreciate your sensitivity to historically black colleges, unlike your soon-to-en colleague in the cabinet who said that they were about choice or something when it came to black colleges. it was a rather peculiar statement. that's not you. senator donnelly mentioned opioids. my state has more opioid deaths than any other state in the country. to repeal the affordable care act, there are 200,000 -- right now 200,000 ohioans getting opioid addiction treatment that are on the affordable care act. i know that's not your issue exactly, although it is your party's issue, and the president's issue. i just ask, if something happens and that insurance is taken away, as it would be with the house bill for all those people that have opioid addictions and are getting treatment, i would ask you if you'd go back to omb and the white house to protect funding used in the battle against opioid addiction in rural ohio and rural america. >> i'm not sure you were here when i mentioned the great conversation i had with secretary vilsack. he was very proud on what the fda did on this area. i will absolutely be an advocate for the betterment obviously. usda doesn't have the capacity to supplant everything in health care but it does have an opportunity to help in that regard and i would welcome doing that. >> that again is why -- my republican governor, my other -- my colleague in the senate, senator portman, have both expressed grave concern about the affordable care act and what would happen to medicaid. 700,000 ohioan are on medication expansion. it's pretty amazing to me that a bunch of us in this body who get government supported insurance, who taxpayers subsidize our health insurance, that people in this body and the other house want to take away insurance for a whole lot of low-income working people. those are the medicaid expansion people. i just need to say that because it is such a big part of the opioid picture. last issue -- i know you're getting impatient, mr. chairman, but thank you. i worked with senator thune the last farm bill and the ag risk program, the program protects against unforeseen declines when either prices are low or production is low because of unforeseen circumstances that people have a safety net, that farmers have a safety net. administration's budget proposal included sharp cuts to the national ag statistic service which raises real questions about usda having the resources necessary to collect the independent unbiased price and yield data so that a.r.c. can actually be implemented with the proper information. 1 in 7 jobs in my state depends on agriculture. that's why i'm on this committee. i need to know that farmers can depend on you. i know your specialty is not the same agriculture as most of t theal -- agriculture of the ranking members. but i just want to have your assurety we can find ways to carry out the ag risk coverage program and that you can help, second part of that question, short-term assistance with dairy farmers. i heard you mention them briefly. i just need assurance on both of those issues. >> certainly. let me take the second one last. we've affirmed assistance on the dairy risk management. but farmers have to rely on the credibility of good, independent data through nass to provide that, that information, because the a.r.c. and plc program both depend on it. that's the independent sources tr trusted worldwide, supply and demand that move markets. that's a critical part of usda and i certainly will support that to the best of my ability. >> thank you. governor, you can tell your children and grandchildren that your confirmation hearing was in the kennedy caucus where the titanic hearings were, the watergate hearings, the mark-up of the affordable care act. what else happened -- the mccarthy hearings in the 1950s were all in this room. your children and grandchildren were here. if they're not here, tell them. >> i think you just told them. >> thank you. >> senator stabenow. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i just want to -- i know we have a vote coming and that you are br about to wrap up. i do have additional questions i will submit for the record, as well as the record on dairy insurance. >> all members should understand they can submit letters for the record. i do want to mention the fact that the committee's received a number of letters in support of your nomination, including one from nearly 700 -- 700 organizations across the agriculture and food value chain, as well as one from six former u.s. secretaries of agriculture representing both republican and democrat presidents. governor perdue, thank you for your willingness to be considered for service to agriculture and rural america as secretary of agriculture. this committee has a history of working in a bipartisan fashion as this hearing has demonstrated. as opposed to others that have been going on in the senate. while crafting legislation and considering nominations. and we will move as quickly as possible -- we are going to leave this but you can find it online at c-span.org. take you live to the white house for the white house daily briefing with sean spicer. >> first i'd like to have the attorney general come up to the podium to make an announcement regarding immigration enforcement with respect to sanctuary cities. when the attorney general is done speaking we'll have time for a couple questions. then i'll continue with the briefing. if your question is not germane to sanctuary cities, keep your hand down and we'll get to it after we go through the events of the day. with that, attorney general sessions, come on up. >> thank you, sean. department of justice has agreed to enforce our nation laws, including our immigration laws. those laws require us to promptly reme have aove aliens convicted or accused certain crimes. the vast majority of people support this commonsense requirement. according to a recent poll, 80% of americans believes that cities who arrest illegal immigrants for crimes should be required to turn them over to immigration authorities. unfortunately, some states and cities have adopted policies designed to frustrate this enforcement of immigration laws. this includes refusing to detain known felons under federal detainer requests or otherwise failing to comply with these laws. for example, the department of homeland security recently issued a report showing that in a single week there were more than 200 instances of jurisdictions refusing to honor i.c.e. detainer requests with respect to individuals charged or convicted of a serious crime. these -- the charges and convictions against these aliens include drug trafficking, hit and run, rape, sex offenses against a child, and even murder. such policies cannot continue. they make our nation less safe by putting dangerous criminals back on the streets. we all remember the tragic case of kate steinham, the 32-year-old woman who was shot and killed in san francisco as she walked along the pier with her father. shooter was an illegal immigrant who had already been deported five times and had seven felony convictions. just 11 weeks before the shooting san francisco released him from their custody even

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