The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“PAYING TRIBUTE TO GUS SCHUMACHER” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H9471-H9472 on Nov. 29, 2017.
The Department is primarily focused on food nutrition, with assistance programs making up 80 percent of its budget. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, said the Department implements too many regulations and restrictions and impedes the economy.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
PAYING TRIBUTE TO GUS SCHUMACHER
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) for 5 minutes.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great American, a man named Gus Schumacher, a man whose enduring legacy and indefatigable work ethic in the field of agriculture improved the lives of untold millions of people in our country and those America touches around the world--yes, farmers from all walks of life, including the smallest producers, not just the biggest, including people who are hungry.
I remember one time Gus spoke with me about going through nursing homes in western Iowa and how America had to do a better job of reaching places that were forgotten, places that you would not expect to find hungry people.
Gus' work touched people across a broad variety of pursuits. He wasn't limited by the false urban-rural divide that our country lives with, and he touched citizens across the income spectrum.
It was with deep sadness that we learned of the news that Gus, a former Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for both Democratic and Republican Presidents, Bill Clinton and George Bush, and a founding board chair of an organization called Wholesome Wave, passed away unexpectedly last month.
A few days before his death, he had come to our office offering his help to the Congress on the new farm bill. He cared so much about people. He cared so much about nutrition. He understood the foundational power of agriculture in our Nation, so blessed with the resources to feed ourselves and the world if we put our shoulder to the wheel.
Simply, Gus loved and lived agriculture. He had experience from the time he was a child that directed him toward farming and all of its array. The farmers market was in his DNA.
He was born in Massachusetts on a farm in Lexington and bridged the divide between city and rural dwellers. This approach was the American way, the American family way. His grandfather and great-grandfather farmed, get this, in New York City, where they grew vegetables in enclosed greenhouses and sold what they grew at city markets. He knew agriculture from the inside, even inside a place like New York City, where now, with modern technology, we are growing lettuce on walls as high as the ceiling of this Chamber in which I speak.
When Gus was young, he was loading up his brother's truck, and a box of pears fell off the truck and scattered all over the ground. Two young boys and their mother ran up, and they began picking up the pears. The mother explained that she was on food stamps and unable to afford fresh produce for her kids. Gus' heart broke, and his life's work began and he never stopped.
Gus worked tirelessly to support local farming and local agriculture, and I cannot underline local, local, local enough. He became an American force in the farm-to-table movement, encouraging restaurants and stores to buy produce locally. He saw communities shattered across our country when that local production food chain was broken, and he used his last ounce of strength to reconnect it.
Most recently, in preparation for the upcoming farm bill, he selflessly helped create provisions in H.R. 3699, the new Urban Agriculture Production Act, a bill that really focuses on producing, in some of the most forgotten places, with innovative farming practices, including in urban food deserts. He never stopped trying.
I loved him because he loved farmers markets, and I love farmers markets. Nothing creates community more than growing and feeding the local population. As we move to such large institutions that seem almost unapproachable by the average American, Gus was always bringing power back to people.
He expanded programs to include veterans, including the Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, as we attempt to pass a new farm bill, making sure that our veterans are included in that extraordinarily popular coupon program.
Gus was humble, kind, visionary, passionate, compassionate, generous, and dedicated, and a man for all seasons.
In closing, let me say Gus Schumacher will always be remembered as a gentle giant who packed a powerful punch. His impact will not be forgotten, and his legacy will live on and carry his dreams forward. Mr. Speaker, I will tell you, I am going to devote every ounce of energy I have in the new farm bill to making his dreams come true.
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