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.
“Senate Committee Meetings” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Daily Digest section on pages D1024-D1025 on Sept. 28, 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:
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
2018 FARM BILL
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded a hearing to examine rural development and energy programs, focusing on perspectives for the 2018 Farm Bill, after receiving testimony from Anne C. Hazlett, Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development, Richard A. Davis, Acting Administrator, Rural Housing Service, Chad Parker, Acting Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative Service, and Chris McLean, Acting Administrator, Rural Utilities Service, all of the Department of Agriculture; Aleta Botts, Kentucky Center for Agriculture and Rural Development, Elizabethtown; Elmer Ronnebaum, Kansas Rural Water Association, Seneca, on behalf of the National Rural Water Association; Chris Stephens, Coweta-Fayette Electric Membership Corporation, Palmetto, Georgia; Denny Law, Golden West Telecommunications Cooperative, Inc., Wall, South Dakota, on behalf of NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association; Brent Shanks, Iowa State University NSF Engineering Research Center of Biorenewable Chemicals, Ames; and Mark Olinyk, Harvest Energy Solutions, Jackson, Michigan, on behalf of the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council and the Michigan Farm Bureau.
NORTH KOREA
Committee on Armed Services: Committee received a closed briefing on North Korea from officials of the intelligence community.
NORTH KOREA SANCTIONS
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine evaluating sanctions enforcement and policy options on North Korea, focusing on Administration perspectives, including S. 1591, to impose sanctions with respect to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, after receiving testimony from Sigal Mandelker, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence; and Susan Thornton, Acting Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
TSA MODERNIZATION
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security concluded a hearing to examine Transportation Security Administration modernization, focusing on improvements to aviation security, after receiving testimony from Brian C. Weiler, Springfield-Branson National Airport, Springfield, Missouri; and Stephen A. Alterman, Cargo Airline Association, on behalf of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, Sissy Pressnell, Security Manufacturers Coalition, and Michael White, Cargo Network Services Corporation, on behalf of the International Air Transport Association, all of Washington, D.C.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the following business items:
S. 1766, to reauthorize the SAFER Act of 2013, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute; and
The nominations of Brian Allen Benczkowski, of Virginia, Assistant Attorney General, Halsey B. Frank, to be United States Attorney for the District of Maine, D. Michael Hurst, Jr., to be United States Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, Jeffrey B. Jensen, to be United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, Thomas L. Kirsch II, to be United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, and William J. Powell, to be United States Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia, all of the Department of Justice.
