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 in the Daily Digest section section on pages D141-D143 on Feb. 16.
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)
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee announced the following subcommittee assignment for the 118th Congress:
Subcommittee on Commodities, Risk Management, and Trade: Senators Smith (Chair), Gillibrand, Durbin, Booker, Warnock, Fetterman, Hyde-
Smith, McConnell, Ernst, Tuberville, and Grassley.
Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy: Senators Welch
(Chair), Klobuchar, Bennet, Smith, Durbin, Lujan, Tuberville, Ernst, Braun, Grassley, and Fischer.
Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources: Senators Bennet (Chair), Klobuchar, Smith, Lujan, Warnock, Welch, Marshall, McConnell, Hoeven, Hyde-Smith, and Thune.
Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research: Senators Fetterman (Chair), Brown, Klobuchar, Gillibrand, Booker, Warnock, Braun, McConnell, Ernst, Marshall, and Tuberville.
Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, Poultry, Local Food Systems, and Food Safety and Security: Senators Gillibrand (Chair), Brown, Durbin, Booker, Lujan, Welch, Hoeven, Hyde-Smith, Marshall, Thune, and Fischer.
Senators Stabenow and Boozman serve as ex officio members of all subcommittees.
FARM BILL
Committee on Agriculture: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the 2023 Farm Bill, focusing on nutrition programs, after receiving testimony from Cindy Long, Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service, and Stacy Dean, Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, both of the Department of Agriculture.
PHARMACY BENEFIT MANAGERS
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded a hearing to examine bringing transparency and accountability to pharmacy benefit managers, after receiving testimony from Senator Grassley; Ryan Oftebro, Kelley-Ross Pharmacy Group, Seattle, Washington; Debra Patt, Texas Oncology, Austin; Erin Trish, University of Southern California Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Los Angeles; and Casey B. Mulligan, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
GLOBAL ENERGY SECURITY
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the impact of the Russian Federation's war in Ukraine on European and global energy security one year after the invasion, after receiving testimony from Andrew Light, Assistant Secretary of Energy, Office of International Affairs; Ditte Juul Jorgensen, European Commission, Brussels, Belgium; and Anna B. Mikulska, Rice University Baker Institute for Public Policy, Houston, Texas.
TRADE AND LABOR
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine ending trade that cheats American workers by modernizing trade laws and enforcement, fighting forced labor, eliminating counterfeits, and leveling the playing field, after receiving testimony from Cindy Allen, FedEx Logistics, Memphis, Tennessee; Andy Meserve, United Steelworkers, Owensboro, Tennessee; Scott Nova, Workers Rights Consortium, and John Pickel, National Foreign Trade Council, both of Washington, D.C.; and Brenda B. Smith, Expeditors International of Washington, Inc., Glen Burnie, Maryland.
NOMINATION
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the nomination of Richard R. Verma, of Maryland, to be Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, after the nominee, who was introduced by Senator Cardin, testified and answered questions in his own behalf.
HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a hearing to examine health care workforce shortages, after receiving testimony from James D. Herbert, University of New England, Biddeford, Maine; James E.K. Hildreth, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee; Sarah L. Szanton, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore, Maryland; Leonardo Seoane, Ochsner Health, New Orleans, Louisiana; and Douglas O. Staiger, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the nominations of Rosemarie Hidalgo, of the District of Columbia, to be Director of the Violence Against Women Office, Amy Lefkowitz Solomon, of the District of Columbia, to be an Assistant Attorney General, Kate E. Brubacher, to be United States Attorney for the District of Kansas, and Ismail J. Ramsey, to be United States Attorney for the Northern District of California, all of the Department of Justice.
Also, Committee announced the following subcommittee assignments for the 118th Congress:
Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights: Senators Klobuchar (Chair), Whitehouse, Coons, Blumenthal, Hirono, Booker, Welch, Lee, Grassley, Hawley, Cotton, Tillis, and Blackburn.
Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety: Senators Padilla (Chair), Whitehouse, Klobuchar, Coons, Hirono, Booker, Welch, Cornyn, Grassley, Cruz, Cotton, Tillis, and Blackburn.
Subcommittee on the Constitution: Senators Feinstein (Chair), Blumenthal, Booker, Ossoff, Cruz, Cornyn, and Lee.
Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism: Senators Booker (Chair), Feinstein, Whitehouse, Klobuchar, Coons, Padilla, Ossoff, Cotton, Grassley, Cornyn, Lee, Cruz, and Kennedy.
Subcommittee on Intellectual Property: Senators Coons (Chair), Hirono, Padilla, Ossoff, Welch, Tillis, Cornyn, Cotton, and Blackburn.
Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights: Senators Whitehouse (Chair), Feinstein, Blumenthal, Hirono, Booker, Padilla, Welch, Kennedy, Grassley, Lee, Cruz, Tillis, and Hawley.
Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law: Senators Ossoff (Chair), Feinstein, Blumenthal, Welch, Blackburn, Kennedy, and Hawley.
Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law: Senators Blumenthal (Chair), Klobuchar, Coons, Hirono, Padilla, Ossoff, Hawley, Kennedy, Blackburn, Lee, and Cornyn.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the nomination of Joshua David Jacobs, of Washington, to be Under Secretary for Benefits of the Department of Veterans Affairs, after the nominee, who was introduced by Senator Murray, testified and answered questions in his own behalf.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported the following business items:
S. 10, to improve the workforce of the Department of Veterans Affairs, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
S. 30, to authorize major medical facility projects for the Department of Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2023, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
S. 106, to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to award grants to States to improve outreach to veterans, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
S. 112, to amend title 38, United States Code, to strengthen benefits for children of Vietnam veterans born with spina bifida;
S. 132, to require a pilot program on activities under the pre-
separation transition process of members of the Armed Forces for a reduction in suicide among veterans, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
S. 141, to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve certain programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs for home and community based services for veterans, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
S. 185, to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the program for direct housing loans made to Native American veterans;
S. 216, to amend title 38, United States Code, to modify the family caregiver program of the Department of Veterans Affairs to include services related to mental health and neurological disorders; and
S. 326, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a study and clinical trials on the effects of cannabis on certain health outcomes of veterans with chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder.
