The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a full committee roundtable titled “Farming on Trial: A Roundtable on the Growing Use of Lawfare Against American Agriculture,” Chairman James Comer announced on Apr. 15. The event is scheduled for Tuesday, April 21 at 10:00 AM EST in the Rayburn House Office Building.
The roundtable aims to examine how lawsuits and court decisions are increasingly influencing farm policy, with regulatory outcomes being shaped by litigation rather than through transparent legislative processes. This development has raised concerns about uncertainty and increased compliance costs for farmers and ranchers across the country.
Comer said, “As Kentucky’s former Commissioner of Agriculture, I understand the challenges farmers and ranchers across this country face as they contend with increasing pressure and rising compliance costs as laws are applied to the agricultural industry in ways Congress never intended. The House Oversight Committee is now taking a hard look at how courts and litigation are increasingly shaping farm policy through processes that sidestep transparent, accountable lawmaking. What should be fair and consistent enforcement has, in too many cases, turned into federal overreach that places unnecessary burdens on those who feed our nation. This roundtable will provide Congress the opportunity to hear in-depth testimony directly from local farmers and producers who have confronted agricultural lawfare head-on. I look forward to discussing legislative solutions to ensure federal laws and regulations are not weaponized against our small and family-owned farms.”
Participants in the discussion will include Marty Jackley, Attorney General of South Dakota; Shad Sullivan, Private Property Rights Committee Chair for R-CALF USA; and Margaret Byfield, Executive Director of American Stewards of Liberty.
The roundtable will be livestreamed online at https://oversight.house.gov/.
Observers note that this event could shape future legislative efforts aimed at addressing legal challenges facing small- and family-owned farms.
