USDA's Office of Congressional Relations

United States Department of Agriculture's Office of Congressional Relations

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Congressional Testimony

Date	USDA Witness	Committee	Subject
February 2005
Feb. 3	Mike Johanns, Secretary of Agriculture	Senate Committee on Agriculture	Ongoing activities related to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and international trade implications
January 2005
Jan. 6	Mike Johanns, Secretary of Agriculture	Senate Committee on Agriculture	Confirmation Hearing
September 2004
Sept. 23	Bruce Knight, NRCS Chief	Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee, Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water	Habitat restoration and preservation associated with the sage grouse
Sept. 15	Eric Bost, Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services	House Committee on Government Reform, Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness	Obesity Prevention Efforts
Sept. 14	Mark Rey, Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment	Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee	S.2709, The National Forest Restoration Act of 2004; and S.2723, The Lewis and Clark Mt. Hood Wilderness Act
July 2004
July 22	Mark Rey, Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment	House Committee on Resources, Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health	Pending Wilderness Legislation
July 21	Dr. Rodney Brown, Deputy Undersecretary, Research, Education, and Economics	House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality	Methyl Bromide: Update on Achieving the Requirements of the Clean Air Act and the Montreal Protocol
July 21	Dr. Keith Collins, Chief Economist	House Committee on Agriculture, Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management	Crop Insurance and Risk Management Issues
July 21	Ross Davidson, Administrator, Risk Management Agency	House Committee on Agriculture, Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management	Crop Insurance and Risk Management Issues
July 21	Mark Rey, Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment	Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests	Various Pending Lands Bills
July 20	Mark Rey, Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment	House Committee on Agriculture	Forest Land Enhancement Program
July 20	Russell Davis, Adminstrator, Rural Housing Service (Testimony Submitted for the Record)	House Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity	Multi-Family Housing Preservation
July 15	Ann Veneman, Secretary of Agriculture (Testimony submitted for the Record)	House Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on Workforce, Empowerment and Governance; and House Veteran's Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Benefits	Excellence in Action: Government Support of Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses
July 15	Dr. Ann Bartuska, Deputy Chief for Research and Development, Forest Service; Steve Eubanks, Forest Supervisor, Tahoe National Forest	House Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health	Restoring Forests after Catastrophic Events
July 14	Ann Veneman, Secretary of Agriculture	Joint Hearing: House Committee on Agriculture and House Committee on Government Reform	Ongoing activities related to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)
June 2004
June 23	Tom Thompson, Deputy Chief, National Forest Service	Senate Energy and Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests	Forest Service Grazing Program
June 17	Mark Rey, Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment	House Committee on Resources, Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health	Continued use of established commercial outfitter camps on the Salmon River
June 16	Lee Shatz, Senior Advisor for Agriculture, Coalition Provisional Authority, Iraq	House Committee on Agriculture	USDA Agricultural Efforts in Iraq
June 15	Bruce Knight, NRCS Chief	House Committee on Agriculture, Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Rural Development and Research	2002 Farm Bill Implementation
June 14	David Doss, State Conservationist, NRCS	House Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Fisheries, Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans	Conservation activities on the Delmarva Peninsula
June 8	Tom Thompson Deputy Chief, National Forest System USDA Forest Service	Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on National Parks	Federal Lands Recreational Visitor Protection Act of 2003
June 3	Eric Hentges, Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Executive Director of the Center on Nutrition Policy and Promotion	House Committee on Government Reform	Combating the obesity epidemic
June 2	Mark Rey, USDA NRE Undersecretary	Senate Commerce Committee	Firefighting Aircraft Safety
June 1	Ken Arney, Deputy Regional Forester for State and Private Forestry, US Forest Service, Southern Region, USDA	House Committee on Resources, Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health	Issues Affecting Southern Forests
May 2004
May 20	Dr. Colien Hefferan, Administrator, Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service	House Committee on Government Reform	Improve the welfare of our nation's children
May 20	Mack Gray, NRE Deputy Undersecretary	House Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources & Environment	Great Lakes water quality & ecosystem restoration
May 20	Dr. Keith Collins, USDA Chief Economist	House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management	Farm Bill 2nd Anniversary Review
May 13	Mark Rey, USDA NRE Undersecretary	House Committee on Resources, Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health	Firefighting Preparedness
May 13	William Clay, Deputy Administrator, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service	Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans of the House Committee on Resources	HR 3479: Brown Tree Snake Control (Guam)
May 13	Christopher Pyron Deputy Chief, Business Operations Forest Service	Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans, House Committee on Resources	H.R. 3433 - the Transfer of the Mingo Job Corps Center
May 11	Bruce Knight, NRCS Chief	Subcommittee on Forestry, Conservation and Rural Revitalization of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry	Conservation programs included in Title II of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (2002 Farm Bill)
May 11	Mark Rey, USDA NRE Undersecretary	Senate Energy subcommitte on Forests and Public Lands	Review 2003 Forest Fires & 2004 Outlook
May 6	Mark Rey, USDA NRE Undersecretary	Senate Committee on Agriculture	Biomass and renewable
April 2004
April 28	Ann Veneman, USDA Secretary	House Committee on Agriculture	Food and Agricultural trade
April 8	Hilda Gay Legg, Administrator for the Rural Utilities Program	Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
April 8	Ross J. Davidson, Jr., Administrator for the Risk Management Agency	Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
April 8	Arthur A. Garcia, Administrator for Rural Housing Program	Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
April 8	John Rosso, Administrator for the Rural Business Service	Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
April 8	James R. Little, Administrator for the Farm Service Agency	Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
April 8	A. Ellen Terpstra, Administrator for Foreign Agricultural Service	Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
April 8	J.B. Penn Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services	Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
April 8	Bruce Knight, Chief for Natural Resources Conservation Service	Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
April 8	Gilbert G. Gonzalez, Acting Undersecretary for Rural Development	Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
April 8	Mark Rey, Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment	Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
April 8	Dr. Joseph J. Jen, Undersecretary for REE	Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
April 1	Eric M. Bost, Under Secretary Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services	Senate Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
April 1	Roberto Salazar, Administrator for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services	Senate Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
April 1	Elsa Murano, Undersecretary for Food Safety	Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
April 1	Dr. Barbara J. Masters, Acting Administrator for Food Safety and Inspection Service	Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
April 1	William Hawks, Marketing and Regulatory Programs Undersecretary, USDA	Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies, Senate Appropriations Committee	FY 2005 Appropriations
March 2004
March 30	Dr. Merle Pierson, Deputy Undersecretary for Food Safety, USDA	House Committee on Government Reform, the Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization	Single Food Safety Agency
March 25	Ann Veneman, USDA Secretary	Senate Appropriations, Agriculture Subcommittee	FY 2005 budget
March 25	Hilda Gay Legg, Administrator for Rural Utilities Program	House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
March 25	Arthur A. Garcia, Administrator for Rural Housing Program	House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
March 25	John Rosso, Administrator for Rural Business-Cooperative Program	House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
March 25	Gilbert G. Gonzalez, Acting Undersecretary for Rural Development	House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
March 24	Roberto Salazar, Administrator for Food and Nutrition Service	House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
March 24	Eric M. Bost, Undersecretary Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services	House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
March 17	Ross J. Davidson, Jr., Administrator for the Risk Management Agency	House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
March 17	James R. Little, Administrator for Farm Service Agency	House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
March 17	J.B. Penn Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services	House Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
March 11	Floyd Gaibler	House Agriculture Committee, Subcommittee on Specialty Crops and Foreign Agriculture Programs	Implementation of peanut program provisions of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002.
March 10	R. Ronald Bosecker, Administrator for National Agricultural Statistics Service	House Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
March 10	Dr. Edward B. Knipling, Acting Administrator for Agricultural Research Service	House Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
March 10	Susan E. Offutt, Administrator for the Economic Research Service	House Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
March 10	Dr. Colien Hefferan, Administrator for CSREES	House Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
March 10	Dr. Joseph J. Jen, Undersecretary for REE	House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
March 9	Floyd Gaibler, Deputy Undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services	Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee	Drought Testimony
March 5	Scott Charbo, Chief Information Officer, USDA	House Agriculture Committee	National Animal Identification System
March 4	William Hawks, Marketing and Regulatory Programs Undersecretary, USDA	Senate Agriculture Committee's Subcommittee on Marketing, Inspection, and Product Promotion (Chair Talent, R-MO)	National Animal Identification Plan
February 2004
February 26	Bruce Knight, Chief for Natural Resources Conservation Service	House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
February 25	The Honorable Ann M. Veneman, Secretary, USDA	House Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies	FY 2005 Appropriations
February 24	The Honorable Elsa Murano, Under Secretary for Food Safety; Dr. Ron DeHaven, Deputy Administrator for Veterinary Services Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; Dr. Keith Collins, Chief Economist	Senate Appropriations Committee	BSE
January 2004
January 27	The Honorable Ann M. Veneman, Secretary, USDA	Senate Agriculture Committee	BSE-positive cow found in Washington State and USDA's response
January 21	The Honorable Ann M. Veneman, Secretary, USDA	House Agriculture Committee	BSE-positive cow found in Washington State and USDA's response
November 2003
November 19	Dr. Charles Lambert, Deputy Undersecretary, Marketing and Regulatory Programs	Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs	Agroterrorism Hearing
October 2003
October 21	Dr. Rodney Brown, Deputy Undersecretary, Research, Education, and Economics	House Agriculture Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry	US National Arboretum Hearing
October 16	Thomas Dorr, Undersecretary for Rural Development	House Committee on Agriculture	New Generation Cooperatives
September 2003
September 30	Eric Hentges, Executive Director, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Food Nutrition, and Consumer Services	Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs and Product Safety,	Dietary Guidelines for Americans
September 17	Tom Thompson Deputy Chief, National Forest System Forest Service	House Committee on Resources Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health	Forest Service Recreation Fee Demonstration Program
July 2003
July 24	Ted McPherson, Chief Financial Officer (CFO)	House Committee on Government Reform	Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
July 17	Dr. John Clifford, Associate Deputy Administrator Veterinary Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service	Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works	Monkey Pox
June 2003
June 26	Nancy Bryson, General Counsel	House Committee on Agriculture	Country of Origin Labeling Law
	Dr. Keith Collins, Chief Economist
	Dr. Charles Lambert, Deputy Under Secretary, MRP
June 26	Mark Rey, Under Secretary for NRE	Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry	Healthy Forests Restoration Act
June 25	Mark Rey, Under Secretary for NRE	Senate Energy & Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests	Grazing programs and USDA and BLM
June 25	Hilda Legg, Administrator for Rural Utilities Service	Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Subcommittee on Economic Policy	Jumpstarting the Economy: Rural America
June 25	Tom Dorr, Under Secretary for Rural Development	House Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee of Oversight and Investigations	Waste, Fraud and Abuse in Housing Programs
June 25	Tom Dorr, Under Secretary for Rural Development	House Committee on Agriculture	Distance Learning and Telemedicine
June 25	Scott Charbo, Chief Information Officer	House Government Reform, Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and the Census	Cyber-security
June 19	Phyllis K. Fong, Inspector General	House Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee of Housing and Community Opportunity	Rural Housing in America
June 19	Bobby Accord, Administrator, APHIS	House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Conservation, Wildlife & Oceans	Chronic Wasting Disease; palentological resources
June 17	David Hegwood, Counsel to the Secretary	House Committee on Agriculture, Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Rural Development and Research	Biotechnology policy at USDA, EPA and FDA
June 12	J.B. Penn, Under Secretary for F/FAS	Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry	Federal Crop Insurance
	Dr. Keith Collins, Chief Economist
	Ross Davidson, Admistrator, Risk Management Agency
June 10	Ted McPherson, Chief Financial Officer	House Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Efficiency & Financial Management	Quality of financial Info at USDA, ED and USAID
June 4	Deputy Secretary James Moseley	House Committee on Agriculture, Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Rural Development and Research	Technical Assistance and Conservation Title
June 4	Mark Rey, Under Secretary for NRE	Senate Energy Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forest	Wild Sky Wilderness; Salmon River Hunting Camps
May 2003
May 22	Ross Davidson, Admistrator, Risk Management Agency	House Committee on Agriculture, Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management	Crop Insurance Industry
May 22	Dr. Keith Collins, Chief Economist		Crop Insurance Industry
May 21	Secretary Ann Veneman	House Committee on Agriculture	WTO Negotiations
May 20	Dr. Keith Collins, Chief Economist	House Committee on Agriculture, Subcommittee on Dept. Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry	The State of the Dairy Industry
May 20	J.B. Penn, Under Secretary for F/FAS	Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps and Narcotics	U.S. Agriculture and the Western Hemisphere
Senate Appropriations Hearings
May 22	Bill Hawks, Under Secretary for MRP	Senate Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development and Related Agencies	2004 Budget
	Elsa Murano, Under Secretary for Food Safety
	Eric Bost, Under Secretary for FNCS
May 16	J.B. Penn, Under Secretary for F/FAS
	Tom Dorr, Under Secretary for Rural Development
	Joseph Jen, Under Secretary for REE
	Mark Rey, Under Secretary for NRE
	Dr. Keith Collins, Chief Economist
May 8	Secretary Ann Veneman
April 2003
Apr 29	Dr. Chuck Lambert, Deputy Under Secretary, MRP	House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans and Subcommittee on National Parks Recreation & Public Lands	The Growing Problem of Invasive Species
Apr 10	J.B. Penn, Under Secretary for F/FAS	House Subcomittee on General Farm & Risk Management, Committee on Agriculture	Farm Bill implementation and Ag Assistantance Act of 2003
Apr 8	Gloria Manning, Deputy Chief, Forest Service	House Subcomittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands, Committee on Resources	HR 272 land conveyance for cemeteries
Apr 3	Eric Bost, Under Secretary for FNCS	Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry	Reauthorization of Child Nutrition Programs and WIC
Apr 1	Dr. Jim Butler, Deputy Under Secretary, F/FAS	House Committee on International Relations	U.S. Response to East African famine
March 2003
Mar 26	Edward McPherson, Chief Financial Officer	House Subcommittee on Government Efficiency and Financial Management, Committee on Government Reform	Financial Management Initiative of President Bush's Management Agenda
Mar 20	Eric Bost, Under Secretary for FNCS	House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies	2004 Budget
Mar 19	Tom Dorr, Under Secretary for Rural Development		2004 Budget
Mar 13	David Tenny, Deputy Under Secretary of NRE	Senate Energy & Natural Resources	Forest Fire Impacts and Preparedness for 2003
Mar 13	Joseph Jen, Under Secretary for REE	House Committe on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies	2004 Budget
Mar 13	Mark Rey, Under Secretary for NRE
Mar 12	Bill Hawks, Under Secretary for MRP
Mar 12	Elsa Murano, Under Secretary for Food Safety
Mar 5	J.B. Penn, Under Secretary for F/FAS
February 2003
Feb 27	Secretary Ann Veneman	House Appropriations, Subcommittee on Agriculture	2004 Budget
October 2002
Oct 2	David Tenny, Deputy Under Secretary of NRE	House Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition, and Forestry	Invasive Species
Oct 2	Dr. Jim Butler, Deputy Under Secretary of MRP		Invasive Species
September 2002
Sep 25	Lou Gallegos, Assistant Secretary for Administration	House Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition, and Forestry