Brooke Rollins, President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Agriculture, presented her qualifications and policy priorities during a nearly 4-hour Senate Agriculture Committee confirmation hearing. A Texas lawyer with deep agricultural roots, Rollins emphasized her commitment to supporting farmers and modernizing the USDA.
Her key priorities include:
- Economic aid: Ensuring quick distribution of disaster and economic assistance.
- Animal disease: Addressing outbreaks like avian influenza through comprehensive government and stakeholder collaboration.
- USDA reform: Streamlining operations, supporting rural communities, and fostering market access for agriculture.
- Immigration and labor: Balancing border security with reforms to programs like H-2A to support farmers.
- Trade: Reducing the $45 billion agricultural trade deficit and ensuring tariffs do not harm farmers.
- Farm bill: Collaborating with Congress to pass comprehensive legislation.
- Biofuels: Supporting policies like year-round E15 fuel sales and tax credits for U.S.-produced biofuels.
- Nutrition programs: Improving SNAP efficiency while weighing potential spending cuts.
- Rural broadband: Expanding internet access to rural areas.
- Beginning farmers: Encouraging younger generations to enter farming.
Rollins also expressed her intent to block California’s Proposition 12, which affects pork production, and to address USDA staffing inefficiencies. Her nomination is supported by over 400 agricultural groups, emphasizing the urgency of strong leadership amid economic challenges for U.S. farmers.
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