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S. HRG. 115–169 

NOMINATION OF 

GEORGE ‘‘SONNY’’ PERDUE 

TO BE SECRETARY OF 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, 

NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

MARCH 23, 2017 

Printed for the use of the 

Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

( 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov/ 

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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY 

PAT ROBERTS, Kansas, Chairman 

THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi 

MITCH MCCONNELL, Kentucky 

JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas 

JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota 

JONI ERNST, Iowa 

CHARLES GRASSLEY, Iowa 

JOHN THUNE, South Dakota 

STEVE DAINES, Montana 

DAVID PURDUE, Georgia 

LUTHER STRANGE, Alabama 

DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan 

PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont 

SHERROD BROWN, Ohio 

AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota 

MICHAEL BENNET, Colorado 

KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, New York 

JOE DONNELLY, Indiana 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota 

ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania 

CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland 

JAMES A. GLUECK, JR., MAJORITY STAFF DIRECTOR

ANNE C. HAZLETT, MAJORITY CHIEF COUNSEL

JESSICA L. WILLIAMS, CHIEF CLERK

JOSEPH A. SHULTZ, MINORITY STAFF DIRECTOR

MARY BETH SCHULTZ, MINORITY CHIEF COUNSEL

(II) 

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(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

HEARING(S): 

Nomination of George ‘‘Sonny’’ Perdue to be Secretary of U.S. Department 

of Agriculture ........................................................................................................ 1 

Thursday, March 23, 2017 

STATEMENTS PRESENTED BY SENATORS 

Roberts, Hon. Pat, U.S. Senator from the State of Kansas, Chairman, Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry ................................................. 1 

Stabenow, Hon. Debbie, U.S. Senator from the State of Michigan ..................... 2 

Chambliss, Hon. Saxby, former U.S. Senator from the State of Georgia ........... 4 

Perdue, Hon. David, U.S. Senator from the State of Georgia .............................. 9 

Scott, Hon. David, U.S. Representative from the State of Georgia ..................... 6 

Witness 

Perdue, Hon. George ‘‘Sonny’’, Nominee to be Secretary, United States Department of Agriculture ....................................................................................... 9 

APPENDIX 

PREPARED STATEMENTS: 

Perdue, Hon. George ........................................................................................ 46 

DOCUMENT(S) SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD: 

Roberts, Hon. Pat: 

Letters of support for Gov. George ‘‘Sonny’’ Perdue 

Agriculture Industry ........................................................................................ 56 

American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) ......................................................... 74 

American Horse Council .................................................................................. 75 

American Quarter Horse Association ............................................................. 77 

American Sheep Industry (ASI) ...................................................................... 81 

American Veterinary Medical Association ..................................................... 79 

Catfish Farmers of America ............................................................................ 82 

Family Farm Alliance ...................................................................................... 83 

Food Marketing Institute ................................................................................. 84 

Independent Community Bankers of America ............................................... 87 

Industry Crop Insurance Letter ...................................................................... 88 

International Association of Fire Chiefs ......................................................... 91 

Michigan Agri-Business Association ............................................................... 92 

National Confectioners Association ................................................................. 93 

National Grocers Association ........................................................................... 94 

Oklahoma Soybean Association ....................................................................... 96 

Sweetener Users Association ........................................................................... 98 

The Fertilizer Institute .................................................................................... 99 

Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership .............................................. 102 

U.S. Secretaries ................................................................................................ 97 

Various U.S. Governors .................................................................................... 85 

Western Growers Support ................................................................................ 103 

Stabenow, Hon. Debbie: 

Dairy Risk Management Agency ..................................................................... 104 

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IV 

Perdue, Hon. George: 

5-day letter, Committee questionnaire and Office of Government Ethics 

Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report filed 

by Christopher James Brummer ................................................................. 106 

QUESTION AND ANSWER: 

Perdue, Hon. George: 

Written response to questions from Hon. Pat Roberts .................................. 136 

Written response to questions from Hon. Debbie Stabenow ......................... 139 

Written response to questions from Hon. Heidi Heitkamp ........................... 161 

Written response to questions from Hon. John Boozman ............................. 164 

Written response to questions from Hon. Amy Klobuchar ........................... 165 

Written response to questions from Hon. John Thune .................................. 169 

Written response to questions from Hon. Joni Ernst .................................... 173 

Written response to questions from Hon. John Hoeven ................................ 174 

Written response to questions from Hon. Steve Daines ................................ 176 

Written response to questions from Hon. Luther Strange ............................ 179 

Written response to questions from Hon. Thad Cochran .............................. 180 

Written response to questions from Hon. Robert Casey, Jr. ......................... 181 

Written response to questions from Hon. Charles Grassley ......................... 187 

Written response to questions from Hon. Sherrod Brown ............................ 188 

Written response to questions from Hon. Kirsten Gillibrand ....................... 193 

Written response to questions from Hon. Michael Bennet ........................... 205 

Written response to questions from Hon. Patrick J. Leahy .......................... 209 

Written response to questions from Hon. Chris Van Hollen ........................ 218 

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(1) 

NOMINATION OF 

GEORGE ‘‘SONNY’’ PERDUE 

TO BE SECRETARY OF 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Thursday, March 23, 2017 

UNITED STATES SENATE, 

COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY, 

Washington, DC 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:01 a.m., in room 

325, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Pat Roberts, Chairman 

of the Committee, presiding. 

Present: Senators Roberts, Cochran, Boozman, Hoeven, Ernst, 

Grassley, Thune, Daines, Perdue, Strange, Stabenow, Leahy, 

Brown, Klobuchar, Bennet, Gillibrand, Donnelly, Heitkamp, Casey, 

and Van Hollen. 

STATEMENT OF HON. PAT ROBERTS, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE 

STATE OF KANSAS, CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY 

Chairman ROBERTS. Good morning, members of the Committee, 

I call this meeting of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry to order. 

This morning, we welcome Governor Sonny Perdue, the President’s nominee for U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 

Members of this Committee have great appreciation for the farmers, ranchers, consumers, and other stakeholders that are directly 

affected by decisions made by the Secretary. The Department of 

Agriculture is made up of 29 agencies and offices. It employs nearly 

100,000 men and women that work in all 50 states and all around 

the globe. The Department provides leadership on food, agriculture, 

natural resources, rural development, nutrition, scientific research, 

and related issues that impact Americans virtually every day. 

Throughout our Nation’s history, our farmers, ranchers, and 

folks in rural America have survived drought, disease, floods, tornadoes, and lately—yes, lately—prairie fires in Kansas and whatever else Mother Nature throws at them. 

Year after year, they produce the safest, most abundant, and affordable food and fiber supply in the world; however, today, growers from across the country are facing tough economic times with 

multiple years of low prices. 

These same producers need a strong market for their goods. During this critical time, the importance of trade for agriculture, our 

agriculture industry, cannot be overstated. 

If that was not enough, over the last previous years, farmers and 

ranchers and rural businesses have been burdened by regulations 

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from agencies all across the Federal Government. I have heard 

time and time again, as well as many members of this Committee, 

about the costly and hard-to-understand regulations that endanger 

the ability of our producers to simply stay in business. This Committee will continue its efforts to make government a partner in 

their success, not an adversary. 

This Committee has a lot of work to do over the next 2 years, 

including the reauthorization of the Farm Bill. We intend to do 

that work in the bipartisan fashion that has served us so well in 

the past. In this respect, I want to personally thank the distinguished Ranking Member and former Chairperson of this Committee, the Senator from Michigan. 

Now more than ever, agriculture needs a voice and advocate at 

the highest levels of government, and Governor Perdue has been 

nominated to serve in exactly that role. He is from Georgia and has 

spent his entire life in and around agriculture. The Governor was 

raised on a farm and was a practicing veterinarian before returning to his home county to work in the grain business. He was elected to serve in local and state government, including two terms as 

Governor of Georgia. While serving farmers throughout the Southeast, he gained firsthand experience with the complexity of transportation and the global commodities market. 

Governor, the Senate’s role of advice and consent is an important 

responsibility, and today is a key step in that process. We look forward to hearing your testimony and to asking you questions about 

how you view the role of Agriculture Secretary, should you be confirmed. 

In addition to the Governor, I would also like to welcome and 

recognize his wife, Mary, his 4 children and their spouses, and his 

14 grandchildren. The Governor is also joined by so many of his 

friends and former staff from Georgia, we cannot count them. We 

welcome you all to the Committee. 

I am especially glad to have our former Ag Committee Chairman 

and Senator from Georgia, the Honorable Saxby Chambliss; and 

Georgia Congressman David Scott, who serves on the House Agriculture Committee—pardon me—the sometimes powerful House 

Agriculture Committee—with us to provide introductions of our 

nominee. I see Congressman Sanford Bishop here in the audience 

to support the nominee as well. Sanford, it is good to see you again. 

But before we hear from Senator Chambliss and Congressman 

Scott, I want to turn things over to Senator Stabenow for any remarks that the distinguished Ranking Member would like to make. 

STATEMENT OF HON. DEBBIE STABENOW, U.S. SENATOR 

FROM THE STATE OF MICHIGAN 

Senator STABENOW. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

It is great to be with you today as we are moving forward on this 

very important position, welcome Governor Perdue. It is pretty impressive to see your beautiful grandchildren, as well as children 

and family members. We know that you are a proud grandpa and 

we are happy to have you all here today. 

To my friend, Senator Chambliss, we have worked on a lot of 

Farm Bills together and worked well. Thank you for your service 

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as Chair and as somebody advocating for Georgia and all States in 

the interest in agriculture. It is great to see you. 

Representative Scott, welcome to you as well. We have a lot of 

work to do together with our colleagues in the House to be able to 

get the next Farm Bill done. We look forward to doing that. 

It is clear that agriculture and rural America need to have a seat 

at the table. It is clear that we need to make sure that is happening with this administration. 

Looking back at our history, our Presidents knew that farmers 

were the foundation of the country. That is why President Lincoln 

created the USDA and called it the ‘‘people’s department,’’ because 

he understood that agriculture is a cornerstone of our economy, 

and that the Department had a special relationship with the people 

it served. America’s farmers and ranchers grow the safest, most affordable food supply in the world, and we should be very proud of 

that. I always say that food security is national security because 

having a food-secure nation makes our country safe. 

Our food and agriculture sector also supports 16 million American jobs. It is USDA’s job to ensure we can continue to make 

things and grow things in every state, and that means celebrating 

the diversity of American agriculture as well. 

Michigan is the second most diverse agriculture state in the 

country, and it is important that USDA is a voice for Michigan 

farmers, as well as Kansas, Georgia, and all the farmers across our 

country. Large and small, conventional and organic, those who sell 

overseas, those who sell to their neighbors—we need a voice for all 

of our farmers. 

The Agriculture Secretary will need to look past regional divides 

and partisan pressures to support all farmers, all families, and all 

rural communities. Right now we need an advocate to stand up for 

them with this administration. USDA not only helps a farmer 

weather storms, it also saves communities from wildfires in the 

West, helps to make lakes and rivers safe for families to enjoy, and 

ensures children have the healthy food they need to learn and grow 

to be healthy adults. 

Rural America is the economic backbone of our country, and it 

is true that too many rural towns are still struggling to recover 

from the Great Recession. Over the past 8 years, USDA has made 

targeted investments in rural economies, and now we are beginning to see these communities on the road to recovery. But we need 

to make sure that these important investments continue so we can 

keep moving forward. 

Unfortunately, during the first 2 months of the new administration, it is clear that rural America has been an afterthought. Even 

before President Trump took office, he sent a message by waiting 

until the last minute to name his pick for Agriculture Secretary. 

Last week’s budget proposal has also made it clear that rural 

America is not a top priority for this administration. The proposal 

cuts USDA funding by 21 percent, the third largest cut to any federal agency. 

In addition to eliminating critical rural development and international food aid programs, the administration has put a target on 

hundreds of critical programs that go through the appropriations 

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process. In fact, under the budget, important resources for farmers 

and families are facing cuts averaging 33 percent. 

We need a Secretary of Agriculture who will advocate for the important services USDA provides and rural families and farmers 

need. 

We need a strong voice to insist that the President listen to the 

500 groups that are saying that agriculture, conservation, food assistance, and other Farm Bill programs should not be cut further 

after agreeing to a $23 billion cut in the last Farm Bill. 

We also need someone who will partner closely with Congress, 

especially as we put together the next Farm Bill and look at other 

key issues like immigration and trade that have a tremendous impact on farmers and rural communities. 

In the 2014 Farm Bill, we made bipartisan reforms that saved 

taxpayers billions and protected the integrity of the farm and family safety net. 

The Congressional Budget Office recently estimated that the cur- rent Farm Bill would save $80 billion more than initially projected 

in the next 10 years, largely driven by crop insurance costs going 

down and reduced spending on food assistance, as the economy has 

improved. 

In this Congress, we will be working hard to move another bipartisan Farm Bill. I am excited for this challenge, Mr. Chairman. 

With the USDA leadership and with all of our stakeholders, I know 

that we can get it done. We have worked together before on a comprehensive bill. We will do it again for the communities that we 

represent and for the entire country. 

Especially during these times of low prices for agriculture and 

uncertainty around the budget, trade, and immigration, we need 

the next Secretary to be an unapologetic advocate for all of rural 

America. We need someone who will be tenacious, much like a 

Georgia bulldog. 

Governor Perdue, we need a champion—and I know you know 

that—right now more than ever. Today, I look forward to learning 

more about your views and qualifications to lead one of the most 

important Departments in our Federal Government. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ROBERTS. I thank the Senator from Michigan. 

It is my privilege and pleasure now to recognize the distinguished former member of this Committee and Chairman of this 

Committee, our colleague, our friend, the Honorable Saxby Chambliss. 

STATEMENT OF HON. SAXBY CHAMBLISS, FORMER U.S. 

SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF GEORGIA 

Senator CHAMBLISS. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Stabenow, 

distinguished members of the Committee, I am truly honored to be 

before you today, and I am humbled to be on this side of the dais 

but glad to be on this side for a number of reasons. But I am particularly pleased and honored to be here today to introduce my 

good friend, Governor George Ervin ‘‘Sonny’’ Perdue, who is President Trump’s nominee to be the next Secretary of Agriculture. 

You know, I spent 12 of the best years of my life right here, and 

when people ask do I miss the Senate, I am very quick to respond 

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that what I miss are the good friends that I made over my 20 years 

in Congress, and members of this Committee are right at the top 

of the list of those best friends, and it is on both sides of the aisle. 

So I truly am pleased to be here. 

When I was sworn in as a new Member of the House of Representatives in January of 1995, I was given the next-to-the-last 

seat on the Committee on Agriculture, which was made up of more 

than 50 Members. The Chairman of that Committee was the gentleman from Kansas, Mr. Roberts. Now, Mr. Chairman, you are 

probably the only person in the history of our country to chair both 

Committees, and I am going to steal your phrase, because I have 

heard you say it so often, that the ‘‘Sometimes Powerful Ag Committee,’’ but you are to be congratulated for having the honor of 

chairing both Committees. 

Governor Sonny Perdue is no stranger to agriculture. Sonny grew 

up on a farm in Houston County, Georgia, graduated from the veterinary school at the University of Georgia, and after a tour in the 

Air Force, returned to Houston County to be actively engaged in 

row-crop farming as well as in the operation of a very successful 

grain elevator business. 

When I was elected to Congress, Sonny was a constituent of mine 

and was by that time in his life a member of the Georgia State 

Senate. Now, Houston County is the home of Robins Air Force. So 

Sonny and I shared the interest of defense as well as agriculture 

in our respective positions, and we began a dialogue that has lasted 

to this day. 

In 2002, Sonny decided to run for Governor of Georgia, and I decided to run for the United States Senate, and needless to say, we 

spent many hours campaigning over the next year prior to that 

election. When you eat a lot of fried chicken and a lot of barbecue 

and ride a bus with somebody for a long period of time, you get to 

know them, and I got to know Sonny well. 

That November, Sonny was elected as the first Republican governor in our state in 130 years. Sonny has been a leader in everything he has been involved in doing. As a farmer, he was a leader 

in the field of agribusiness in our state. As a member of the State 

Senate, he was elected by his peers to be the president pro tem of 

the Senate, and as governor, he was the chairman of the Republican Governors Association. 

When he was elected governor, Sonny did what good leaders do, 

and that is to surround himself with good people. He went out and 

found a very experienced CEO and very experienced CFO. He also 

improved the state’s leadership by implementing a meritocracy in 

that he went out and found the very best and most qualified people 

to run every one of our state agencies, irrespective of the political 

affiliation of those individuals. He committed to make Georgia the 

best managed state in the Nation, and he received significant national recognition for his accomplishments. 

When he was elected, the state could not produce an audit, so he 

created the first state accounting office to focus on the timeliness 

and usefulness of financial information. Technology and purchasing 

systems at the state level were antiquated. Under Sonny’s leadership, those systems were updated, and the state purchasing system 

has received many awards for its efficiency and accountability. A 

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new state data center was established, and much of the appropriate technology was outsourced in order to stay current and technologically state-of-the-art. 

Now, we all know that technology at USDA today is way behind 

the curve. It is inefficient, and it is not farmer-friendly. This will 

be a challenge to Sonny, but I am very confident that he will be 

up to that challenge. 

One of Sonny’s most significant initiatives was the customer 

service focus to treat citizens of our state as customers and to create services for them that were faster, friendlier, and easier. That 

initiative significantly reduced the time and improved the customer 

experience in everything from getting a driver’s license to getting 

a tax refund. It also produced a cultural change as state employees 

bought into this initiative. 

Such an effort at USDA would be a vast improvement in the relationship with Washington and its largest customers at USDA— 

farmers and ranchers. This kind of executive experience and leadership combined with Sonny’s knowledge of USDA programs make 

him ideally suited to be the next Secretary of Agriculture. 

Mr. Chairman, I would urge this Committee to approve his nomination and bring his confirmation to a vote on the floor of the Senate as soon as possible, and I thank you very much. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Thank you, Senator Chambliss, for an excellent—an excellent statement on behalf of the Governor. 

It is also my personal pleasure and privilege to introduce a member of the House Agriculture Committee, a very valuable member, 

Congressman David Scott. David, we are delighted to have you 

here in the upper body. 

[Laughter.] 

Chairman ROBERTS. We will not go any farther with that. 

Please proceed, sir. 

STATEMENT OF HON. DAVID SCOTT, U.S. REPRESENTATIVE 

FROM THE STATE OF GEORGIA 

Mr. SCOTT. Well, Chairman Roberts, thank you for that, but I do 

want to make one slight correction. When you said that House Agriculture was sometimes influential and powerful, may we add an 

amendment to that so it will go out that the House Agriculture 

Committee has always been and will always be powerful and influential. 

Chairman ROBERTS. I appreciate that correction. It just was only 

one chairman that had the tenure when it was sometimes powerful. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. SCOTT. Touche`, my friend. I will certainly take that in consideration. 

Chairman Roberts, I am greatly honored and very thankful to 

have this opportunity to come and stand with my dear friend, my 

longtime friend, Sonny Perdue. 

I want to just take a few minutes to share with you some things 

about Sonny that you need to know. My good friend, Senator Saxby 

Chambliss, went into great detail to share with you his immense 

qualifications, his education, the fact that he went to University of 

Georgia’s veterinarian school. 

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But I am here to explain to you why Sonny Perdue is, indeed, 

the right person at the right time to do the absolute best job, the 

talents that I have shared and have witnessed with him in coming 

up through Georgia State Senate. 

You see, Committee members, I was chairman of the Senate 

Rules Committee in Georgia for 10 years, first African American to 

get that position. My good friend, Sonny Perdue, was the president 

pro tempore of the Senate. Now, I am not saying that to just shake 

a bell on our credentials here, but I think that if you put that in 

the context of the Georgia legislature—and I assure you that Georgia legislature was one of the most exciting places to be every 40 

days that went on for almost 80 days. 

Now, Sonny and I had to meet every single day to work together, 

to set the agenda, to determine what bills got on to the floor in the 

House and the Senate, sometimes night after night, and when we 

did that, we had to also sit with the Governor and the Speaker. 

You talk about some fireworks; there were plenty in that Georgia 

legislature. 

But you get to understand a person’s temperament when you are 

on the battlefield with them, their courage, their decisiveness, and 

Sonny Perdue was just such a person. So on all of the major pieces 

of legislation that affected every Georgian of every stripe, of every 

condition, Sonny Perdue had a very integral part of that. 

I want to take just a few minutes, if I may, because what is important to me is to make sure that my friend Sonny Perdue becomes the Secretary of Agriculture very quickly and that he comes 

with his record unblemished. That is why I wanted you to know 

at the outset, ladies and gentlemen, Sonny Perdue and I worked 

into the midnight hours, night after night. You get to know a person. He and I were like brothers, and I am grateful for that relationship. 

I want to take just a minute, though, to address an issue that— 

I do not know—may or may not come up, but I think I would be 

derelict in my duty if I did not set the record straight on the Confederate battle flag business that has been in the air. I want to 

make sure that when you measure Sonny Perdue on that issue as 

well as all issues that you measure Sonny Perdue right. 

Now, let me just give the Committee and the Nation just a preview and a setting. First of all, Sonny Perdue and I came along at 

a very significant time when Georgia made one of its most hysteric 

moments in changing the Confederate battle flag emblem from our 

State flag. It took time. It took experience. It took talent. It also 

took, Committee members, God’s providence, his divine intervention at a very critical need when we needed it most, and because 

of leadership at that time, there were three governors. You cannot 

just tell the story with just one governor. This has been an ongoing 

process, and it took education. It took commitment. But the people 

of Georgia, black and white, rose to that occasion. 

I want to just state that the first governor that had the courage 

to step forward to change that Confederate battle flag was Zell Miller, one of your former colleagues here. That took courage, and Zell 

paid the price for that. But it is very important to know that it was 

the white leadership in Georgia that stepped forward to lead that 

fight, took great risk to do so. 

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Then there was the second governor, Governor Roy Barnes, and 

as I said, God puts the right people in the right place at the right 

time. Governor Roy Barnes, one of the most courageous governors, 

a man of sterling strength, chose to do it, and he put forward the 

new flag. He too—and let me tell you something, Committee members. Many of those senators, State senators and State representatives, when they stood up to vote for that, many knew that they 

were not coming back because they were defeated. We have to 

measure people correctly, and they built on the foundation that 

each one laid. 

Then came Sonny Perdue. The flag issue was in his lap. It was 

on everybody’s mind. So when you judge a person, you have to 

judge them based upon the circumstances that he was placed in. 

Sonny Perdue, let it be known that when he was elected governor, 

he put forward a referendum. It was a tremendous campaign. Governor Roy Barnes lost the governorship for that. Many members of 

the House and the Senate lost their positions for that, and they deserve to be pointed out, respected for that. They paid the price, and 

when it came time and Sonny was elected, he promised a referendum, because the people of Georgia, it was their decision to 

make. 

But you talk about brilliance, you talk about achievement in a 

tough area; Sonny Perdue negotiated the compromise and put together the referendum and gave the people a choice. He put Governor Barnes’ flag there, which had a small emblem of the Confederate battle flag on there, and then Governor Sonny Perdue did a 

tremendously smart thing. He got an agreement on another flag 

that did not have the battle flag emblem on it, and he put that flag 

there with Georgia State seal, and he said, ‘‘People of Georgia, 

choose which one.’’ You know what, Mr. Chairman and Committee 

members? The people of Georgia chose the one flag that Sonny 

Perdue provided the leadership, that did not have the small Confederate flag that Roy Barnes had. 

We did not get to that point easily, but it was a great moment 

for the white and black people of Georgia. It could not have happened if we did not have a person with the level-headedness, with 

the brilliance and the tactical maneuvering, the willingness to sit 

and bring together Democrats, Republicans, urban, and rural together to solve that and let the people solve it. 

I often refer to that experience, Chairman and Committee members. I call to your reference three people. God chose three people 

to get us to the Promised Land; Jacob, which was our Zell Miller, 

because Zell Miller had to go up and wrestle with this issue. Then 

came our Moses, Roy Barnes, who provided the leadership right to 

it, but then we had our Joshua that got us on across the Jordan 

River. 

With that, Mr. Chairman, I urge you with all speed and urgency 

to please confirm my good friend, a great Georgian and a good 

American, a great American, who will make one of the best Secretaries of Agriculture this Nation has had, Sonny Perdue. 

Mr. PERDUE. Thank you. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Congressman, thank you for that very inspiring endorsement. I think every member here, if they would like 

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to be endorsed for anything, would welcome you to do that. That 

was very special, and I appreciate it very much. 

Governor? 

Senator PERDUE. Mr. Chairman? 

Chairman ROBERTS. Oh, I am sorry. Oh, pardon me. 

Senator Perdue would like to have the opportunity to endorse 

Governor Perdue. 

Senator PERDUE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I promise to be 

brief. As it has been stated—— 

Chairman ROBERTS. You take all the time you want. You were 

waving your arms, and I could not see you over there. 

STATEMENT OF HON. DAVID PERDUE, U.S. SENATOR FROM 

THE STATE OF GEORGIA 

Senator PERDUE. I just want to make a brief statement. As it has 

been stated, Governor Perdue and I are first cousins. We grew up 

together. We have a strong family. It is an extended family. I’ve 

known this man all of my life, and I can think of no one in the 

United States more qualified to be the next Secretary of Agriculture. 

In Joshua it calls us to be strong and courageous. I know this 

man to be both strong and courageous. Today, he is going to answer all our questions, and the only thing I can say to him is, good 

luck, Cuz. 

[Laughter.] 

Chairman ROBERTS. Governor Perdue, would you please rise and 

raise your right hand, please, sir. First, do you swear that the testimony you are about to present is the truth, the whole truth, and 

nothing but the truth, so help you God? 

Mr. PERDUE. I do. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Second, do you agree that if confirmed, you 

will appear before any duly constituted committee of Congress if 

asked to appear? 

Mr. PERDUE. Yes, sir, I will. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Thank you. Please proceed now with your 

testimony, Governor. 

TESTIMONY OF HON. GEORGE ‘‘SONNY’’ PERDUE, NOMINEE TO 

BE SECRETARY, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Mr. PERDUE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, Chairman Roberts and Ranking Member Stabenow and distinguished 

members of the Committee. It is an honor to be with all of you here 

today as the President’s nominee to serve as the Nation’s 31st Secretary of Agriculture. 

Before I go any further, I want to thank both of my good friends 

and fellow Georgians, both Saxby Chambliss and David Scott, for 

their words of encouragement and inspiration to me as well, Mr. 

Chairman. I also want to thank my good friend Sanford Bishop, 

Congressman Sanford Bishop, whom we served in the State Senate 

together, as well for being here this morning also. 

I know from visiting with many of you in your offices, there was 

some anxiety over whether there would be a Secretary of Agrimw42035 on AGRINON012 with DISTILLER

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culture nominee, and I must say with all the humility I can muster, I think the President must have saved the best for last. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. PERDUE. I would like to thank each of you for making time 

to meet individually with me over the last few weeks, and I hope 

and trust that our meetings will not just be introductory episodes, 

but an ongoing opportunity to listen and to learn from one another. 

My goal today is to answer your questions transparently. You 

have—and to your satisfaction, not only to earn your affirmative 

vote, but your trust, and if you will afford me the opportunity, I 

will carry out this awesome job with integrity, complicit with the 

laws and policies that are set forth by Congress, and with the compassion of a golden-rule heart. 

Before I get started, though, I would like to take a moment and 

introduce my family members who are with me here today. I am 

accompanied by my lovely wife, Mary, over my left shoulder. I had 

no idea when I married her 44 years ago, she would be such a prolific grandmother. As you can see, seated with Mary are our 4 children and 14 grandchildren and who are more familiar with my 

being called ‘‘Big Buddy’’ rather than any fancy other titles. 

I am also pleased and frankly humbled, after 7 years, to have 

more than 30 of my former coworkers here, who labored side by 

side with me while serving the State of Georgia and its people. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Governor, could you pardon this interruption. We would like for your family and your coworkers to stand, 

if you would, please. 

Mr. PERDUE. Please. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Thank you all for being here. 

[Applause.] 

Mr. PERDUE. Good-looking crowd, if I say so myself. 

You read my bio and pored over my personal and professional 

history, but if you will indulge me today, I would like to tell you 

just a little bit about myself. 

As a youngster growing up on a dairy farm and a diversified rowcrop farm in the middle of Georgia, I never really fully realized the 

blessings that purposeful, meaningful work would serve me as well 

as they have in my life. When I was a young boy feeding the calves 

and plowing the fields, I was an integral part of the workforce 

there on our family’s farm. My mother was an English teacher, 42 

years. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Governor, if you would just cease for a moment, and we will take care of this problem. 

[Pause.] 

Chairman ROBERTS. Please proceed, Governor. 

Mr. PERDUE. Yes, sir. Thank you. 

My mother was also an English teacher for 42 years, so I benefitted from her teachings as well, not just by raising me with the 

beliefs that I hold dear to my heart today, but being an English 

teacher, she also made sure I knew about dangling participles. It 

was a great life, and I had a blessed upbringing with wonderful 

memories. My favorite hobbies as a youngster were playing Little 

League baseball, training bird dogs, and riding my horse, Trigger. 

Even as a youngster, I was determined and goal-oriented early 

on. I set my heart on becoming a veterinarian, having been influmw42035 on AGRINON012 with DISTILLER

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enced by Dr. Davis, a kind and gentle veterinarian who cared for 

our dairy herd. 

So, after high school, I enrolled at the University of Georgia, 

where I walked on to play football for the University of Georgia 

Bulldogs, Senator. ‘‘Play’’ is probably not the operative word, but 

I was on the team. Realizing that my future was not on the football 

field, I decided to apply myself to my studies. 

As I entered veterinary school in 1967, you may remember Vietnam was roiling, so I signed up for an early commissioning program, the United States Air Force. As I finished my veterinary 

education in 1971, I was assigned to Columbus, Ohio, as base veterinarian, whose primary responsibilities were food safety, public 

health, and sanitation. 

As I completed my active duty commitment, I joined a small animal veterinary practice in Raleigh, North Carolina. I soon realized, 

though, even though our practice was thriving, that I missed our 

farm and my former agricultural way of life. So, in 1976, Mary and 

I and our two small girls moved back home where I partnered with 

my brother-in-law to build a grain elevator in our home county, 

which did not yet have one. Sadly, my brother-in-law and my partner passed away after only 3 years at the age of 43. 

So I have been in agribusiness since 1977, the founder and operator of three agribusiness and transportation firms serving farmers 

across the southeastern United States. Farming and farmers have 

been my life ever since. I have lived and breathed the exhilaration 

of a great crop and the despair and devastation of a drought. I 

have learned by experience what my father told me as a child, ‘‘If 

you take care of the land, it will take care of you.’’ 

So let us fast-forward to what you are probably more interested 

in, my years as a public servant, and I want to be clear. Growing 

up, I was not one of those young men, young boys who shook a 

President’s hand at the age of 16 and aspired to run for office. I 

was tuned into current events, but I had absolutely no interest in 

elected politics. I did understand we all have civic rent, so I agreed 

to chair our local planning and zoning commission. But after 10 

years of that service, a State Senate seat became open, and I was 

asked to run for that seat. I initially declined, but after a preplanned family vacation to Williamsburg, Virginia, I changed my 

mind, having observed the Founders’ demonstration of citizen engagement. 

In 1990, the people of District 18 elected me to serve as a member of the Georgia State Senate. I served there for 11 years and 

during my tenure was elected by my colleagues, as Congressman 

Scott said, to be president pro tempore, the pinnacle of leadership 

in that body, from 1996 to ’98. You have probably heard—and it 

is interesting to note—that I served both as a Democrat and a Republican in the Georgia State Senate. In 2002, I was elected the 

first Republican governor of Georgia in more than 130 years, as 

Senator Chambliss reminded us, and I assumed that office believing that it was a big job, not just a position. Our team worked diligently for 8 years, striving to make Georgia the best managed state 

in the Nation. As you remember, the period of time from 2002 to 

2011 were not the best economic times in our Nation, but we 

learned with the help of a joyful state workforce that we could conmw42035 on AGRINON012 with DISTILLER

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tinue to provide value to the citizens of Georgia, even in times of 

extreme budget pressures. 

Even though Georgia may not compare to some of your states in 

some agricultural sectors, I am proud to say that I come from a 

state whose number one economic driver is agriculture. In Georgia, 

agriculture is one area where Democrats and Republicans consistently have reached across the aisle and worked together. I am 

pleased to know that reaching across the aisle is common practice 

within this Committee, where partisanship does not get in the way 

of good solutions for America’s farmers, ranchers, and consumers. 

If confirmed as the Secretary of Agriculture, I look forward to 

working with you, all of you. The makeup of this Committee speaks 

to the size, the reach, and diversity of America’s agricultural sector, 

and it includes at least one guy that I picked watermelons with 

side by side in my youth. 

Though I have a lifetime of experience with farming and agribusiness, I appreciate that the Department of Agriculture touches 

the lives of Americans in many ways that go beyond just farming 

itself, including, in a very small way, improving the lives of the 

least of these. To continue that role, if I am honored with Senate 

confirmation, I will work tirelessly to advance four primary goals, 

and each of these goals is focused on an important constituency, 

the stakeholders of American agriculture. 

First, I will maximize the opportunity and ability of the men and 

women of America’s agriculture and agribusiness sector to create 

jobs, to produce and sell the food and the fiber that feed and clothe 

the world, and to reap the earned reward of their labor. We want 

to remove every obstacle and give them every opportunity to prosper. 

Second, for the American taxpayers, our customers, I will 

prioritize customer service every day. They expect and have every 

right to demand that we conduct the people’s business officially, effectively, and with the utmost integrity. 

Third, as our taxpayers are also our consumers, they expect a 

safe and secure food supply, and USDA will continue to serve in 

that critical role of ensuring the food that we put on the table to 

feed our families meets the strict safety standards to which we 

have established and are accustomed. 

I will never forget that we are the fortunate beneficiaries of past 

generations who put a premium on smart stewardship, protecting, 

preserving, and entrusting us with those valuable resources. That 

is the basis of our fourth goal. American agricultural bounty comes 

directly from the land, and today, those land resources sustain 

more than 320 million Americans and countless millions more 

around the globe. 

Mr. Chairman, thank you for your time this morning, and rest 

assured that if confirmed, I look forward to working with the dedicated men and women of the USDA who are committed to serving 

the people’s department. I look forward to answering your questions. Thank you very much. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Perdue can be found on page 46 

in the appendix.] 

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Chairman ROBERTS. At this time, before we begin questioning, 

Senator Chambliss and Congressman Scott, if you would like to excuse yourself, why, please do so. 

[Pause.] 

Chairman ROBERTS. Governor, I will begin by saying that our 

farmers and ranchers depend on strong trade relationships around 

the world. Expanding market access and ensuring that our producers have a level playing field is absolutely critical to our rural 

economy. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of 

U.S. Trade Representative have a history of working hand in hand 

to make sure that U.S. agriculture has an influential seat at the 

trade table. 

As this administration takes shape, I have been concerned that 

there may be too many cooks in the kitchen when it comes to trade, 

and we want to make sure that they are familiar with the main 

ingredients. 

In addition to the USTR, the President recently established a 

new National Trade Council at the White House and increased 

trade responsibilities under the Department of Commerce. The 

question is, what is the best way that the Department of Agriculture can continue and strengthen its involvement in establishing 

strong trade policies? How can we best work with the U.S. Trade 

Representative, the lead trade negotiator, along with other officials 

throughout the executive branch to make sure that agriculture is 

a top—and I mean top—priority? 

Mr. PERDUE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You are absolutely correct, and I think as Senator Stabenow mentioned, agriculture 

needs a strong advocate, a tenacious advocate regarding one of the 

top issues. 

We are blessed in this Nation to be able to produce more than 

we can consume, and we are grateful for that, but obviously, that 

implies that we need to settle the bounty all around the world. You 

are correct. The relationship between the USDA and its trade representatives, as well as the USTR, as well as Secretary Ross and 

Commerce will be vital. Those really begin with relationships and, 

I think, personal relationships. 

I have had conversations already in this pending time awaiting 

confirmation to discuss with Mr. Lighthizer in a conversation with 

Secretary Ross over the great opportunity they have to use the 

bounty of American agriculture to promote agricultural products 

and to sell those products around the world, I think, building goodwill as well as doing the moral aspect of helping to feed that world. 

Chairman ROBERTS. I thank you for your response, Governor. 

Let me advise all members of the Committee, we will have a second round. I know members have other things and other responsibilities, and there are other committees that are meeting, but we 

will have a second round. 

In preparation for the 2018 Farm Bill, this year the Committee 

has already started our process of listening to farmers, ranchers, 

and other stakeholders. Before we write any Farm Bill, the Committee examines the program and asks what is working and what 

is not working. We will continue the listening and learning process 

over the weeks and months to come as we craft the next Farm Bill. 

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I would greatly appreciate your commitment of the Department’s 

resources to assist our Committee during this entire process. Can 

we expect support regarding our efforts on behalf of America’s 

farmers and ranchers? 

Mr. PERDUE. Mr. Chairman, I look forward with great interest to 

be involved with you all as you look to deliberate and to create the 

2018 Farm Bill. I will absolutely commit to you, if confirmed, the 

resources and the research of the U.S. Department of Agriculture 

to provide you the information you need to make good decisions. 

I value my own self as governor in being a facts-based, data-driven decision-maker, and I think it is important that we take those 

facts of things that have worked, learn from the past, those things 

that have not worked, and create a Farm Bill for the future in 

2018. 

I know that you and the Ranking Member are already on the job 

in doing that in your respective states and listening to our producers across the country as well as our consumers. So I will absolutely commit to you that you will have access to the resources of 

the Department of Agriculture and anything that you believe you 

need, to the depth that you need, if I am allowed to be Secretary, 

to utilize those resources. 

There is great talent over there. We know that the men and 

women of the USDA have a great wealth of knowledge. The career 

employees have been doing this for years, and there is a great opportunity to learn from them as well as our producers. I see the 

2018 Farm Bill as an opportunity to meld the wisdom of those career people with what you all hear in your own districts to make 

sure that a 2018 Farm Bill meets the needs of our producers, our 

consumers, and the American taxpayers in 2018. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Thank you, Governor. We have already had 

the first hearing in Manhattan, Kansas, 600 people in attendance, 

and that is what the building held, that is when the fire marshal 

said stop. Pretty much all of them, as I recall, Senator, stayed. We 

had 21 good witnesses. 

I am going to Michigan State. I will probably have to wear green 

and white and may apologize for the 20-point victory that Kansas 

had. 

Senator STABENOW. Okay, you can stop now. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator STABENOW. I wore purple when I went to Kansas. I just 

wanted you to know that. I wore purple for the Chairman, and he 

is reminding me of something I would like to forget. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Maybe you could wear black or something 

like that. 

[Laughter.] 

Chairman ROBERTS. Okay, Senator Stabenow. 

Senator STABENOW. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am actually going to defer to former Chairman, Senator Leahy, who has responsibilities on the Judiciary Committee. We know there is a very 

important Supreme Court nominee being considered, and he does 

need to leave. So, with your agreement, I am going to defer to Senator Leahy. 

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Chairman ROBERTS. The distinguished Senator and father of the 

northeastern dairy compacts always presented to us at the 11th 

hour and 59th minute—— 

Senator STABENOW. That is true. 

Chairman ROBERTS. —is recognized. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator LEAHY. Do not forget I wrote the organic Farm Bill too. 

But, Mr. Chairman, thank you, and, Senator Stabenow, thank you 

for your usual and gracious courtesy. 

We know how important the Department of Agriculture is in supporting our Nation’s farmers, our rural communities, our hungry 

and malnourished families here and abroad, forest lands, consumers. They also advance innovation, research, and energy, the 

environment, the mounting climate crisis. We have to address what 

is happening in climate change, the nearly doubling of acres 

burned in western fires over the last 30 years, and, of course, Governor that problem in Georgia. If it is left unchecked, in 10 years, 

two out of every three dollars—just think of this. Two out of every 

three dollars that we appropriate for the Forest Service will be 

spent on fire programs, and of course, there is also the loss of life. 

Last year, we lost a young Vermonter, Justin Beebe, who was 

killed while battling a fire in Nevada with the Lolo Hotshots. So 

we have to work on this. 

I would commend to you, as I did when we had our private meeting, the dedicated, competent, and loyal federal employees, Agriculture Department employees, many of them, and they deserve 

your support. It is a time when they wonder what is happening 

with hiring freezes or cutbacks. You should spend time with them. 

Now, I am going to submit a number of questions for the record, 

but as I was reminded by the Chairman, I never would have 

thought this otherwise. I should mention something about our 

dairy farmers. They are desperate for a new Farm Bill, but they 

are asking for some of your support in developing much needed 

risk management options for milk producers. Dairy farmers cannot 

get left behind. They look at cotton farmers in Georgia and Arkansas who are given generous payments, like the $300 million last 

year in the Cotton Ginning Cost-Sharing Program. I think we have 

to have help for our dairy farmers. I would hope that we have, as 

we have had direct support provided to cotton producers by the 

USDA outside of the Farm Bill, I recommend—or recommended by 

the USDA for inclusion in the next Farm Bill. Will you work on a 

proportional and immediate support for hardworking dairy farmers? 

Mr. PERDUE. Senator, I will commit to you. As a son of a dairy 

farmer and having dairy myself, I understand the hard work, 7 

days a week, 365 days a year that our farm families, particularly 

smaller farm families, particularly in your area and others go 

through. These are family operations, and they do not take a holiday. They do not take a break, and I understand the pain when 

the profitability of these farms for the milk prices are just not 

there. It puts many farm families under duress to do that. 

Senator LEAHY. I appreciate that. 

One of the problems that they face too, is that dairyfarmers have 

a well-documented farm labor shortage. Now, the federal H–2A 

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Temporary Agricultural Visa Program, which has helped many—it 

has worked in your State of Georgia. The Trump Winery uses it, 

but it allows only for seasonal farm workers. 

The Senate had passed comprehensive immigration reform, 

which the House did not take up. They said that even though it 

would have passed that it would violate the—apparently the sacred 

rule they have, the Dennis Hastert rule, as they did not bring it 

up. But now we are having with the operations of ICE and others— 

I would ask you to support finding a way to include dairy farms, 

which require year-round labor. I mean, you ca not have somebody 

come in for 6 months and then say, ‘‘Okay,’’ to the cows, ‘‘I will be 

back in 6 months to milk you again.’’ Your own experience that 

does not work very well. 

So we have—sheep and goat herders have that exemption. Will 

you work with us to find a way to have dairy farms, dairy farm 

workers in the same program, in the same way goat and sheep 

herders are? 

Mr. PERDUE. Senator, if I am honored by the confirmation of the 

Senate, then I will commit to you to certainly advise and counsel 

the administration over the need for an agricultural program that 

is for workers that is year-round. As you indicated, cows cannot be 

milked half a day. There are 365 days a year, and I am very well 

aware of that. So there is a need. 

Obviously, many of our dairy workers are immigrant workers, 

and while there are exemptions in other places, certainly I believe 

dairy qualifies for that as well. 

Senator LEAHY. Thank you. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Senator Stabenow. 

Chairman ROBERTS. The Chair recognizes the distinguished Senator from Michigan, Senator Stabenow. 

Senator STABENOW. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, 

and welcome again, Governor Perdue. We are glad to have this 

hearing. We need a Secretary of Agriculture, and we need to move 

forward. I appreciate the fact that you understand the agency and 

agriculture and grew up in agriculture and support the mission of 

the agency. That is very, very important. 

I want to first start where I think Senator Leahy left off in terms 

of dairy. You and I have talked about this, and I know growing up 

on a dairy farm, you understand the challenges. Certainly, when 

we look at the last Farm Bills—and Chairman Roberts and I 

worked very hard to expand crop insurance—we did expand it to 

specialty crops, which we are already seeing has been very important with the weather challenges in Michigan and other places for 

our growers. We also worked to expand help for young and beginning farmers. But dairy farmers have not been able to qualify for 

crop insurance. 

As you and I talked about yesterday, three national groups that 

speak for dairy farmers, both the American Farm Bureau, National 

Farmers Union, and the National Milk Producers have suggested 

a way that the USDA could provide additional risk management 

tools for dairy farmers in the short run, while we are putting together the Farm Bill, because we have family farmers in Michigan 

and across the country that are in a very, very difficult situation. 

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If you are confirmed will you commit to working with me and 

working with the industry and all of colleagues who care about 

this, to use administrative authority available to you to provide our 

Nation’s dairy farmers with reliable risk management tools, including the crop insurance proposal that was put forward in the letter 

by the national organizations? 

Mr. PERDUE. Senator, I welcomed our meeting yesterday, and I 

was intrigued by your suggestion of that. As I indicated to you, 

many of your colleagues have regretted the fact that the 2014 

Farm Bill really did not meet to your expectations for dairy farmers or maybe even the cotton program as well, and is not under 

Title I. 

As I indicated yesterday, I am absolutely committed to look for 

a way that can give immediate and temporary relief even prior to 

the 2018 Farm Bill, if it is within the discretion of the Secretary, 

if I am confirmed, and also we have got to be mindful, obviously, 

of budget periods as well, so it has got to be within the parameters 

that meet the budget as well. But I think the ideas that have been 

proposed are intriguing to me. I have no philosophical difference 

with those definitions that have been suggested, and I would absolutely look forward to us providing a short-and a long-term solution 

for the dairy and even the cotton program that may help really in 

the context and the formation of the 2018 Farm Bill. I think it 

would be great if we had some ideas that we believe could work 

even prior to that time. 

Senator STABENOW. Thank you very much. I think we do have 

an opportunity, and I really look forward to working with you to 

achieve that. 

You mentioned the budget, and I have to focus on the budget because I am deeply concerned about the budget put forward by the 

administration, which signals a lack of understanding of agriculture. 

I have always said to have an economy and to have a middle 

class, you have to make things and grow things. It is clear the 

President has focused on making things, which I appreciate in 

Michigan, but not growing things, which is equally important. So 

when we look at a 21 percent cut in the USDA budget it is extremely concerning to me and to so many of us that care about 

small towns. In fact, I grew up in one of those small towns in 

northern Michigan. 

I would like to just go through a series of questions quickly and 

get your yes or no answer on whether or not you would support 

these things. Do you think that small communities should have the 

same access to clean water as large cities? 

Mr. PERDUE. Of course. 

Senator STABENOW. Good. Do you think it is important for individuals in small towns who live far away from a health center or 

a hospital to have access to telemedicine services? 

Mr. PERDUE. Like you, Senator, as a product of a small community, I absolutely do. 

Senator STABENOW. Do you think it is important that farmers 

have access to the latest research and tools to make their farms 

more productive? 

Mr. PERDUE. Certainly. 

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Senator STABENOW. Do you think rural small businesses should 

have access to capital to keep them competitive and grow their 

business? 

Mr. PERDUE. Certainly. 

Senator STABENOW. Do you believe organic farmers have a place 

in farming? 

Mr. PERDUE. I think consumers across the country have demonstrated that. I am sorry Senator Leahy had to leave. 

Senator STABENOW. Yes. 

Do you think it is important to feed seniors and children in need 

of assistance? 

Mr. PERDUE. Yes, ma’am. 

Senator STABENOW. I indicate all this because these are some of 

the cuts in the budget. These are some of the areas that have been 

zeroed out, like rural water and sewer, or have taken severe cuts 

in the budget, which are deeply concerning. 

In the final moment here, first, did you have any input in this 

budget process? Second, how will you move forward when we are 

looking at these cuts? How would you as Secretary of Agriculture 

address this to be able to meet the needs of rural America? 

Mr. PERDUE. I think you are probably aware, Senator, without 

confirmation and not being confirmed, I have had no input into the 

budget. Obviously, I think you probably saw it before I did. Also 

having some concern, obviously as a member of the administration, 

I view this budget similar to what I did as governor when I got a 

revenue estimate that I did not like as well. I did not like it, but 

we manage to it. My goal—I think you indicated the words in your 

opening statement that you want a Secretary who can be a strong 

advocate and tenacious advocate. If I am confirmed, I want to get 

under the boards and get some room and work for agriculture producers and consumers to let this administration and any of the 

people that are making those decisions in that budget area know 

what is important to America. 

I think the President understands that many of his votes came 

from the areas that you are mentioning and referred to, and I hope 

in the context of a balanced or a budget that meets the objectives 

that we can get agricultural share there. These are important programs. I recognize that, and I will do everything within my power, 

within the confines of the administration, working there to match 

what our desires are. 

I flippantly say sometimes I grew a $20 billion budget in Georgia 

to $60 billion during that 2003–2011 period of time, not necessarily 

voluntary, but with the dedicated work of the civil workforce in 

Georgia who really worked hard in those areas. We did do more 

with less. Some of that has to do with efficiency and effectiveness, 

which I look forward to engaging this USDA federal workforce in 

and inspiring them that we can do more. Obviously, it takes some 

money in many of these areas, and I promise to you I will be a 

strong and tenacious advocate for that. 

Senator STABENOW. Well, thank you, and let me just stress again 

that agriculture has been doing more with less, that was our 

charge, and we met it in the last Farm Bill. But the cuts we are 

talking about here will be really devastating for farmers and small 

towns. 

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Mr. PERDUE. Sure. 

Senator STABENOW. Thank you. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Speaking of the budget, Senator Boozman, 

you will be recognized next, but first, we would like to hear from 

the Chairman of the distinguished Senate Appropriations Committee and the former Chairman of this Committee. I would remind everyone of the saying that everybody knows, ‘‘The President 

proposes and the Congress disposes.’’ 

Senator Cochran. 

Senator COCHRAN. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for your 

kind remarks about me and my interest in agriculture and the obligation that we have as government to ensure the fair funding of 

the important government programs that we see in many cases 

help farmers when they are in desperate straits, with weather disasters and other challenges that come along from time to time that 

really could put our country in very difficult economic situations. 

So I know you are familiar with most of the programs that are 

authorized by our Committee and first recommended by our Committee and passed and signed and nurtured by both houses of Congress. You have got a lot of people watching you and urging you 

to do this and that, and I am confident in your leadership and your 

insights, your experiences, all to be brought to the challenge of the 

Office of Secretary of Agriculture. I am confident that you are going 

to do a fine job, and we look forward to working closely with you 

to identify problems when they arise and can be addressed in a 

positive way to suit our country’s interest, economic interest as 

well. 

Mr. PERDUE. Thank you. 

Senator COCHRAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ROBERTS. We thank the distinguished Chairman. 

Senator Boozman. 

Senator BOOZMAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Governor Perdue, for your willingness to serve. I enjoyed visiting with 

you in the office and getting to know you over lunch and getting 

to know more about you and your wife. You have got a big job before you, and yet you have a history of doing big jobs. We do appreciate your willingness to throw your hat in the ring. 

Arkansas is such that agriculture is its number one industry, 

around 25 percent. It is interesting when you look at the statistics, 

though, agriculture, farm income is going to be cut from $124 billion to 60—$62 billion, so literally half, which is a real problem in 

much of our states because much of our states are rural in nature. 

One of the things, though, that we can lessen that pressure is 

looking for other markets, and in Arkansas, Cuba would be a very 

important market with rice production and various other things, 

poultry. Can you talk a little bit about efforts that you would take 

in the sense, not only Cuba, but other markets throughout the 

world so that we could have the attitude that we have got customers here but, very importantly, customers spread out all over 

the world? 

Mr. PERDUE. Certainly, Senator. I think in respect specifically to 

Cuba, for those of you on the Gulf Coast and those on the East 

Coast as well as even have been mentioned by your colleagues in 

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the upper Midwest, I think we would love to have Cuba as a customer in many things. 

I led an Ag delegation from Georgia to Cuba as governor in 2010, 

and I found then, as much of the problem there regarding demand, 

was the ability to pay and the ability to finance there as much as 

anything. I think they would love to have our products, and they 

are certainly appropriate customers for the rice that Louisiana 

grows and that Arkansas grows and other beans that are edible 

beans up in the upper Midwest that they grow. For that reason, 

I think if you all could see fit to look into the private financing operation, one of the things they mentioned to us is that they had 

to—by the restraints, they had to go through Europe and have a 

haircut, financial haircut in that regard of—by being able to purchase the product. 

So I think we have the product they need, and they would like 

the product. I think the real issue that I heard regarding Cuba was 

the financing part, and certainly, that would come probably under 

another area that is not the USDA, but I would support their efforts if we could get private financing. 

Regarding other areas, certainly in Central, South America; Europe; and Southeast Asia as well, there are new and developing 

markets there, and I hope that we can work very closely with the 

Trade Representative Lighthizer as well as Secretary of Commerce 

Ross in order to put agriculture first in their repertoire of things 

to trade. I believe that we have the ability to produce a very efficient crop and products, food products as well as other products 

that clothe and other things around the world they need. I look forward. That is certainly from visiting with most all of your colleagues. Trade was right at the top of the list. I think when you 

talk to farmers around the globe, that is what they are most concerned about. 

We have a worldwide supply-and-demand issue that is weighing 

heavily on prices currently, and we are seeing some of the lowest 

prices in many years. It is putting a lot of pain out there, which 

is a direct result of the financial situation that you mentioned in 

your comments, that farmers are really struggling to be profitable, 

hold on, and many times, even the best farmers are not able to 

produce a product even with the best production capabilities they 

may have. 

So I think trade is really the answer. I look forward to being an 

advisor and a counsel to this administration, U.S. Trade Representative, specifically, about the benefit that we have of farm products 

to sell around the world. 

Senator BOOZMAN. No, that is excellent, and as you said, in regard to Cuba, the financing really is key. So we actually have a bill 

that says that not government-backed, but if an individual or a private bank or whatever wants to do the financing, that they will 

have the ability to do that. 

I am running out of time, but I do want to comment. One of the 

things that I have real concern about—and I think the Committee 

does—is you have the feeding programs in the schools. Summer 

comes, and then you have a bunch of kids that do not benefit from 

that. What we are trying to do is get a smooth transition, and if 

you would just affirm your recognition of the importance of that. 

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Those rules that govern that transition and stuff have not been 

changed since the ’60s. So if you could just in 5 seconds talk about 

that. 

Mr. PERDUE. Certainly. I was able to share with several of your 

colleagues, who had mentioned that privately in their offices, that 

I would love to facilitate that kind of transition to make sure that 

those kids who are able to get meals while they are at school are 

able to continue that through the summertime and that they do not 

fall into a problem during that period of time, to keep kids healthy. 

Senator BOOZMAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thanks, Governor. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Senator Bennet. 

Senator BENNET. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you so much 

for holding the hearing, and, Governor Perdue, congratulations—— 

Mr. PERDUE. Thank you. 

Senator BENNET. —to you and your family on your nomination. 

I was not going to raise it, but Senator Boozman did, that is a 

bill he and I both have together on school lunches, so I am glad— 

in the summer—glad to hear him raise it and your comment. 

I also was going to raise trade, and I am so pleased with your 

answer because, as you know, commodity prices are just terrible 

right now for all of our farmers and ranchers. Throughout Colorado, our rural communities, which really led the recovery for us 

coming out of this terrible recession, now face commodity prices 

that really challenge them as they are trying—as their inputs are 

higher and higher and higher. 

There was so much negative talk about trade during this presidential campaign that I think we are looking to you to help resurrect that with respect to agriculture in the United States. Eighty 

percent of the wheat that we produce in Colorado is exported. All 

of the growth for our dairy farmers is going to come from trade 

with countries, many of which were countries that were involved 

with the TPP. Our potato growers in Colorado need to have access 

to these markets. 

So knowing that you will be a zealous advocate for trade on behalf of our agricultural sector is enormously important to my state, 

and if there is anything I can do to help you help translate that 

to this administration, I will commit to do that to you. 

I also wanted to raise with you the issue of our national forests. 

A lot of people do not know that comes within the Department of 

Agriculture, and you mentioned in your—in your statement, the 

importance of smart stewardship. One place where we have not 

had smart stewardship was with the maintenance of our national 

forests, as you and I discussed when you were in my office. 

Last year, we spent over 50 percent—I think it was 60 percent 

of the budget, the Forest Service budget, fighting fires. We have 

had—in 2015, the Colorado State Forest Service estimated there 

are around 834 million dead standing trees in Colorado. That is up 

30 percent from 2008 estimates. 

I have said to my colleagues on this Committee and other places 

in the Senate, if you are downstream from Colorado, which almost 

everybody is, you need to care about what is happening in the 

headwaters of these rivers, and that is forests that are managed 

by your folks, if you are confirmed. 

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So let me first say this: Will you please come to Colorado and 

look at these forests firsthand? 

Mr. PERDUE. I would look forward to that, Senator. 

I think I mentioned to you I saw the ravages of that terrible fire 

over north of Glenwood that occurred many years ago—— 

Senator BENNET. Right. 

Mr. PERDUE. —with loss of life, and I still see on those beautiful 

mountains there, the effects of forest fire from years ago. So, absolutely, I will come and look forward to visiting with you, as well 

as many of your western colleagues, mention this is one of their 

primary areas, so it is a concern. 

Senator BENNET. Well, and I hope—and maybe you could say a 

word about this too. I know Senator Thune and others have been 

concerned about this. 

Every year, Secretary Vilsack has tried to put something in the 

budget to end this fire borrowing process that we have to make 

sure that either we treat these fires like every other disaster that 

we have or that somehow we budget correctly so that we can do 

the mitigation on the front end, because what we are doing is we 

are spending the money in the most expensive, least logical way 

possible. I wonder if you have got a comment on that. 

Mr. PERDUE. I certainly do, and I have heard you all and your 

colleagues loud and clear over that. 

I also had an extensive conversation with Secretary Vilsack 

about the upside-down portion of the budget there and his continual having to borrow to manage those forest fires or to help put 

out those forest fires. That is a bad way to do, as we talked about. 

On the front end, as you know, the healthy forests are helpful 

in preventing forest fires, and whether it is the underbrush, the 

deadfall that we have not been able to get to, using two-thirds of 

the budget to fight, we are upside-down on that. We need to be 

doing at least two-thirds there of the budget in managing healthy 

forests in order to prevent forest fires. 

So my goal would be to reverse that, and I would love for you 

and your colleagues to consider looking at forest fires, like we do 

many other natural disasters as well, to put a funding mechanism 

in there where, just like hurricanes or tornadoes or other things 

that are—floods—that we use there would qualify for those types 

of funds, because Secretary Vilsack was very disheartened by the 

fact of having to come up with millions of dollars many times from 

other parts of the budget and borrowing there. It just did not—it 

was not very effective. 

Senator BENNET. Well, if you can break this Gordian knot, you 

will be a hero in my state and probably some others as well. So 

I look forward to having you in Colorado. Thanks. 

Mr. PERDUE. I look forward, Senator, for us to break that Gordian knot. 

Senator BENNET. Let us do it. Let us do it. 

Mr. Chairman, thank you. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Senator Ernst. 

Senator ERNST. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Governor Perdue, thank you so much for being here today, and 

I want to thank your lovely family for joining you as well. It is good 

to see everybody here. 

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As some of my colleagues have already stated, the ag economy 

has really been in a downturn the last number of years, and a lot 

of our producers are hurting, especially those young and beginning 

farmers that have just gotten their start really in the last 10 years. 

The renewable fuels revolution bolstered demand for our commodities, driven by the Renewable Fuel Standard and energy programs that were included in the Farm Bill. Trade deals like 

NAFTA helped to fuel both grain and meat exports, which are very 

vital to our producers’ profitability. 

As we have seen so many times before, our farmers continue to 

innovate and find new ways to grow more food with fewer inputs 

and have not only met this new demand, but they have exceeded 

it and done quite well, leading to the slump in commodity prices 

we have been feeling so acutely. 

When I travel around the state, I engage in a 99-county tour, 

and I consistently hear how challenging it is to be a farmer or a 

rancher right now, due not only to the low prices, but also because 

of the onerous government regulations. 

I hope you are prepared to work with all of those who are engaged in our ag economy to ensure it remains one of the strongest 

in feeding and fueling our growing world. 

Whenever I do visit those farmers and ranchers and others within the ag community, one of the common refrains that I hear is 

about federal regulations, especially from the EPA, how they are 

harming their operations and making their lives pretty difficult. 

Whether it is their misguided WOTUS rule or the delays in approving ag biotech products, the EPA almost seems to have an agenda 

against those that are in the agricultural community. 

How will you collaborate with the EPA to ensure that their work 

is helping rather than hindering our farmers and ranchers? 

Mr. PERDUE. Thank you very much, Senator. 

I think, like many solutions, it begins with personal relationships. I have taken the opportunity to visit with Administrator 

Pruitt already regarding some of these issues, and I think not only 

in the EPA, but in all agencies, we develop silos that are unfortunate because, as you well know, many of our producers, when a 

regulation is made in other places, whether it be Labor or EPA or 

others, are the guys who are the ones that get pushed off the boat. 

My goal is to have an ongoing communications team identified with 

each of these agencies. It may be, whether it is FDA, EPA, Labor, 

OSHA, others, to identify the things that would be the—maybe the 

unintended consequences of regulations and to work together 

ahead of time before those regulations are promulgated to give us 

an opportunity in representing USDA, both agricultural producers 

and consumers, to let these other agencies know what the impact 

would be and what the cost-benefit reward would be to agricultural 

producers. 

So I think it becomes—I am kind of a face-to-face sort of person. 

I believe in going directly and communicating transparently about 

the needs and about the desires there. 

I come from the part of the world that has seen our farmers as 

good stewards. I think they want to be. If they have the right tools, 

from a conservation perspective, they want to care for the land. 

They are the ones that are making their living out there, and I bemw42035 on AGRINON012 with DISTILLER

24 

lieve they want to do that. Rather than prescriptive, onerous-type 

regulations, let us give them the ability to do that and incentivize 

them in a way where they can be even better than they have been 

in the past. 

But the progress that you indicated that we have made over the 

last several years with doing more production with less inputs, precision agriculture, better use of water, and those kind of things, 

and no till, all those sorts of things, preserving our soil, our producers have done a good job at that. They want just kind of a fair 

shake in being able to produce without the onerous prescriptive 

type of regulations that harm their ability to continue to perform. 

Senator ERNST. Well, I appreciate that very much, and I certainly support your willingness to work with the other Departments and heads of those agencies. We simply cannot operate in 

a vacuum, and developing those relationships and keeping those relationships is very important. I think you are absolutely the right 

person to do that, so I appreciate that very much. 

I also just want to make a comment too. I know that in the 2014 

Farm Bill, Congress really recognized the importance of trade, and 

Congress directed the USDA to establish an Under Secretary for 

Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, and I hope that you will 

take a look at that make sure that we have the right person for 

that job established as well. 

So thank you very much, Governor. It is good to see you. 

Thank you, Mr. Chair. 

Mr. PERDUE. Thank you, Senator. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Senator Gillibrand. 

Senator GILLIBRAND. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Thank you, Governor, for being here. Thank you for our meeting 

that we had previously. 

I want to talk a little bit about immigration. It has been an 

issue, unfortunately, that has had a very toxic debate that has 

been harmful in our state. One area where it is particularly harmful is in agriculture because we rely on immigrant labor for a lot 

of our fruits, vegetables, and dairy. I hope that you can speak to 

President Trump and Secretary Kelly about the effects of immigration enforcement policies and priorities that the President has announced and how it impacts our agriculture sector. 

It is estimated that about 50 percent of agriculture workers are 

immigrants, and so if we do not have proper immigration reform 

and a debate about holistic policy, it is going to harm families in 

New York, and it is going to harm agricultural workers at our 

farms throughout Upstate New York and Long Island. 

So I ask, Will you make a comment that you will work towards 

making sure our farms have the workers they need? 

Mr. PERDUE. I will certainly commit to you that, Senator. Particularly in your dairy industry in Upstate New York and others, 

just as Senator Leahy has mentioned, that is not a seasonal job, 

and I think if you go into dairy barns around the country, you are 

going to find most of the time, those cows are being milked by immigrant labor. I do plan to be a voice in the administration to persuade policymakers there over this issue. 

I recognize that many of our producers, both seasonal types of 

crops that you mention as well as dairy farms, have a good bit of 

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anxiety about that, considering that, and I will absolutely commit 

to you. 

Senator GILLIBRAND. Enormous anxiety. 

The other area, as you mentioned, our H–2A program is a visa 

program to recruit temporary workers on a seasonal basis. Cows 

need to be milked every day. So it does not work for us. It is very 

cumbersome, it is difficult, and so I would also ask your commitment that you will work on that program specifically to streamline 

it and make it available for all agricultural workers. 

Mr. PERDUE. Senator, I have heard that loud and clear from people close to me at home and our customers there in Georgia as 

well. 

You mentioned, obviously, your state, but I think virtually every 

state in the Nation is affected by that to some degree. I think there 

are some things that we can do with H–2A, and if I am confirmed, 

I will commit to you that that and trade are two issues that we 

will begin posthaste to work on. 

Senator GILLIBRAND. So, as you know, we are a significant dairy 

state. We are the third producer—fourth, I think, most recently, in 

the country, and I would love it if you would come to Upstate New 

York and do a field hearing. I know you have to go to Colorado 

now, but could you please also come to Upstate New York? We 

would love to have a field hearing to talk about dairy pricing because the dairy pricing system, as you know, has been so destabilizing and is not something that farmers can rely on. The insurance programs we have written are not working. So we really need 

to do a top-to-bottom reform of how we do dairy pricing in this 

country and create insurance programs and products that can actually work for small dairies, particularly in places like Upstate New 

York. 

Mr. PERDUE. Senator, I will come if you promise not to make me 

milk any more cows. 

Senator GILLIBRAND. No, you do not have to milk. I promise. 

Mr. PERDUE. But you are right, though, the volatility of prices— 

and there is no business—not just agriculture, but there is no business that can survive with the volatility of range of prices that 

dairy farmers have had to undergo the last few years. They had 

some high prices, but the prices they are currently experiencing are 

just unprofitable, and even the best family farms cannot survive 

under those. 

Senator GILLIBRAND. I agree. 

Another issue very important to New York State is the SNAP 

program. It is so important that we have food for our families. 

Some of the work this Committee has done for making sure SNAP 

gets to rural families using farmers markets, making sure that we 

can do summer meals, that kind of work, I would ask your commitment to focusing on how we can deliver more food to more families 

throughout this country as our Ag Secretary. 

Mr. PERDUE. We hope that we can do that even more efficiently 

and effectively than we have. It is certainly important to the children and the families of America to do that, Senator, and I hope 

that we can work together to accomplish that. 

Senator GILLIBRAND. Thank you. 

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My last issue is funding and budgets. I was very concerned about 

the President’s budget and how it would take away access to water 

systems. We have so many unmet sewer needs in New York State. 

Our rural water systems are in desperate need of investment. 

Similarly, we have desperate need of investment for rural 

broadband. It is really important that we can get high-speed Internet to all our rural areas. Our farmers depend upon it. Our small 

businesses depend upon it. The USDA Rural Utilities Service Program is really important, so I would like your commitment that 

you will continue to work with this Committee, which has bipartisan support for those investments. 

Mr. PERDUE. Certainly. I am hopeful, obviously, that the President’s proposal over infrastructure, it will be recognized that the 

agricultural broadband issue—if we are going to keep kids on the 

farm in rural areas, if our rural areas are going to be able to thrive 

and survive like cities do with the density, we have got to have the 

connectivity. It is just as important really now as sewer or water, 

clean water, or other things, is the connectivity to the world. 

Senator GILLIBRAND. Yep. 

Mr. PERDUE. That is what we are advocating, will advocate, continue to advocate. I know members of the USDA have already been 

in a meeting with the White House infrastructure team over that, 

and we will certainly promote that to the best of our ability. 

Senator GILLIBRAND. Thank you. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Well, Coop, it is time for you, sir. 

Senator THUNE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is almost high 

noon, so it is time for me to ask questions. 

But thank you, Governor Perdue, for taking this on. You are the 

right guy for the job. These are tough times in agriculture. We 

have got commodity prices and livestock prices below the cost of 

production, uncertainty about trade, concerns about disease, and 

two crop years left in terms of implementation of this Farm Bill before we start writing a new one, and I look forward to working with 

you on the next Farm Bill as well as continuing to implement this 

one. 

I know we will not have any problem getting you to come to 

South Dakota as long as we still have pheasants in South Dakota, 

so I expect you to be there. 

I have got a number of questions that I need to cover quickly, 

so if you could just answer yes to all of them, that would be fine. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator THUNE. In terms of the current Farm Bill, the past administration showed a lot of inflexibility with regard to administration in a number of areas—the commodity title, Title I, the ARC 

payments, and the data that was used to calculate those payments. 

CRP vegetative cover management practices and equitable CRP 

acreage distribution were all things that—where we do not think 

the past administration was following the intent of Congress. 

So with two years left on that Farm Bill, will you be willing to 

work with me and my staff on these issues to make improvements 

in program administration and make sure those programs are operating in the way in which Congress intended? 

Mr. PERDUE. Yes. 

Senator THUNE. Thank you. 

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Governor Perdue, I know you are aware of the recent tainted 

Brazilian meat scandal, which has resulted now in USDA issuing 

a press release announcing additional steps that they are taking to 

ensure that our food supply is kept safe. None of the facilities implicated in that scandal, the Brazilian meat scandal, have shipped 

meat to the United States according to USDA, but—and the question is, Do you believe that accelerated testing of all the incoming 

shipments of raw meat from Brazil will provide adequate protection, or should we begin to think about triggering USDA to impose 

an outright shutdown if there is unsafe meat? 

Mr. PERDUE. Senator, I believe that the men and women of the 

FSIS are doing a wonderful job, going to the 100 percent inspection 

there coming in. I am concerned, obviously, if we go to embargoing 

at this—where these plants were not shipping to the U.S., if we go 

to embargoing or putting a shutdown on there, there will be retaliation there for our products or maybe around the world as well. 

We already know that we have had some high-path avian influenza, and some countries have responded in that way. So while 

that is very, very localized, I do not want to punish another country, but I do want USDA inspectors to be on the job with 100 percent type of inspection of any products coming in, into the United 

States. 

Senator THUNE. Okay. We both come from states where we grow 

trees. The trees in South Dakota grow a little slower than the pine 

trees do in your home state, but in the last half decade, we have 

seen a rapid increase in mortality—it is up 53 percent—and a decrease in growth, down 69 percent in our state. Unfortunately, our 

situation is not unique, with over 82 million acres of national forests under stress from fires, insects, or both, and I know that Senator Bennet touched on this. But can I get your commitment to 

focus on turning around the national forests and expanding the 

management that we need to create jobs in healthy stands of timber? 

Mr. PERDUE. Senator, absolutely, you can have my commitment. 

I think that the—I view the United States Forest Service and our 

United States forests as challenges, opportunities clothed in challenges right now, and I think there is real opportunity to make 

these forests healthy. 

I do come from a state where it is mostly private ownership. My 

sense from visiting with many of you is that we have just not really 

been good neighbors in a lot of places in taking care of the public 

stewardship portion where many private landowners would. So I 

look forward to having those best management practices leading 

and inspiring the United States Forest Service to take pride in the 

way they would care for it, just as if it was their own. 

Senator THUNE. Okay. Thank you. 

I know this got touched on once already as well, but agriculture, 

of course, helps build a strong U.S. economy. It is a number one 

industry in my state, but I think it is critical to our national economy and especially in our rural communities. The RFS has been an 

essential driver of growth in rural areas of our country, and the 

certainty of the policy has created jobs and spurred added research 

and investment. Can you commit to ensuring that we will have a 

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strong RFS to provide economic security for these rural communities? 

Mr. PERDUE. I can do that, and I am happy to have the—also the 

President’s commitment, of his concern and interest in that area as 

well, so you absolutely can have that commitment. 

Senator THUNE. Appreciate that. 

My time has expired. I thank you again for taking this on. We 

look forward to working with you, and not only on, as I said, this 

Farm Bill, but the one to come, which we will be getting started 

on very soon. Thank you. 

Mr. PERDUE. Thank you, Senator. 

Chairman ROBERTS. I thank the Senator. I know he has a date 

at high noon. So you can excuse yourself at any time. 

Senator HEITKAMP. 

Senator HEITKAMP. Terrific. Thank you, and I thank my colleagues who probably went out for a cup of coffee or something 

else, who stood ahead of me in line. 

Governor Perdue, welcome, and welcome to your beautiful family. 

What a legacy you leave. I think there is someone who looks a 

whole lot like you back there. I kind of looked. You used to be a 

lot more handsome when you were younger, I think. 

Mr. PERDUE. It was the first human cloning, I think, there. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator HEITKAMP. It is pretty remarkable. I was checking it out. 

I am thinking wow. That is—well, you used to be very handsome, 

I might add. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator HEITKAMP. I want to associate myself with the remarks 

of Senator Thune, who talked about the importance to really have 

flexibility as we implement the next Farm Bill. We saw some great 

flexibility, but then we ran into some roadblocks. I appreciate your 

commitment. 

I also know that we were visiting, when you entered my office 

and you said three words, ‘‘Trade, trade, trade.’’ I knew that you 

and I were on the same wavelength, that is a critical component. 

But my concern is what we are seeing really out of the White 

House and out of the budget does not seem to be pro rural or pro 

agriculture, and so we need you to be an absolute voracious and 

active fighter on behalf of rural America in that White House and 

with other agencies such as EPA and OMB and the USTR. Can you 

commit to doing that? 

Mr. PERDUE. Agriculture is in my heart, and I look forward to 

fighting for the producers of America, just because, as I said that, 

we know how vital it is, and I will absolutely be a tenacious advocate and fighter where necessary to do that. 

Senator HEITKAMP. I hope that you will engage us. We are a very 

bipartisan, collaborative committee, and we all represent agricultural states, but we also know how vital—as Senator Thune said, 

how vital agriculture is to our national economy. 

A couple unique North Dakota issues, we have a lot of prairie 

potholes. It is part of what we do in terms of the resource, and it 

provides for some great duck hunting and geese hunting, but we 

have a lot of farmers who would like an opportunity to farm their 

land and not just raise ducks. I think one of the problems that we 

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have—it is not only running into maybe an attitude sometimes, 

that the wetland is more important than the farmer, but also not 

having enough staff to do the work that needs to be done in order 

to make the determination within USDA. Can you commit that you 

will staff up so that we will not have farmers waiting to find out 

if they can tile their land? 

Mr. PERDUE. Not only staffing up, but I also think the relationship, as we talked about earlier, with the Administrator of EPA to 

make sure that our producers and farmers do not get caught in 

some of these unintended consequences of rules that have gone 

awry in a confiscatory type of way, because that is very important. 

As they try to be compliant, sometimes they get caught into a web 

of rules that are very onerous, and I will not only try to provide 

the staff that they could do good conservation or good soil preservation, but to work with our Administrator at EPA to do that as well. 

Senator HEITKAMP. We love our neighbors to the north, but 

sometimes we would like maybe a little tougher enforcement on 

some of the grain standards. We have been working on a project 

out of my office as it relates to the treatment of our grain, which 

becomes feed category as opposed to what it really is, which is good 

quality wheat. Of course, we offer a different opportunity for Canadian grain that comes south. Can you commit to working with the 

USTR to change their policies and to prevent discrimination 

against grain going to the north? 

Mr. PERDUE. Certainly. I think this is one of those areas where 

many people have talked about the benefits of NAFTA. I think as 

we look at that, I think there are some inequities and some unilateral issues during that, cattle, and some milk products that we can 

look certainly to our neighbors to the north, which we have a great 

relationship, but we just want to make sure that it is a fair proposition for all. 

Senator HEITKAMP. Great. The sugar program is critical. I am 

not sure—I have not been here for the whole hearing. I do not 

know if anyone has raised this with you, but it has been a program 

that has guaranteed a steady supply of sugar to this country. I 

think it is done equitably. It does not cost the United States taxpayer really anything, but yet it provides, a value-added opportunity in my community and my state and many states across the 

country. Will you continue to commit to supporting the sugar program as it has been in the past? 

Mr. PERDUE. Senator, if confirmed, I will commit to you that I 

will look at that in the farm program going on and will commit to 

support the best benefit of that. I think also that is another issue 

where maybe trade to the south, we need to look at some of the 

issues over sugar inequities that may be coming into the country 

that have been harmful to your growers. 

Senator HEITKAMP. I was kind of hoping for a yes, but I guess 

I got a maybe. 

Thanks so much, Governor, and congratulations on your nomination. 

Mr. PERDUE. Thank you. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Senator Perdue. 

Senator PERDUE. Mr. Chairman, for the sake of the Republic, I 

am going to withhold questions today. Thank you. 

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[Laughter.] 

Chairman ROBERTS. It would appear that it would be Senator 

Strange. Welcome to Committee, sir. 

Senator STRANGE. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. It 

is an honor to be the first Alabamian in over 20 years to serve on 

the Agriculture Committee, and I look forward to serving with you 

and my colleagues on the Committee. 

I am especially pleased to welcome you, Governor Perdue, this 

morning. It is nice to have a potential Secretary, I am sure future 

Secretary, who speaks the same language that I do, as your neighbor to the west. I have enjoyed watching you in your career, and 

I look forward to working with you. 

I am going to also spare the Committee lengthy questions today. 

I have a number that we talked about privately. 

I do want to just build on something that Senator Ernst mentioned. For the last 6 years, I was honored to be the Attorney General of our state, and I got to work very closely with our now EPA 

Administrator Scott Pruitt. We spent a lot of time litigating against 

the Federal Government and its overreaching federal agenda, as 

we saw it. We were successful in a lot of cases. One of the things 

that I took away from that experience—and I have discussed this 

with Administrator Pruitt—is the lack of cooperation, if you will, 

between the federal agencies that affect the agriculture world and 

our constituents. 

Agriculture is the biggest part of our economy in the State of 

Alabama, as you well know, because we share many of the same 

industries—forestry, catfish farming, and all types of other farming 

activities. The lack of cooperation between those agencies was very 

frustrating to our farmers. 

What I am hoping that you will do is follow through with your 

commitment to Senator Ernst to make sure that you as the Secretary of Agriculture are communicating with Administrator Pruitt 

and others so that we are eliminating unnecessary, inefficient, and 

really inconsequential barriers to our farmers, so that they can 

produce the products that we need in this country and internationally. 

So I appreciate your comments to her. I do not have another 

question for you right now. I can submit some others later, but that 

is of particular concern to me because it is a real-world concern to 

the people who have to live under the regulations that we pass 

here in Washington. 

Mr. PERDUE. Thank you, Senator. Just like I mentioned to Senator Ernst, if I am honored with confirmation, that is really one of 

the things I look most forward to because we have seen that, the 

harm that it causes when one agency looks like they are working 

at cross-purposes of another. I think from the—we are all Americans, and we are all beneficiaries with all these agencies. I really 

look forward to developing the relationships, mutual, respectful relationships with other Department heads and other agencies that 

can communicate possible unintended consequences, so thank you 

for mentioning that. 

Senator STRANGE. I look forward to continuing to work with you 

as you assume your responsibilities. 

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I also wanted to welcome your family, your beautiful family, and 

thank you for your public sacrifice. The family is a partner in this 

venture, as I well know. 

Thank you. 

Mr. PERDUE. Thank you. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Senator Donnelly, you were AWOL last 

night at the marine mess night. So I want a written response back 

to me as an excuse, but I am going to recognize you, anyway. Senator Donnelly. 

Senator DONNELLY. Well, I was afraid you were going to send me 

to Iwo Jima, sir, so—which would have been a great honor. 

Governor Perdue, one thing I want to ask you, I noted that you 

played football for the University of Georgia, and on September 9th 

in the State of Indiana, in Notre Dame, Indiana, Georgia is playing 

Notre Dame, my alma mater. I want to invite you to the game. We 

would like to have you there. We will have a big pork barbecue in 

your honor. We will have all the Indiana farmers there, and you 

can see the Irish beat the Bulldogs. Would you like to come? 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. PERDUE. I will accept that invitation, except for the last 

clause there. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator DONNELLY. I wanted to talk to you a little bit about crop 

insurance. It is critically important to my state. It is something 

that we are going to be working on in the Farm Bill, and to my 

farmers in Indiana, that is something that they want to make sure 

stays strong and stays protected. I wanted to get your views on 

that. 

Mr. PERDUE. Thank you, Senator. I thought you all in the 2014 

Farm Bill made a lot of progress in the crop insurance area. 

Obviously, it can always be refined and be made better, but it 

is vital to farmers, good producers there that need that safety net 

of both the risk of production and pricing that you all did so well 

in that area, and I hope we can even continue that and enhance 

that and, as some of your colleagues have mentioned, look at risk 

management proposals and other commodities that make sense. 

To me, I think the American taxpayer gets a good value for that, 

and hopefully, we can work together. I look forward to working 

with you all as we continue, if I am confirmed, to make sure that 

the crop insurance program is sound, solid, and a good economic 

value for both—not only the producers, but the taxpayers as well. 

Senator DONNELLY. One of the things that we are all shooting 

for, I know in Kansas and Michigan and Indiana and Mississippi, 

is for growth of our rural areas and maximizing economic opportunities there. That is a passion of mine to make sure—we have 92 

counties—that every county has a chance, every community has a 

chance, the chance to buy a home, raise a family, take a vacation, 

retire with dignity. 

The Secretary of Agriculture plays a huge role in rural communities especially. We need to make sure our rural communities 

have broadband, so companies located there can compete with 

those across the world, and that they have the same access to educational opportunities that our children do, as in the cities, to expand market opportunities. I want to make sure that as Secretary 

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of Agriculture, you look at this in a way that you will be looking 

at things like broadband and others to maximize economic opportunities for our rural communities. 

Mr. PERDUE. Certainly. Not only broadband, Senator, but the opportunity the USDA has in rural development in so many other 

areas. I mean, the vitality of our small communities around your 

state and all these states really depends on a strong agricultural 

economy, but the USDA has in the past with its Rural Development Program—has been able to help communities maybe just 

not—just get them over the line to do some things they wanted to 

do, whether it is health care or other types of things to do that. 

That is one of the great benefits that I look forward to being able 

to do, if confirmed, to make the lives of people across America, particularly in rural areas, better because of the presence of the 

USDA. 

Senator DONNELLY. One other thing that—we work on a lot of 

conservation programs. We are very, very proud of our cover crop 

programs. I think we are first in the Nation with that, and as our 

Chairman and Ranking Member always talk about, nobody cares 

about the environment more than the farmers and the families 

that live there. We want to make sure that as you look at your job 

going forward, you are going to commit to work to support and improve the conservation programs as well. 

Mr. PERDUE. Certainly. The NRCS is a big part of American agriculture, and as more farmers learn how to preserve and care and 

create clean water, reduce runoff, use more efficient use of water 

and irrigation and precision agriculture, those are the research arm 

of USDA and the extension arm pushing those—that education information out. It is critical to continue to improve. 

The good thing, what I like about farmers is they are all about 

continuing improvement—— 

Senator DONNELLY. Right. 

Mr. PERDUE. —and they are competitive. They want to do better 

each and every year. 

Senator DONNELLY. I apologize. I am running out of time, so I 

wanted to ask one last thing. The USDA has worked to increase 

access to treatment for opioid and heroin abuse in rural communities. It is breathtaking. They have assisted in creating transitional housing, funded initiatives to improve education, and raise 

awareness to the dangers of this. Purdue has been an amazing 

partner in all of this, and I want to make sure that the USDA is 

our partner in this, in this critical battle against opioid and heroin 

abuse. 

Mr. PERDUE. Secretary Vilsack and I had an extended conversation about the ability just to do that. That was one of the things 

that I was mentioning, an ability of USDA in its rural development 

program to add value in rural communities, even the areas of 

health care, so certainly. 

Senator DONNELLY. Thank you. 

Mr. Chairman, Marines are my heroes, and I would be honored 

to go to the mess with you. Anytime you want to bring me, I will 

be your wing man, sir. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Semper Fi. 

Senator Daines. 

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Senator DAINES. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member 

Stabenow. 

Governor Perdue, thank you so much for your willingness to step 

up and to serve as our next Secretary of Agriculture. This is a big 

deal from my home State of Montana because agriculture is our 

state’s number one industry. It is $6 billion a year back home. 

Without agriculture, Montana does not have a strong economy. 

Our farmers, our ranchers, they produce wheat, barley, cattle, 

sugar beets, pulse crops. In fact, we are the Nation’s leading producer of pulse crops now, which has been an exciting development 

to see in our state as we diversify our ag portfolio. Our products 

play a critical role in not only feeding our country, but certainly 

feeding the entire world. 

Ag production across our Nation is diverse. Montana ag presents 

some unique and especially specific challenges, but great opportunities. With that in mind, I want to make sure I extend an invitation to you, Governor Perdue, to come out to Montana. We are 

going to have an Ag Summit May 31st and June 1st in Great Falls, 

which is kind of Ground Zero of our ag economy in Montana. We 

would love to have you consider coming out. If nothing else, we do 

some preseason elk scouting there too for the fall, but we would 

love to have you come out. 

Mr. PERDUE. Well, I welcome that opportunity. 

Senator DAINES. Regarding trade, 95 percent of the world’s consumers are outside the United States. Certainly, we have more 

spending power today on a per capita basis, but as we think about 

the longer term, as Wayne Gretzky famously said, ‘‘Skate to where 

the puck is headed, not where it is at,’’ trade becomes very important, I think, not only for today’s generation, but future generations 

of farmers and ranchers. 

We are seeing low commodity prices, declining farm incomes. I 

had my barley and wheat producers in my office the last couple 

weeks, our cattle producers. It is a pretty tough climate right now 

because of low prices. 

The access to foreign markets for long-term growth in ag, I do 

not think can be overstated. Vast amounts of our wheat, our beef, 

our barley, pulse crops are exported every year, and that helps us 

in this price arena, helps create jobs, helps grow our economy. 

Governor, as Secretary, how will you ensure that Ag’s voice is 

heard loud and clear within this administration, to fight for our 

farmers and ranchers, to ensure we have access to new markets 

abroad, and not face retaliation? 

Mr. PERDUE. Thank you, Senator. I think the good news is we 

have got a growing middle class around the world that is hungry 

for those products, and food is a noble thing to trade. As I have indicated several times before, we have got a great story to tell. We 

have got producers here that can produce more than we need to 

consume. That is not the case in many parts of the world. So why 

don’t we use that bounty to supply one of the fundamental needs 

of mankind around the world, and I will continue tirelessly to advocate that within our administration and in conjunction with you all 

in development. 

I plan to be on site as USDA’s chief salesman around the world 

to sell these products and negotiate these deals side by side with 

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USTR, side by side with Secretary Ross, and our whole team there. 

I believe that USDA will be intimately involved in the personal, onthe-ground, boots-on-the-ground negotiations at tables around this 

world with ag ministers and foreign dignitaries there selling our 

product. 

Senator DAINES. I know that will be music to the ears of Montana farmers and ranchers to have an advocate like yourself, and 

I think as a governor, you bring that unique experience of having 

to be the chief salesperson certainly on behalf of your farmers and 

ranchers across the world. 

I want to shift gears and talk for a moment about forest management and reform. Of course, we always refer to this Committee as 

the ‘‘Ag Committee,’’ and that has always been one of our highest 

priorities, but it is the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee. Back home in my state, one of my highest priorities is restoring active management to Montana’s national forests. Unfortunately, excessive federal regulations, laws, we have chronic litigation from extremist groups, have limited our management of our 

national forests, and a healthy forest is a forest that is actively 

managed. 

Even projects that we move forward through collaboration, bringing sportsman groups, conservation groups, folks from the logging 

industry, we move forward and were litigated at the end and go— 

and oftentimes lose our cases before the Ninth Circuit, as they unfortunately have continuous litigation. 

Unfortunately, we have a recent Ninth Circuit decision called the 

Cottonwood Environmental Law Center v. the Forest Service. It 

has added another layer of unnecessary red tape and is threatening 

dozens of forest management projects. The Supreme Court will not 

hear this case, unfortunately, but we think we can change the outcome here statutorily, and I have a bipartisan support for this legislation. I would ask, Would you work with me to reverse this disastrous decision that we have seen from the Ninth Circuit? 

Mr. PERDUE. Senator, if confirmed, I would welcome the opportunity to work with you. I have seen your legislation, proposed legislation. I agree with it wholeheartedly. I think at some point, you 

have got to say the end is the end, and rather than stopping things 

that have been agreed to with continuing legislation—or litigation, 

rather, is just unproductive and creates what you talked about by 

unproductive and unmanaged forests. At some point, we have got 

to say, ‘‘That is it. We have done that. We have made a decision, 

and we are moving forward.’’ 

Many of your colleagues already have NEPA-approved projects 

that we have not gotten to yet. That is a top priority, but then to 

continue to move forward. 

I am hopeful, Senator, that as we demonstrate good stewardship 

and good management of the U.S. forests, the litigators on the 

other side will see this is good, this is productive, forests are renewable, they are healthy, they are better. They are better for everyone when they are managed well rather than just to lie out 

there and die upon themselves. So, hopefully, we can do that. 

Senator DAINES. Well said, Governor. Thank you. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Senator Klobuchar. 

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Senator KLOBUCHAR. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

Thank you, Governor. I enjoyed our meeting in our office, and as 

you know, Minnesota is fifth in the country for agriculture. We discussed the differences, which you are well aware of, of the Southern and Midwestern agriculture. 

Some things in common, one of them may be birds. As you know, 

we were hit by the avian flu hard in the Midwest and around the 

country. As a result, almost 9 million birds died, causing economic 

losses of $650 million. Given the recent detections in Tennessee, 

Alabama, and Wisconsin, are you prepared to respond immediately 

to prevent the possible spread of the disease, if and when you are 

confirmed as Secretary? 

Mr. PERDUE. Certainly, Senator. As you know, the poultry production of this country is amazing. The whole ecosystem that has 

been developed around that protein, being able to export worldwide, whether it is eggs or poultry protein, is critical. I am very 

proud of the work that I have seen that the USDA has done in 

Tennessee in their very quick confinement and working cooperation 

with both States of Alabama and Tennessee, and I think the hardworking people in that animal health area have done a wonderful 

job. I think they learned a lot from the 2015 outbreak, where we 

might have been a little slow there. They got on this very quickly, 

and we are praying that that is confined. So, certainly, we cannot 

afford an industry such as our poultry industry and any sector to 

be affected by the damages of a very severe high-pathogen avian 

influenza. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. But what if the proposed 21 percent cut to 

USDA went through? Do you think this could still be the priority 

that it is? How would you manage it if it comes? 

Mr. PERDUE. Well, I am hoping that we can work with you and 

the appropriators. We understand what the President’s proposal is, 

but I hope that you all will help in looking at the keepers of the 

purse. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. A different amount of money, thank you; 

that is a good answer. 

I am the lead sponsor of this Senate bill to end the embargo with 

Cuba, and how would you respond to farmers who are concerned 

about the administration cutting off opportunities for American 

business in Cuba or somehow changing President Obama’s executive order? I mean, we would like to go further, of course, and pass 

legislation, but we are where we are right now. 

Mr. PERDUE. Again, I have answered earlier that I think if we 

can get the private financing done there—and there are some proposals already to do that—I think American agriculture, both in 

the Upper Plains and the Gulf Coast and the East Coast have a 

wonderful opportunity. That is a country that is hungry. 

I led a delegation there in 2010 from Georgia, and they wanted 

our product. They just could not afford it and pay for it there based 

on the financial crisis that they were in. So, hopefully, we can mitigate that. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. I know Senator Thune asked you about the 

RFS, and will you work to advocate for a strong renewable fuel 

standard during interagency review with some of your other Secretaries? 

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Mr. PERDUE. I will. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Okay. That is a great answer too. 

The dairy program, what would you do as Secretary to ensure 

the resources needed are available for the Margin Protection Program to be a meaningful safety net for dairy farmers? 

Mr. PERDUE. Thank you, Senator. I think we have—I have heard 

some recent ideas recently that, hopefully, will even enhance that 

Margin Protection Program with a risk management program for 

immediate relief as well as possible solutions for the 2018 Farm 

Bill. The volatility of the prices that we have seen in dairy are just 

unsustainable, and you have got not only family dairy farms, but 

large dairy farms that are just unprofitable. Many of them do not 

have the equity to continue in that area, and it will change their 

whole lives. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Thank you very much. 

Senator Daines was just discussing forestry with you. In the 

2014 Farm Bill, I worked on expanding the Good Neighbor Authority that gives the Forest Service additional flexibility to work with 

willing state and private landowners to implement forest management practices. Will you commit to ensuring the Good Neighbor 

Authority and other tools to improve forest health from the 2014 

Farm Bill are fully implemented and emphasized as we continue 

to work on the next Farm Bill? 

Mr. PERDUE. I love that name, ‘‘Good Neighbor,’’ and that is 

what I hope that we can become. I think, again, where the U.S. 

Forest Service becomes a welcome part of the community in dwelling there and working with the private citizens there, not only for 

jobs, but for good forest management and just literally being good 

neighbors, there is not a better way to say that. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Thank you. 

Lastly, I am the Co-Chair of the Senate Broadband Caucus, and 

I also am on the Commerce Committee. You and I talked briefly 

in my office about the importance of broadband in rural areas. Do 

you want to just end with that and what you would like to see 

there coming out of USDA? 

Mr. PERDUE. I would love to see it, get it done all across this 

country. With the infrastructure proposal, we are going to have a 

seat at the table there. The White House has already asked USDA 

for their ideas about that. That is number one—— 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Thank you. 

Mr. PERDUE. —as well as water resources as well. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Okay, very good. 

Mr. PERDUE. Thank you. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Thank you very much, Governor. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Senator Hoeven. 

Senator HOEVEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Governor Perdue, it is great to see you. I want to welcome you 

and Mary and your beautiful family. 

Mr. PERDUE. Thank you. 

Senator HOEVEN. Thanks for being here and for your willingness 

to serve. 

I chair the Ag Appropriations Committee, and so I want to express my appreciation for Senator Klobuchar’s question, and even 

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more, I want to express my appreciation for your answer. I look 

forward to working with you on that very important issue. 

Also, one of our former colleagues, Senator Mike Johanns, as you 

know, was an outstanding Secretary of Agriculture, and he visited 

North Dakota on several occasions. I want to ask if, in fact, you 

would be good enough to show up and visit our farmers and ranchers in North Dakota who do a fantastic job and would love to see 

you. 

Mr. PERDUE. What is the record, Senator? 

Senator HOEVEN. You know, I do not know, but I know Johanns 

was there multiple occasions, and you cannot let him show you up. 

So I need a commitment that you are coming. 

Mr. PERDUE. I look forward to surpassing my mentor. 

Senator HOEVEN. I appreciate it. 

Can you build the coalition we need to build North, South, and 

Midwest to pass a strong Farm Bill that really works for our producers? 

Mr. PERDUE. I believe we can. I think in working with you all 

and you working on behalf of your constituents, I think that we 

can. 

I think there was a great progress made in the 2014 Farm Bill. 

We know that we have got a couple of areas that felt left out, and 

we talked about those today. I think that we can get ahead of that. 

It is even more critical today in the light of commodity prices and 

where they are that we get a safety net not only for our producers, 

but also our consumers in going forward. So that is a challenge I 

look forward to, Senator, if I am confirmed, to work with you all 

and providing the resources and enabling you all to get a Farm Bill 

that will be embraced by American agriculture. 

Senator HOEVEN. But you agree it takes that North, South, Midwest coalition to get it done? 

Mr. PERDUE. Oh, absolutely, as well as our nutrition people as 

well. 

Senator HOEVEN. Do you also agree that it is the heart and the 

soul—and you kind of were going here in your answer, but the 

heart and soul of risk management comes down to that countercyclical safety net, building on ARC and PLC, and then making 

sure we strongly, strongly support crop insurance as a risk management tool. Do you agree with that, and do you see that as the 

heart and soul of risk management for our—— 

Mr. PERDUE. Certainly. Absolutely. A well-run, well-managed, 

well-designed, well-administered program in that, I think, gives 

farmers a lot of confidence. 

Senator HOEVEN. Then talk a little bit about the importance of 

ag research. We have talked about the importance of trade, and I 

absolutely agree with that, but ag research is making such a difference in the crops we can grow, disease resistance, our yields, 

which lead to profitability. Talk a little bit about your willingness— 

and this goes back to the budget issue as well, but talk about your 

commitment to ag research. 

Mr. PERDUE. You know, it is interesting. We talk a lot about 

high-tech manufacturing. I would submit to the President and anyone that our agricultural sector has been the highest-tech manufacturing industry we have had in this country for several years. The 

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phenomenal growth in productivity with less inputs and less water 

and better management, better soil preservation is actually phenomenal. It is really—it is really wonderful, and the basis of that, 

as you said, is not only good basic research in our land-grant universities and others, but the transmission of that information 

through our extension service as well. 

Senator HOEVEN. Are you committed and willing to support the 

sugar program? 

Mr. PERDUE. I have, as I mentioned earlier, and certainly, I 

think you all have done a great job in the past in the sugar program, and for those who grow the beets as well as the cane, I think 

you all—they have come together with a pretty unified front. 

Senator HOEVEN. Talk about trade. I mean, it looks to me like 

we are in kind of a new era on how we are going to do trade. Clearly, the administration likes bilateral agreements over the larger 

group agreements, which can work, but really important that we 

continue to press the trade issue. How do you go about doing that 

as Ag Secretary leading the world of agriculture? 

Mr. PERDUE. I think speedily, I think, because our farmers cannot—— 

Senator HOEVEN. Right. 

Mr. PERDUE. —cannot wait very long. The TPP had been around 

for a while and negotiated, but the bilateral will take time, and we 

just need to get about the business of selling U.S. products. 

So, if confirmed, my first stop is going to be at Mr. Lighthizer’s 

office door. We have already discussed some of this, and he indicated to me that 80 percent of what he had heard had been about 

agriculture. So I thought that was good news, and we just got to 

get on it. 

Senator HOEVEN. I think, obviously, with your background is so 

strong in agriculture across the board, but clearly, your background 

and your knowledge of trade, it is going to be very important that 

you are a lead player in negotiating those agreements. 

Mr. PERDUE. We hope to be, Senator. 

Senator HOEVEN. Great to see you. Thanks for being here—— 

Mr. PERDUE. Thank you. 

Senator HOEVEN. —and for your willingness to serve. 

Chairman ROBERTS. I remember well, back in 1918, when Senator Joseph France became a member of the Committee. He was 

a good man, very willing and able to work with. Ninety-nine years 

later, we have the benefit of Senator Van Hollen coming from 

Maryland to join us on the Agriculture Committee. Welcome, sir. 

Senator VAN HOLLEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you 

for noting that. I am very proud of the fact that I am the first 

Maryland Senator to serve on this Committee since back in 1922, 

I believe, if our math is correct. 

Chairman ROBERTS. That is when he ended his service. He began 

in 1918. 

Senator VAN HOLLEN. Governor, it is great to see you—— 

Mr. PERDUE. Thank you. 

Senator VAN HOLLEN. —and I enjoyed our conversation as well. 

I want to pick up on one of the things we talked about, which is 

the Chesapeake Bay—— 

Mr. PERDUE. Yes. 

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Senator VAN HOLLEN. —which is a national treasure. It is also 

vital to the economy in the State of Maryland, having a healthy 

and clean bay, both for the watermen, the people who get the bounty of the bay, the oystermen, and the crabs, which many people 

around the country enjoy, to our tourism industry, where people 

from around the country come to the bay because of its beauty, and 

the boating industry. What we have worked in Maryland to do is 

work closely with our farmers to make sure that we have a vibrant 

farming industry on the Eastern Shore of Maryland along with a 

healthy bay, and so the conservation programs are very important 

to our state and the bay states, as many others. 

In the 2008 Farm Bill, I worked very closely with our Ranking 

Member and others to create a Chesapeake Bay conservation program, and that became very popular. Other states with water bodies were understandably interested. It became the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, and our conservation efforts also 

rely on the EQIP program and the Conservation Reserve Program. 

My question to you is, Do you agree that these are important 

programs that we have got in place that we need to continue? 

Mr. PERDUE. Senator, I certainly agree because we cannot continue the progress that has been made in the Chesapeake Bay, and 

you have articulated what a vital resource nationally it is and certainly for the people who live in that watershed and around the 

body of water for so many reasons. But I do not believe we can continue the progress that has been made, much to the credit of farmers, agribusinesses, and others who have acknowledged that the 

runoff of nitrogen and phosphorous has damaged that. Hopefully, 

we could continue by, again, the education and the national— 

NRCS there, that we could continue that program. So I certainly 

hope that we will be able to and even increase and continue the 

progress. 

Senator VAN HOLLEN. I appreciate that, and as you indicate, we 

have worked on a very cooperative relationship with the farmers in 

connection with this particular program, and as stewards of the 

land, it is very important that we have a good working and cooperative relationship, which we have had. 

I do just want to say, as a number of Senators have raised the 

issue of the proposed budget cuts to the rural water and waste disposal, the loan grant program. I listened carefully when the Chairman of our Committee said that the President proposes and the 

Congress disposes, and it is great to have the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee as well as the Chairman of the Subcommittee Appropriations for Agriculture. So we are going to, hopefully, work to make sure we address those issues. 

I can tell you 15 of Maryland’s 24 counties would be in really 

tough positions if they do not get the benefit of those loans. 

I also say I look forward to working with the Chairman of the 

Appropriations Committee on the EPA budget. The Trump administration proposal wipes out the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay program, 

which has had bipartisan support in our State of Maryland, so I 

do want to flag that issue. 

Senator Donnelly and others talked about the crop insurance and 

dealing with risk. In Maryland, most of our farms are small-and 

medium-size farms, and especially with respect to specialty crops, 

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some of the way the crop insurance is currently designed does not 

fully meet their needs. So I just want to hear from you a willingness to talk and explore ways where we could modify some of those 

provisions to make sure we address the needs of some of the smaller, medium-size farms. 

Mr. PERDUE. Certainly. 

By the way, congratulations on your desire to be on this Committee. I think Maryland—many people do not understand the 

value of agriculture to Maryland, but it is significant in that way, 

and your smaller farms particularly. The 2014 Farm Bill recognized the need for crop insurance and specialty crops in many 

ways. I think that was a great beginning. Can we go further? I believe absolutely. If we look at how we can—what we learned from 

the 2014 Farm Bill, how we can continue to enhance that, and to 

make small or specialty crops of particularly smaller farmers a viable alternative for them. 

Senator VAN HOLLEN. All right. 

Finally, on the food and nutrition programs, I just want to add 

my voice to our Senators who have said how important that is to 

our states. 

Finally, Mr. Chairman, if I could just say that we have in Maryland an 1890 land-grant HBCU, University of Maryland Eastern 

Shore, that is doing innovative work. You know that our HBCUs 

have faced significant challenges, including maintenance funds and 

others, and I know you have worked on this issue. I would just like 

to get your commitment to follow up in a conversation to try and 

address the issue of strengthening the 1890 HBCUs. 

Mr. PERDUE. I would welcome that. We obviously have those in 

Georgia as well, and I think I was pleased to see our President welcome them as well and commit, to make commitments about those 

areas. So I look forward to working with you directly regarding 

your specific HBCU. 

Senator VAN HOLLEN. We have a particular challenge and issue 

with one of our HBCU, 1890. 

Mr. PERDUE. Okay. 

Senator VAN HOLLEN. So thank you. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Senator Brown. 

Senator BROWN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and welcome, Governor. 

Mr. PERDUE. Thank you. 

Senator BROWN. Nice to see you again, thank you. 

My colleagues do not know, but during the Secretary-designee’s 

time in the Air Force, Governor Perdue spent time at Lockbourne 

Air Force Base in Columbus, Ohio, now Rickenbacker. I am glad 

you will always put Ohio second, right after Georgia, so thank you 

for that. 

Senator Van Hollen had a couple of points I want to reemphasize 

and then I’ll go to a good handful of questions. One is the importance of the Chesapeake Bay. A lot of those same exact issues 

apply to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The President has 

proposed to cut it by 100 percent, which is just ludicrous. 

Senator Portman and myself and Senator Stabenow, all of us in 

the Great Lakes states—the irony, it was the Great Lakes states 

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that really won him the election, and we have—I am old enough 

to remember—Senator Stabenow is not old enough, but I am old 

enough to remember what the Great Lakes looked like when I was 

a kid. It is one of the great accomplishments of government and 

communities and the Federal Government especially to clean this 

up, and we cannot backslide. So I would emphasize the importance 

of Great Lakes cleanup. 

The Chesapeake Bay is pretty important. The Great Lakes, 

though, are the largest collection of fresh water in the world. 

Chesapeake Bay is not even fresh water, so anyway—— 

Senator VAN HOLLEN. Can I object to that? 

Senator BROWN. You can object. 

But he is a new member. He does not get to object. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator BROWN. Also, I want to emphasize and thank Chairman 

Roberts, his comments about ag and nutrition and the Farm Bill 

holding it together when there is always pressures to divide it. I 

know that the Governor has supported that too, but thank you, 

Chairman Roberts, for your statements about that and the statements of Senator Van Hollen on the Historically Black Colleges 

and Universities. It is really, really important, and I wanted—Central State is an 1890 in my state, so this is particularly important 

to me. I know you have worked with Georgia’s HBCU as governor, 

and that Fort Valley State University in your home state is an 

1890 land grant. 

Thoughts? If you would give us, real briefly, because we are running out of time and a vote is coming, what specifically are your 

thoughts and ideas on the next steps you plan to take in support 

of these universities? 

Mr. PERDUE. Again, I was pleased to hear the President welcome 

them and commit to do that. As you—I think you referred to Fort 

Valley State. They are in our adjacent county, and we know the 

work that they do as a land-grant university and unique niche programs there in the state. I look forward—they have got a value to 

serve, and I look forward to helping them with the research, providing—asking them for particular research projects with USDA 

that has the opportunity to do that, give them an opportunity to 

compete in those areas, and to listen and learn from them as well 

as they can provide good information for us in areas in which they 

operate. 

Senator BROWN. I appreciate your sensitivity to the Historically 

Black Colleges, unlike your soon-to-be colleague in the Cabinet who 

said that they were about choice or something when it came to 

black colleges. It was a rather peculiar statement, but that is not 

you. 

Senator Donnelly mentioned opioids. My state has more opioid 

deaths than any other state in the country. The repeal of the Affordable Care Act, there are 200,000—right now 200,000 Ohioans 

that are getting opioid addiction treatment that are on the Affordable Care Act. I know that is not your issue exactly, although it 

is your party’s issue and the President’s issue. I just ask if something happens and that insurance is taken away, as it would be 

with the House bill, for all those people that have opioid addictions 

and are getting treatment, I would ask you if you would go back 

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to OMB and the White House to protect funding used in the battle 

against opioid addiction in rural Ohio and rural America. 

Mr. PERDUE. Yeah. I am not sure you were here when I had a 

great—when I mentioned the great conversation I had with Secretary Vilsack. He was very proud of the input the USDA had in 

the—on the sad opioid, and the sad thing about that, as you well 

know, Senator, much of this is in rural areas of despair, so I will— 

I will absolutely be an advocate of that for the betterment. Obviously, USDA does not have the basic capacity to supplant everything in health care, but it does have an opportunity to help in that 

regard. I would welcome doing that. 

Senator BROWN. That again is why my Republican governor and 

my colleague in the Senate, Senator Portman, have both expressed 

great concern about the Affordable Care Act and what would happen to Medicaid. 700,000 Ohioans are on Medicaid expansion, and 

those are—it is pretty amazing to me that a bunch of us in this 

body who get government-supported insurance, whose taxpayers 

subsidize our health insurance, that people in this body and the 

other house want to take away insurance for a whole lot of low-income, working people. Those are the Medicaid expansion people, 

and I just needed to say that because it is such a big part of the 

opioid picture. 

Last issue—and I know you are getting impatient, Mr. Chairman, but thank you. I worked with Senator Thune in on the last 

Farm Bill on the Ag Risk Coverage program. I mentioned that in 

our meeting, the ARC. The program protects against unforeseen 

declines when either prices are low or production is low because of 

unforeseen circumstances, it ensures that farmers have a safety 

net. The administration’s budget proposal included sharp cuts to 

the National Ag Statistics Service, which raises real questions 

about USDA having the resources necessary to collect the independent unbiased price and yield data so that ARC, A–R-C, can actually be implemented with the proper information. One in seven 

jobs in my state depends on agriculture. 

That is why I am on this Committee. I need to know that farmers can depend on you. I know that your specialty is not the same 

agriculture as most of the agriculture in the Ranking Member’s, 

and my home states. I understand; I accept that. But I just want 

to know that you will work with us and use your authority to make 

sure that, A: we can find ways to carry out ARC, the Ag Risk Coverage program, and that B: you can help us provide short-term assistance for dairy farmers. I heard you mention them briefly, and 

I just need assurance on both of those issues. 

Mr. PERDUE. Certainly. Let me just take the second one last. We 

have affirmed assistance on the dairy risk management, but farmers have to rely on the credibility of good independent data through 

the NASS to provide that, that information, because the ARC and 

the PLC program both depend on it. That is the independent 

source that is trusted worldwide, supply and demand and different 

things that move markets, so that is a critical, critical part of 

USDA, and I certainly will support that to the best of my ability. 

Senator BROWN. Thank you. Governor, you can tell your children 

and grandchildren that your confirmation hearing was in the Kennedy Caucus Room, where the Titanic hearings were, the Watermw42035 on AGRINON012 with DISTILLER

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gate hearings, the markup of the Affordable Care Act—what else 

happened?—the McCarthy hearings in the 1950s. All were in this 

room. So if your children and grandchildren are here, now you 

know, and if they are not here, tell them. All right? 

Mr. PERDUE. I think you just told them, Senator. 

Senator BROWN. I think so. Thank you. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Senator Stabenow. 

Senator STABENOW. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I just want to indicate—I know we have a vote coming, and that 

you are about to wrap up. I do have additional questions that I will 

submit for the record, as well as the letter that I referenced earlier 

regarding dairy. I would like those to be placed into the record. 

Thank you very much. 

Chairman ROBERTS. All members should understand they can 

submit letters for the record. 

[The following information can be found on page 104 in the appendix.] 

Chairman ROBERTS. I do want to mention the fact that the Committee has received a number of letters in support of your nomination, including one from nearly 700—700 organizations across the 

agriculture and food value chain, as well as one from six former 

U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture representing both Republican and 

Democrat Presidents. 

Governor Perdue, thank you for your willingness to be considered 

for service to agriculture and rural America as Secretary of Agriculture. This Committee has a history of working in a bipartisan 

fashion, as this hearing has demonstrated, as opposed to others 

that have been going on in the Senate while crafting legislation 

and considering nominations, and we will move as quickly as possible to consider your nomination. As you know, we will not be voting on your nomination today, but we will work to schedule a business meeting ASAP for a Committee vote. 

Again, I ask members to submit any additional questions you 

may have for the record by five o’clock tomorrow, Friday, March 24. 

In addition, the record will remain open for 5 business days for 

members so submit a statement or additional materials. 

Thank you to everyone for your time today. Young man with a 

red tie, who seems to be anxious to leave—— 

Senator STABENOW. We have got two red ties here. 

Chairman ROBERTS. —we gotcha, man. 

[Laughter.] 

Chairman ROBERTS. We are adjourned. 

Mr. PERDUE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

[Whereupon, at 12:22 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.] 

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