U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

67–861 CC WASHINGTON : 2000

S. HRG. 106–814

NOMINATION OF CHRISTOPHER A. MCLEAN AND

MICHAEL V. DUNN

HEARING

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE,

NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY

UNITED STATES SENATE

ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

ON

NOMINATION OF CHRISTOPHER A. MCLEAN AND MICHAEL V. DUNN

APRIL 11, 27, 2000

Printed for the use of the

Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

(

For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office

Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC 20402
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY

RICHARD G. LUGAR, Indiana, Chairman

JESSE HELMS, North Carolina

THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi

MITCH MCCONNELL, Kentucky

PAUL COVERDELL, Georgia

PAT ROBERTS, Kansas

PETER G. FITZGERALD, Illinois

CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa

LARRY E. CRAIG, Idaho

RICK SANTORUM, Pennsylvania

TOM HARKIN, Iowa

PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont

KENT CONRAD, North Dakota

THOMAS A. DASCHLE, South Dakota

MAX BAUCUS, Montana

J. ROBERT KERREY, Nebraska

TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota

BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, Arkansas

KEITH LUSE, Staff Director

DAVID L. JOHNSON, Chief Counsel

ROBERT E. STURM, Chief Clerk

MARK HALVERSON, Staff Director for the Minority

(II)
(III)

C O N T E N T S

Page

HEARING:

Tuesday, April 11, 2000, Nomination of Christopher A. McLean, to serve

as Administrator of the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service .................................. 1

Thursday, April 27, 2000, Nomination of Michael Vincent Dunn, to be member, Farm Credit Administration ........................................................................ 35

APPENDIX:

Tuesday, April 11, 2000 .......................................................................................... 13

DOCUMENT(S) SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD:

Tuesday, April 11, 2000 .......................................................................................... 19

DOCUMENT(S) SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD:

Thursday, April 27, 2000 ........................................................................................ 45

Tuesday, April 11, 2000

STATEMENTS PRESENTED BY SENATORS

Lugar, Hon. Richard, G., a U.S. Senator from Indiana, Chairman, Committee

on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry ............................................................. 1

Harkin, Hon. Tom, a U.S. Senator from Iowa, Ranking Member, Committee

on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry ............................................................. 6

Conrad, Hon. Kent, a U.S. Senator from North Dakota ...................................... 3

Kerrey, Hon. J. Robert, a U.S. Senator from Nebraska ....................................... 2

WITNESSES

Hagel, Hon. Chuck, a U.S. Senator from Nebraska ............................................. 2

McLean, Christopher A., Acting Administrator, The Rural Utilities Service,

USDA .................................................................................................................... 4

APPENDIX

PREPARED STATEMENTS

Baucus, Hon. Max ............................................................................................ 17

McLean, Christopher A. ................................................................................... 14

DOCUMENT(S) SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD:

Biographical information of, Christopher A. McLean .................................... 20

Letter to Hon. Richard G. Lugar, submitted by Stephen D. Potts, Director, Office of Government Ethics ................................................................. 28

Letter to Hon. Richard G. Jugar, submitted by Stuart Polikoff, Director,

Government Relations .................................................................................. 34

Thursday, April 27, 2000

STATEMENTS PRESENTED BY SENATORS

Lugar, Hon. Richard G., a U.S. Senator from Indiana, Chairman, Committee

on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry ............................................................. 35

Roberts, Hon. Pat, a U.S. Senator from Kansas ................................................... 42
Page

IV

Grassley, Hon. Charles E., a U.S. Senator from Iowa .......................................... 36

Harkin, Hon. Tom, a U.S. Senator from Iowa, Ranking Member, Committee

on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry ............................................................. 43

Leahy, Hon. Patrick J., a U.S. Senator from Vermont ......................................... 40

Conrad, Hon. Kent, a U.S. Senator from North Dakota ...................................... 41

Baucus, Hon. Max, a U.S. Senator from Montana ................................................ 42

WITNESSES

Dunn, Michael V., to be member, Farm Credit Administration .......................... 36

APPENDIX

DOCUMENT(S) SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD:

Biographical information, of Michael V. Dunn .............................................. 46

Letter to Hon. Richard G. Lugar, submitted by Stephen D. Potts, Director, Office of Government Ethics ................................................................. 52
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NOMINATION OF CHRISTOPHER A. MCLEAN,

TO SERVE AS ADMINISTRATOR OF THE

USDA’S RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE

TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2000

U.S. SENATE,

COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY,

Washington, DC.

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:36 a.m., in room

SR–328A, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Richard G. Lugar,

(Chairman of the Committee), presiding.

Present or Submitting a Statement: Senators Lugar, Fitzgerald,

Grassley, Harkin, Conrad, Daschle, and Baucus.

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. RICHARD G. LUGAR, A U.S.

SENATOR FROM INDIANA, CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY

The CHAIRMAN. This hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee is called to order.

Today, the Committee is holding a hearing on two matters. First

is the confirmation of Christopher A. McLean to serve as Administrator of the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service. Our second topic is

the MTBE Crisis and the Future of Renewable Fuels.

We will turn first to the confirmation of Mr. McLean. He is a native of Nebraska and has served as the Acting Administrator of the

Rural Utilities Service since November of 1999. Before that, he

served as Deputy Administrator of this agency. He is no stranger

to the Senate, having worked for both Senator Bob Kerrey and

former Senator Jim Exon.

We are privileged today to have Senator Kerrey, who is a member of our committee, and Senator Hagel, the delegation of Senators from Nebraska, to offer words of introduction for Mr.

McLean.

As the Agency that provides infrastructure financing for electric,

telecommunications, and water and waste disposal projects in rural

America, the Rural Utilities Service has an important mission that

is vital to the health and quality of life of people on farms in our

country. As Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service, Mr.

McLean would oversee the management of a huge loan portfolio,

including investments in approximately 7,000 small-community

rural and wastewater systems, and 2,000 electric and telecommunications systems servicing rural America.

I welcome you to the Committee, Mr. McLean, and look forward

to hearing your testimony.
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First of all, I would like to call upon my colleagues for their comments of introduction.

Senator Kerrey.

STATEMENT OF HON. J. ROBERT KERREY, A U.S. SENATOR

FROM NEBRASKA

Senator KERREY. Well, Mr. Chairman, you have given most of

the relevant details about Chris McLean. He is from Nebraska.

[Laughter.]

But I would like to use this as an opportunity, if I could, Mr.

Chairman, for you and for colleagues and for the record. I came

into politics in 1982, straight from business and naive about many

things concerning government. Key amongst them was the idea

that all the good human beings were in the private sector, and that

it was not likely in the public sector you would find very many people that were superior to people in the private sector or that would

be willing to work as hard, etc., etc..

That myth was shattered very early on in my term as governor.

It doesn’t mean that we don’t have to work to try to reform government, but I am very impressed with the quality of people and their

willingness to sacrifice and work for the common good, and Chris

McLean is in that category.

He comes to jobs willing to spend the time necessary to understand the details. He comes with a great respect for the power of

the law to do good and bad. He has, I think, the right balance of

respect for what the marketplace can do and what our laws can do

to assist where the market doesn’t get the job done, and I think

will make an excellent Administrator of the RUS. I appreciate very

much not only his nomination, but I appreciate very much his willingness to serve.

The CHAIRMAN. Well, thank you very much, Senator Kerrey, for

that introduction.

Senator Hagel

STATEMENT OF HON. CHUCK HAGEL, A U.S. SENATOR FROM

NEBRASKA

Senator HAGEL. Mr. Chairman, thank you. I, too, am pleased to

have an opportunity to say a couple of words about our friend, Mr.

McLean.

As Senator Kerrey noted, Mr. McLean starts with an unfair advantage in life, having his early grounding and schooling in Nebraska. So we take note of that early on. Picking up on what Bob

said about good people, quality people, committed people, this is a

man who actually understands what his job is. This is an individual who has lived these issues. This is a man who has a vast and

deep and broad experience foundation to draw from. And we never,

as you know, Mr. Chairman, have enough of the kind of individuals

that we are talking about today with Mr. McLean.

The only flaw I can find is that he has not had the high honor

of working for a Republican Senator, but we shall overlook that

and I think we can work with that, Mr. Chairman. I think it is beyond fixing at this point.

Senator KERREY. About as close as you can get. He worked for

Exon and me.
3

[Laughter.]

Senator HAGEL. Some would take issue with that, however.

[Laughter.]

But nonetheless, before I get him in trouble and Kerrey and I

start a dialogue here that probably would not be in the best interests of Mr. McLean, I am very enthusiastic about this nomination,

Mr. Chairman, and I think he will do a terrific job, and we look

forward to working with Mr. McLean.

Thank you for holding the hearing.

The CHAIRMAN. Well, we thank both of the Senators from Nebraska for giving these words of encouragement about the nominee.

We appreciate the spirit of support that both of you have given to

the work of this committee, in addition to your words today for Mr.

McLean.

Let me just say prior to calling upon you for your testimony and

your opening statement that I would just for the record say that

the FBI background checks were presented to me and that I have

reviewed all of that carefully. That is one of the situations we proceed through. As you know, the chairman and the ranking member

are supposed to take that responsibility carefully on behalf of the

other members and bring to their attention items that should be

brought to their attention.

Now, during the course of your review with staff and the financial disclosures, you have pledged to divest yourself of certain securities. I simply make that point, and I would say even beyond that

which the law requires in terms of the denominations that are involved so that there would be no potential for a conflict of interest.

So as far as I can tell, you start this testimony with a clean slate,

but I would just say for the benefit of those watching the hearing,

we take very seriously the background checks, the financial disclosures, and thoughtfulness with regard to potential conflicts of interest because the portfolio that you would manage is very sizable.

And we appreciated your testimony at the time of the rural satellite business, a situation which you may come into considerable

leadership and authority.

Now, at this point, before you begin your testimony, I ask you

to raise your right hand and to repeat after me.

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. MCLEAN. I do.

The CHAIRMAN. I thank you. Please proceed with your testimony.

Senator CONRAD. Mr. Chairman?

The CHAIRMAN. Yes?

Senator CONRAD. Might I say a word just before he begins?

The CHAIRMAN. Of course.

STATEMENT OF HON. KENT CONRAD, A U.S. SENATOR FROM

NORTH DAKOTA

Senator CONRAD. I ask for that opportunity, Mr. Chairman, because Chris has been nominated to succeed Wally Beyer, and the

really, I think, important fact here today is that, of course, Wally

Beyer is a North Dakotan. Wally Beyer is somebody for whom I

have enormously high regard. He has served as the Administrator
4

throughout the time of this administration and done a superb job

dealing with the challenges of that agency.

He tells me that he believes Chris is fully prepared to assume

the mantle of responsibility of that agency, and none of that surprises any of us who worked with Chris while he served Bob

Kerrey and served Jim Exon, really a first-rate person. And I just

wanted to make mention of what Wally Beyer said to me in a

phone call yesterday.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much for that thoughtful comment.

Mr. McLean.

TESTIMONY OF CHRISTOPHER A. MCLEAN, TO BE ADMINISTRATOR, RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF

AGRICULTURE

Mr. MCLEAN. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and members

of the Committee, for scheduling today’s hearing. And thank you,

Senator Kerrey, Senator Conrad, and Senator Hagel, for your very

kind words, your support, and your friendship.

I also appreciate the presence of my friends and colleagues who

are here today, and I also want to pay special thanks to my parents

back home in Omaha. And most importantly, I would like to thank

my wife, Helen, who has been a most understanding and supportive wife, partner, and my best friend.

As a former Senate staffer, it is a profound honor to appear before the Committee as the President’s nominee to be the Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service. I am deeply grateful to have

had the honor and privilege of serving as counsel to two great Senators, Jim Exon and Bob Kerrey. From them, I learned what it is

to be a public servant.

Now, maybe this will make Senator Hagel feel a little better, but

as a Nebraskan it is a special honor and privilege to be nominated

to lead the Rural Utilities Service because many of you know that

Republican Nebraska Senator George Norris introduced the Rural

Electrification Act in 1936. So to this day, I continue to work for

a Nebraska Senator.

I am also humbled to be asked to follow in the footsteps of Wally

Beyer. As the last Administrator of the Rural Electrification Administration and the first Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service, Wally is the alpha and the omega of the rural electric cooperative movement. Wally taught me very well; I learned a great deal

from him. He led the Agency into the 21st century, and I am very

honored to be asked to carry the torch that he re-lit, forward.

Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to report that the Rural Utilities Service and its authorizing legislation is sound. With the oversight of this committee, the Agency is working to improve the quality of life for millions of our fellow citizens, and setting an example

of successful economic development. The agency is blessed with a

dedicated corps of professionals. Everyday, they make me very

proud to serve among their ranks.

The programs of the Rural Utilities Service are pistons in a great

engine of economic growth. As the Nation enters a new century,

the need for rural infrastructure support is very clear. Over 75-percent of the Nation’s land mass is rural and 25-percent of the Na-
5

tion’s population lives in rural areas. America cannot be strong

without sound infrastructure in the vast rural areas of this great

Nation.

Rural America faces new challenges. Low commodity prices, consolidation, vast areas of out-migration, all highlight the need to further extend the benefits of the new economy. This is a time of great

change in every sector of the utilities industry as well. Market and

regulatory shifts in the telecommunications and energy sectors altered decades-long principles of utility economics. And in water, the

health and safety of rural families and the purity of the rural environment are critical to the quality of life.

But this is also a time of unprecedented opportunity. Information

age technologies offer the opportunity to suspend the disadvantages

of distance, density, and geography. Renewable resources of energy

provide new ways to generate income and wealth in rural communities, and the talents, imagination and aspirations of rural youth

provide the greatest reason for optimism. And I am very optimistic

that America is on the verge of a rural renaissance.

This is a very unique moment in history. Reliable, affordable

power, modern telecommunications, safe and clean water, the use

of telecommunications technologies to enhance education and

health care are the building blocks of success in the new economy.

The RUS does more than provide a source of affordable capital;

it ensures a level of quality and an ethic of engineering which

maximizes the value of every dollar invested. RUS programs also

leverage and attract private capital to utilities projects in rural

areas.

While the RUS is proud of its record of accomplishment, it has

a vision for the future. RUS is prepared to manage new initiatives

to strengthen rural America, to close and prevent the digital divide,

to put the electricity in electronic commerce, and to enhance the

safety and quality of rural water. Mr. Chairman, should the Congress enact new loan guarantee legislation on the local-into-local

television issue, RUS will be ready to meet that challenge.

The priorities I have pursued as Acting Administrator and would

pursue as Administrator would be the continuous reform, reinvention, and responsiveness of the Agency; the embracement of new

technologies in all our programs, including renewable and distributed generation and broadband services in telecommunications;

and modern water filtration and treatment.

We need to focus our attention on those living just beyond the

reach of our programs. Places like the Mississippi Delta, Native

American communities, and the colonials along the border of the

United States and Mexico need special attention, as does that family who lives at the farthest corner of the county. Finally, the RUS

partnership with the private sector and other agencies must be

maximized to improve the benefit of every tax dollar.

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I thank the Committee for its attention, and I look forward to working very closely with this committee. I appreciate the support that the Senators have given me

and the unwavering support that this committee has had for the

Rural Utilities Service and for keeping alive the spirit and the vision of George Norris.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
6

[The prepared statement of Mr. McLean can be found in the appendix on page 14.]

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Mr. McLean.

I would like to call now on the distinguished ranking member of

the Committee, Senator Harkin, for any opening comments that he

might have for our hearings this morning.

STATEMENT OF HON. TOM HARKIN, A U.S. SENATOR FROM

IOWA, RANKING MEMBER, COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE,

NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY

Senator HARKIN. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I

want to welcome Chris McLean here. He has an excellent reputation in the Senate, serving both Senator Exon and Senator Kerrey

with distinction. He has spent years dealing with issues of importance to rural America. I know firsthand that he cares about rural

America and he knows what is going on. He knows how Congress

works, and I believe that his relatively brief tenure at USDA has

demonstrated a real skill at working with that bureaucracy and

working with the Hill.

I just want to point out that the Rural Utilities Service is of

great importance, as Chris McLean has said, providing crucial assistance for rural water and sewer systems, the RECs, as well the

rural telephone companies and co-ops. Without the assistance of

the Rural Utilities Service, our ability to maintain businesses and

a decent quality of life would be a lot harder in rural areas.

As Mr. McLean just said, our population continues to decline in

many rural areas, and so the cost of providing those basic services

gets relatively higher all the time. But there are new opportunities

through new technology and a growing understanding of the quality of life in rural American that can lead to that renaissance that

he is talking about, and I can’t think of a better person to head

that than Chris McLean. I hope we can have unanimous support

for him and get his nomination secured post haste.

Mr. Chairman, I would just say that Senator Baucus extends his

apologies for not being here. He supports Mr. McLean’s nomination, and I would like to submit his statement for the record.

The CHAIRMAN. It will be included in full.

[The prepared statement of Senator Baucus can be found in the

appendix on page 17.]

The CHAIRMAN. Let me mention likewise that the colleague of

Senator Harkin, Senator Grassley, on our committee, has had to

leave in the last few minutes and he wants to give his best wishes,

as will, I know, Senator Harkin in due course, to the Governor of

Iowa, whom we have present for a hearing immediately following

this one. Senator Grassley must Chair Committee on Aging hearings today on the funeral industry. So he would prefer to be here,

but he will be doing his duty.

Let me begin the questioning with the mandatory question that

we always ask.

Mr. McLean, do you agree that, if confirmed, you will appear before any duly constituted committee of the Congress, if asked?

Mr. MCLEAN. Yes, Sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much for that assurance.
7

In many of the programs that are funded by the Rural Utilities

Service, there is an inherent tension between the level of Government involvement and the role of the private sector in providing

services and financing. One recent example of this is the debate

over the Access to Local Television Act.

In your view, what are the public policy considerations that justify the Government financing the provision of such services to

rural America?

Mr. MCLEAN. Well, first and foremost, it is a vision of this Nation being one Nation undivided, indivisible. Rural Americans deserve the same level of service, the same quality of service, the

same access to information that we enjoy in the great cities of

America. And if we are going to be one Nation, we have to make

that commitment.

That statistic of 75/25, 75-percent of the land mass with 25-percent of the population, just recurs over and over and over in my

job. Seventy-five-percent of a market is profitable, 25-percent of the

market needs special attention. The same thing in rural infrastructure.

And as we move to competitive marketplaces, whether it is in

multi-channel video, whether it is in electricity, whether it is in

telecommunications, the need is for that 25-percent; where the

marketplace isn’t going to pay the first attention; needs special attention. That is the reason that programs like the Rural Utilities

Service, like universal service, in other industries like essential air

service or what used to be called local freight rail assistance, are

necessary in order to keep rural America part of this one economy.

The CHAIRMAN. We appreciated your testimony earlier that I referenced in our digital divide hearing as a part of that, and you

made a number of those points, I thought, very successfully and cogently that day.

One of the issues facing rural America is the availability of adequate health care and health providers. What role does the Rural

Utilities Service play in solving this problem?

Mr. MCLEAN. We have a wonderful program called the Distance

Learning Telemedicine Program which this committee originated

and worked so hard to keep the support for that program strong.

In telemedicine, we see absolutely remarkable things happening.

A family, for example, can avoid hours of time in a car to commute

to see a doctor by just being able to visit a local clinic and using

telecommunications technologies in order to have examinations and

diagnosis and treatment.

It can also stabilize rural hospitals. What happens frequently in

health care is when a second opinion is required and a patient

needs to get into the car and go to the next community to get the

second opinion and surgery is required, surgery usually takes place

in that second place. So if you could have teleconsultations where

it was with doctors in the larger communities, the patients can

stay in their hometown communities and they can have their treatments and their surgery in their hometowns. That would help

strengthen the viability of rural hospitals and rural clinics.

We are just so excited. There are over 300 distance learning telemedicine projects in operation right now under the DLT program,

and they are doing remarkable things and offering real hope that
8

you can live in a rural area but still have access to the finest medical advice and finest medical treatment anyone else would have.

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. McLean, many people are surprised to learn

that not all Americans even at this date have access to clean, safe

drinking water and indoor plumbing. Can you provide us with an

update on the Agency’s efforts to combat this problem? What percentage of Americans still lack these facilities, and are they mostly

in certain areas or is the problem widespread?

Mr. MCLEAN. The agency estimates based on 1990 census data

that when we began our program called Water 2000, there were

about 1 million folks without quality water systems or quality

water service. And we think we have made very steady progress in

knocking down that number. We estimate perhaps as many as

300,000 have been reduced.

In our water program, we do have a waiting list. There is more

demand for water projects than there are available appropriations,

and throughout rural America there is a serious difficulty of aging

infrastructure. I visited a community in Big Springs, Nebraska,

where the RUS loan was replacing a water system that was built

around 1911. This is something that recurs all through America

that the infrastructure is just getting to the point where it needs

to be replaced and upgraded. And when you do that, you are also

saving the community because without that investment the community will not be able to meet clean water standards and face a

whole number of challenges.

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Harkin?

Senator HARKIN. Mr. Chairman, I have no questions. I think you

have covered them thoroughly. I just again recommend if you have

never done this, Chris, get the Congressional Record debate on

when the Senate was debating whether or not we would establish

the Rural Electrification Administration.

Mr. MCLEAN. Yes, Sir.

Senator HARKIN. You have read it. It is a great debate.

Mr. MCLEAN. It is wonderful, Sir.

Senator HARKIN. And it is appropriate to today’s times, I mean,

because it was amazing how many people were arguing that it was

not the proper role of Government to string electric lines out to

rural areas. It is a wonderful debate and it is just sort of appropriate to what we are doing right now as to whether or not this

is something that we can do and invest in the future. That is how

people saw it at that time, and those that pushed it through were

correct.

So I wish you the best in your new job. Please come and see me

about electro-farming sometime, will you?

Mr. MCLEAN. Yes, Sir.

Senator HARKIN. I won’t get into that.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Conrad.

Senator CONRAD. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Chris, before the Budget Committee this year, the head of the

General Accounting Office, Mr. Walker, whom I generally have

high regard for, said that the mission of the Rural Utilities Service

was complete and the Rural Utilities Service should be phased out.
9

I told him, you know, I think that is a real misnomer because

obviously once a system has been built, it has got to be rebuilt. I

mean, the life of these things is not permanent, and if we don’t

have a program that provides the financing for those systems, very

quickly we won’t have a system.

I tell you, where we have got places in North Dakota that have

one customer per mile, anybody that thinks that adds up without

some kind of special assistance and some kind of special support

from the Federal Government just doesn’t care much about who is

at the end of the line. I told him that it would be phased out over

my cold, dead body, and he called me afterwards and said that he

has listened carefully to what I had said.

What would you say to him if he made that case to you?

Mr. MCLEAN. I think our remarks would be very similar. The

mission of the Agency is never complete. It is simply more expensive to serve rural America; on average, both in telecommunications and electric, about three times more expensive to serve

rural America.

The consequence of not having a Rural Utilities Service would be

very simple. For rural citizens, rates would be higher, quality

would be lower, and economic growth would be depressed. And that

is a choice that I don’t think this Nation should make or ought to

make. By providing that financing and that quality assurance that

this agency affords, the entire Nation is benefitted.

A telephone in rural America doesn’t just serve the folks in that

town; it serves the entire Nation. It is a value to New York City

and Chicago and Los Angeles that we can call Ravenna, Nebraska,

or that we can call Medina, North Dakota. And to just walk away

from the high cost of service in 75-percent of the geography of this

country would be reckless and irresponsible.

I appreciate your strong support for the program, and nowhere

is it more evident that it is necessary than a place like North Dakota. And I have spent a lot of time in North Dakota, particularly

with Wally, and the vastness of the State is, I think, unbelievable

to folks maybe like the head of the GAO. Seeing that is believing,

and it is almost a miracle that America has been able to accomplish electrification and telecommunications and water in these

most remote places.

Senator CONRAD. Well, I thank you for that. I think those are exactly the right answers, and it is critically important that we continue to educate people. I frankly was stunned that the head of the

GAO wouldn’t understand that a mission of an agency like this one

can never be completed. It is an ongoing need to rebuild these systems. But, clearly, he is a highly intelligent man. He really hadn’t

thought carefully about the implications of his remarks.

So I thank you for that.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Conrad.

Senator Kerrey.

Senator KERREY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. McLean, one of the things that I would ask you to examine

if you are confirmed is whether or not RUS is capable of producing

an inventory, or perhaps capable of producing an inventory in cooperation with the State regulatory commissions that govern telecommunications companies to give Congress some sense of where
10

we are in terms of meeting the objective of the 1996 Telecom Act,

which was that all communities have enhanced telecommunications

services.

First, the term itself is relatively vague, to put it mildly, and is

apt to be a moving target. So it is not quite as easy as determining

whether or not I have got twisted copper pairs coming into every

home, which is an easier goal under the old Act to achieve.

I have got Chairman Kennard coming out to Nebraska. I have

asked him to do one of his field hearings out there and he is going

to do it. We sought to answer the question for the 500-or-so communities in Nebraska to get a specific answer because we keep

struggling up against our inability to actually answer the question.

It is difficult to devise a strategy to achieve the objective if we don’t

know where we are.

And we discovered that there just isn’t the data. We just aren’t

able to do it. So our office has been trying to put it together on our

own and it is exceptionally difficult to do. I do think it is a piece

of work that would benefit us in Congress as we wrestle with the

question of how do we achieve this goal of universal access to enhanced services. But I also think it would be very helpful in the

partnerships that we have developed between the various Federal

agencies, including yours and the FCC and the State public service

commissions.

So I would appreciate it very much if you could do some investigation as to whether or not you have the resources to do it or

whether or not it can be done in cooperation with other Federal

and State agencies that also have the responsibility for carrying

out this law.

Mr. MCLEAN. In the very near future, the Rural Utilities Service

and the NTIA will be coming out with a report which was requested by you, Senator Daschle, Senator Harkin and others giving

an initial assessment of the deployment of advanced services.

One of the findings that we made in that report is that the data

that is publicly available is very difficult to grapple with. But we

were able to analyze public data, to interview engineers, and validate what I think a lot of people understand that the services are

rolling out first in the cities, but that there are some exceptions.

The FCC will be collecting more detailed information in the next

several months which I think will make the evaluation that you request a little bit more comprehensive. And we would very much be

willing to continue work in this area because I think it is vitally

important.

Senator KERREY. Well, Senator Daschle earlier this year had

some meetings with telecom providers, and I find it very interesting that oftentimes the response to the problem is we are already

solving it. And it is very difficult to know if that is true because

we simply don’t have good data that tells us what is the switching

capability in the community, what kind of connectivity is there,

what is the bandwidth capability that communities have, and how

does that compare to other communities throughout the Nation.

As I said, it is so much more important than it was in the old

days when all I had to do was figure out whether or not I could

move voice. In the old days, it was real easy; I knew when I had

it. Today, it is not, and I think it is very important that we get that
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information. Otherwise, it is going to be difficult for us to measure

our response in the correct way.

Mr. MCLEAN. In 1993, this committee, with the House Agriculture Committee, enacted the English amendment to the Rural

Electrification Loan Restructuring Act which called for State modernization planning of telecommunications. That has guided our

work at the Agency, and we tried to design telecommunications

systems which are capable of gracefully evolving into advanced

services.

We believe in our engineering studies that getting the outside

plant right is the most important thing. The distance between the

switch and the customer is the most important factor, and you can

evolve the switch to bring advanced services. So among our R.U.S.

borrowers, I think we have a good handle on the quality of service

and the capability of evolving services to advanced levels. Outside

of the RUS family is where there is a real challenge in grappling

with some of the data.

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Daschle.

Senator DASCHLE. Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this

hearing. I would just want to emphasize how critically important

what Senator Kerrey has just said is understood. And I know you

totally appreciate that, Mr. McLean.

The telecommunications bill was really founded on two pillars. It

was founded on the competitor pillar and the universal access pillar. I think we have got a long way to go on both pillars if we are

going to build them strongly enough to create the kind of infrastructure in this country we need.

But I think, of the two pillars, we are lot farther ahead in competition than we are in universal service. And whether or not we

have universal service in large measure is dependent upon whether

or not we have broadband access, and we don’t have it today in

large portions of rural America. So I just hope that the RUS will

continue to press with all of its ability to ensure that universal

service is more than just a code word, that it really is the reality

out there, and these studies and your work will be imperative in

accomplishing that.

I thank you for your answer to Senator Kerrey, and hopefully we

can continue to work with you on it.

Mr. MCLEAN. Thank you, and we are absolutely committed within the Agency to the principle of universal service and have attempted to be helpful, filing over 26 filings with the Federal Communications Commission to assist them in their implementation of

the Telecom Act.

The CHAIRMAN. Well, thank you very much, Senator Daschle.

Thank you, Mr. McLean. I will work with the distinguished

Ranking Member for prompt action on your nomination in the

Committee, and we hope there will be similar consideration on the

floor. The distinguished Democratic Leader, I know, will help to expedite that.

We thank you for your testimony and your answers, and we wish

you well and look forward to visiting with you.

Mr. MCLEAN. I thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[Whereupon, at 10:10 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.]

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NOMINATION OF MICHAEL VINCENT DUNN

TO BE MEMBER, FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION

THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2000

U.S. SENATE,

COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY,

Washington, DC.

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:01 a.m., in room

SD–106, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Richard G. Lugar,

(Chairman of the Committee), presiding.

Present or submitting a statement: Senators Lugar, Roberts,

Grassley, Harkin, Leahy, Conrad, and Baucus.

STATEMENT OF HON. RICHARD G. LUGAR, A U.S. SENATOR

FROM INDIANA, CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE,

NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY

The CHAIRMAN. This hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee will come to order. The Committee will meet on two matters

this morning. The first will be a confirmation hearing for Michael

V. Dunn to be a member of the Farm Credit Administration Board.

I would just say parenthetically that it has been the policy of our

committee to take up nominations by the administration as

promptly as we could following submission of the proper paperwork

and notification by the Secretary of Agriculture or others in the administration that were responsible. So we are doing that, even

though we have a very important second mission today, and that

is a hearing on concentration and competition in agriculture, this

being the fourth hearing on this subject the Committee has conducted in the year 2000.

First, the confirmation of Mr. Dunn. A native of Iowa, Mr. Dunn

serves currently as the Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at the United States Department of Agriculture.

Prior to that, he was Deputy Under Secretary for Operations and

Management in the rural economic and community development

mission at USDA. In addition, he has served as Administrator of

the former Farmers Home Administration at the Department of

Agriculture.

Mr. Dunn is no stranger to this committee. From 1987 to 1988

he worked as a professional staff member under the chairmanship

of Senator Leahy. The availability, efficiency, and affordability of

agricultural credit remains a very important issue to members of

this committee and to American agriculture in general. As a member of the Farm Credit Administration Board, Mr. Dunn would
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play an important role in the future of farm credit. We are pleased

to have him before the Committee today. We look forward to hearing from him.

Before recognizing Mr. Dunn for his statement, let me recognize

my colleague, Senator Grassley, for any comment he might wish to

make about Mr. Dunn prior to my swearing in the witness and

hearing his testimony. Senator Grassley?

STATEMENT OF HON. CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, A U.S. SENATOR

FROM IOWA

Senator GRASSLEY. Well, I have had an opportunity to speak

about Mr. Dunn many times that he has been before this committee and to remind people that he is from my home State of Iowa,

and we congratulate him on his appointment. More importantly, we

compliment him on doing a very good job in several different capacities here, both in the private sector and the public sector, doing

things for agriculture. And we know that in his further position

that he is going to still continue his outstanding work for agriculture.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator.

Would you rise, Mr. Dunn, and please raise your right hand? 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. DUNN. I do.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you.

Let me mention that Mr. Dunn is accompanied today by his wife,

Brook, and two of their sons, Matt and Carey. Would you please

stand and be recognized? Thank you very much for coming to this

hearing.

Mr. Dunn, you are recognized for your opening testimony.

TESTIMONY OF MICHAEL VINCENT DUNN, OF WEST VIRGINIA,

TO BE MEMBER, FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION

Mr. DUNN. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and thank you

for the kind words from Senator Grassley.

I am honored to be nominated by the President for the appointment to the Board of the Farm Credit Administration. I am very

grateful to the chairman and the Committee for holding this nomination hearing.

This will be the third time that I have appeared before this committee for a nomination: once in 1993 to become the Administrator

of Farmers Home Administration, and again in 1995 for confirmation as a member of the Commodity Credit Corporation and as the

Assistant Secretary for Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory

Programs.

Mr. Chairman, as a former member of the professional staff of

this committee, I know how hard you and the Committee worked

in 1987 to address the agricultural credit crisis that faced this Nation. Hours of hearings, markups, and conference meetings with

the House resulted in the passage of one of the most successful

pieces of legislation ever crafted by this committee.

As a result of the Committee’s hard work, we now have a revitalized Federal lending institution at the Farm Service Agency, a viable secondary market at Farmers Mac for commercial banks, and
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a strong cooperative lending institution in the Farm Credit System

that not only repaid its Federal obligations in full but did it ahead

of schedule. Thanks to this committee, we have a healthy, well-capitalized Farm Credit System with the added safety of an insurance

fund.

Today, the Farm Credit System holds about 27-percent of the $172.8 billion of farm debt, according to Economic Research Service’s December 1999 Agricultural Income and Finance Situation

Outlook Report. However, this same report warns that persistence

in low commodity prices in 2000 will aggravate cash flow problems

in farm businesses. At least one in four farm businesses will not

cover cash expenses. This warning should be of great concern to the

Farm Credit System as it is chartered as a single-purpose lending

institution for agricultural credit. It should also be of concern to

our Federal Government because of the special status that the

Farm Credit System holds as a Government-sponsored entity.

Given the dependency of agriculture on credit and the volatility

of today’s commodity prices, I believe it is imperative to have all

the board members of the Farm Credit Administration positions

filled. This board has an important role to fulfill. As stated in the

Agency’s mission statement, the Farm Credit Administration will

provide a safe and sound competitive Farm Credit System to finance agriculture in rural American as authorized by Congress.

Mr. Chairman, I believe that my background in rural development, agricultural credit, and regulatory programs, coupled with

the valuable experience gained while working for this committee on

agricultural credit, would allow me to provide a positive contribution as a member of the board of the Farm Credit Administration.

Once again, I appreciate the time and effort of the chairman, the

Committee, and the staff in holding this hearing. I will be happy

to answer any questions that you might have.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Mr. Dunn.

My first question is the question we always raise with each

nominee. Do you agree that, if confirmed, you will appear before

any duly constituted committee of Congress if asked?

Mr. DUNN. I do agree.

The CHAIRMAN. I thank you for that response.

Let me just mention as background for this nomination that

there are, in fact, two nomination items, both involved yourself.

One is for the unexpired term of the late Marsha Martin, and that

term expires October 13 this year, 2000. You have also been nominated for a 6-year term following the expiration of that first term.

The normal term of each member of this board is 6-years, and

there are three members of the board.

Now, currently, the other members of the board are Ann

Jorgensen, a Republican, whose term expires May 21, 2002, and

Mr. Michael Reyna, a Democrat, whose term expires May 21, 2004.

The second term for which you are being nominated would expire

apparently in 2006, October 13, 2006.

Now, the predicament is simply this, and that is that you would

be nominated and potentially confirmed for a term that carries

through the next administration, that is, the next President of the

United States, and into the following term of that President or his

or her successor, as the case may be. And there are just three
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members of the board—one of them a Democrat, one a Republican.

Mr Reyna, a Democrat, his term carries through all the way to

May 21, 2004.

Therefore, if you were confirmed for the second term of two

Democrats, a majority, two out of three of the board, are confirmed

really through almost the entirety of that next administration. I

raise that question not in any derogatory fashion with regard to

your nomination, but just simply from the standpoint of the fact we

are having an election in this country this year, which there may

be a Republican nominee elected or there may be a Democratic

nominee elected.

In the latter case, presumably a Democratic nominee, Mr. Gore,

might very well wish for you to continue. The Republican nominee,

Mr. Bush, might not. He might prefer to have two Republicans as

board members, which I think is a reasonable and logical assumption.

So I am not certain what the Committee’s disposition ought to

be of this. I raise this for members to consider. If they don’t consider it in this committee, they certainly will consider it on the

floor of the Senate, and it is an issue I think the administration

needs to consider. But notwithstanding that, we wanted to have

the hearing in good faith to make certain that we move the nomination in a proper way so that all of the issues with regard to your

qualifications were clear. And so if it is the will of the Committee,

we could have a markup and consideration then by the full Senate

of both nominations or one nomination, as the case may be.

But I mention that, not really asking for your comment, but simply as the lay of the land of a political situation that has arisen

as we consider the nomination.

Mr. DUNN. Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN. Yes.

Mr. DUNN. If I could briefly respond to that, because I think it

is a grave consideration for the Committee and for the administration as a whole.

I know this committee during my tenure working here has always been very, very bipartisan. I think everybody involved in it,

staff members are aggies first and then something else later on,

and that has worked very, very well for this particular committee.

I have been nominated in the past by a Republican Governor to

serve on State boards, and I consider myself a professional in this

arena, and I would certainly want to carry out in a bipartisan manner the mandates of Congress.

Notwithstanding that, I think there is also another consideration

here. There was recently an article about the length of time it

takes for nominations to be made, and having gone through this

process for the third time, I can say amen to that. It does take a

considerable amount of time. It is not unheard of for nominations

to go a year or longer.

I think that the volatility that we currently have in commodity

prices simply dictates that we need to have these positions filled,

and we cannot wait the length of time it would take to get a fulfillment. Even if there was a new administration getting a new person

in there, this is not probably a top priority for any administration.
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It is always to get the Secretaries filled immediately. So it may not

be until 2002 that we would have a position filled here.

So I think it is extremely important that we have for the sake

of agriculture, agricultural credit, and the Farm Credit System

that board fully filled.

The CHAIRMAN. I appreciate that comment. My own view is that

we always have tried on this committee to fill every position simply

because all of our boards and the administration of USDA works

better with nominees in place. I would mention that at least it has

been the usual policy in the Farm Credit Administration that after

a term expires, unless there is someone nominated, or at least immediately available—and this is at the discretion of the office holder at the time—that person continues until a successor, maybe

himself, is renominated and confirmed.

But, in any event, this is simply a preliminary issue without regard to qualification, and I want to fence it off in that way.

Let me ask about qualifications. What do you consider your

major accomplishments during your tenure as Under Secretary of

Marketing and Regulatory Programs at USDA or at the Farmers

Home Administration? Can you give some flavor of those achievements?

Mr. DUNN. Well, let me start with the Farmers Home Administration, because that was at a point in time when we were doing

a restructuring of USDA and I was responsible for that total restructuring and moving Farmers Home, the old Farmers Home Administration into the new Farm Service Agency. And that was a

major accomplishment, getting that through and ensuring that it

took place with as little disruption as possible.

Also, for years and years, Farmers Home was known as the lender of last resort, and that always bothered me because I thought

that it really should have been the lender of first opportunity for

people. And for them to be able to do that, that would mandate

that the men and women who worked for Farmers Home Administration offer supervised credit for the recipients of FmHA and now

Farm Service Agency loans. These are folks that could not get

loans from other commercial lending institutions.

And so one of the major pushes that I had as Administrator was

to ensure that we had supervised credit which would thus provide

a greater opportunity for those folks to succeed and eventually

graduate into commercial credit.

As the Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs,

I have had the opportunity to address such issues as concentration

that is coming up. I have been in front of this committee three

times, I believe, on this particular issue.

The CHAIRMAN. This year.

Mr. DUNN. Yes, Sir. And it is a major concern for us. The organic

rule coming out of Ag Marketing Service, the milk marketing order

reform, those have been major issues at Marketing and Regulatory

Programs. And the overall protection of animal and plant health

under APHIS has also been a major concern with the invasive species that we have, ensuring the eradication of such diseases as tuberculosis, brucellosis, pseudorabies, etc.

As the Under Secretary, I was responsible for over one-half of all

the statutory laws covering the Department of Agriculture, and
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that gave me a great deal of experience in writing regulations and

being the chief regulator.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much for those responses.

Let me call—I appreciate you were here first, Senator Conrad,

but I want to recognize my colleague, Senator Leahy, the distinguished former Chairman of the Committee and, likewise, a very

close friend of our nominee. Senator Leahy?

STATEMENT OF HON. PATRICK J. LEAHY, A U.S. SENATOR

FROM VERMONT

Senator LEAHY. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank you for

your usual courtesy and, Senator Conrad, I thank you, too.

Mike, I have to apologize. I seem to have hit every single wrong

street on the way coming in today. In fact, for the traffic reports,

all they had to do was put something on my car and they could tell

you where every accident occurred. I was not in any of them, but

it was always three cars ahead. I wanted to be here right at the

opening of this because, Mr. Chairman, I wanted to just say a few

words about Mike Dunn, not only one of the most professional people I have ever worked with but also a close personal friend.

I don’t get to really introduce him to the Committee. He is Under

Secretary of Agriculture. He was on my staff on this committee. He

is well-known to everybody on the Committee. He has worked very

well with both Republicans and Democrats on this committee. I

can’t think of a better nominee for this position. I mean that truly.

Mike worked night and day in 1987 for months after month on

the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987. You may recall that at the beginning of that, Mr. Chairman, his hair, your hair, and mine were

jet black, and you see what happened to all three of us. The only

difference is you retained your hair.

[Laughter.]

The CHAIRMAN. So did Mike.

Senator LEAHY. No, but seriously, the Agricultural Credit Act of

1987, that was hailed a landmark legislation by Time Magazine.

Mike, I think you remember that. It brought the Farm Credit System back from the brink of financial disaster.

A lot of us worked together on that act along with Mike. Mr.

Chairman, you did and Senator Cochran and Daschle and Helms

and Harkin, McConnell and I. Not only did we save the Farm

Credit System, but I think the thing that gave us all the most

pleasure, we did it without costing taxpayers a penny. And Mike

helped bring us through all the different things to do that. I think

that work alone would make him a great nominee for this job, but

he also worked with the farm credit banks of Omaha as vice president, doing an outstanding job as Under Secretary for Marketing

and Regulatory Programs.

I am glad to see Brook and Matt and Carey here. It’s also ‘‘Bring

Your Child to Work Day.’’ I want you to know, this is not your

Dad’s normal workday. He doesn’t usually get in here and get

praised by everybody. There is always somebody that might send

a letter who doesn’t really understand what he does and doesn’t

praise him, but here he will be. It is like Ed Baron who has

brought Stephen here to work with him, and others have.
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So I hope you will be confirmed quickly, but, Mr. Chairman, I

just wanted to make those personal comments because he is a dear

friend, but he is also one of the most extraordinarily qualified people I have worked with in my years in the Senate.

The CHAIRMAN. I thank the Senator.

Senator Grassley.

Senator GRASSLEY. I have no questions. I made my comments already, and I will leave it go at that and congratulate him a second

time.

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Conrad.

STATEMENT OF HON. KENT CONRAD, A U.S. SENATOR FROM

NORTH DAKOTA

Senator CONRAD. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to join Senator Leahy in praising this nominee. I have known Mike Dunn as

a consummate professional, both before he served in the administration and during his time in the administration.

I would hope, Mr. Chairman, given the fact we have an opening

and we have an administration in place, that we would not shrink

from sending this name forward and hopefully that he will receive

confirmation.

You know, I do worry about kind of what we see happening to

nominees. I hope very much for whatever the next administration

is that we find a better way on a bipartisan basis to deal with

these nominees, because my observation is both Republican nominees in previous administrations, nominees in this administration,

have been put through a tortuous course that doesn’t serve anybody very well. And the nomination process has gotten worse and

worse and worse from my observation, more partisan, and I am beginning to wonder if anybody is going to want to serve in any of

these administrations. We have become so intrusive and so difficult

with nominees.

Here we have a case where there is an opening on the Administration that is critically important to the administration of credit

for agriculture. We need to have that third position filled. Mr.

Dunn is eminently qualified and I think has demonstrated to everybody that he is evenhanded. I have never seen a hint of partisanship, I might say—not a hint of it—in his positions. And I

hope we take that into account.

He is a professional. This is an agency that desperately needs

professional leadership, and I hope we will treat it in that way.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, if I could say on a personal note, my experiences with Mr. Dunn—I mean, there have been times, frankly,

I have disagreed with him, sometimes heatedly, which he will recall. But I have admired him because he has been professional and

he is deeply knowledgeable. And goodness knows, with the state of

agriculture today, we need that kind of quality and that kind of

character.

I thank the Chairman.

Senator LEAHY. Mr. Chairman, if I can just add something to

that. One thing, too, that makes a difference is who is—I mean, the

responsibility has to be so strongly on members. What Senator

Conrad has said is correct. And, Mr. Chairman, at the risk of having you drummed out of the Republican Party, let me say that you
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have always been one who has kept his word, who has worked to

lower this decibel level.

I am afraid some of us don’t, and I think that what Senator

Conrad has said is true. We get too intrusive. We get too much the

point of almost as though people have some terrible ulterior motive

if they want to serve the public interest and want to serve in Government, usually at great financial sacrifice. And I compliment you

for what you have done. I think all of us in both parties have got

to follow what Senator Conrad has said and tell our leadership and

everything else we have got to lower the decibel level.

The CHAIRMAN. I thank the Senator for his comment. I would

just thank the Committee, really, for approaching the nominations

in a bipartisan fashion. We have, I think, expedited each of the

nominations and have brought them to a vote quickly in our committee, and in due course on the Senate floor, they have all been

dealt with favorably. I think that is sort of beyond our pay grade,

but we will at least in this committee attempt to do the best that

we can.

Senator Roberts.

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

KANSAS

Senator ROBERTS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I like Mike and

wish him well.

I yield back.

[Laughter.]

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Baucus.

Senator BAUCUS. Did you say ‘‘Mike’’ or ‘‘Ike’’?

[Laughter.]

Senator ROBERTS. Well, both, if you want to bring it up.

STATEMENT OF HON. MAX BAUCUS, A U.S. SENATOR FROM

MONTANA

Senator BAUCUS. Mr. Chairman, all of us know Mike Dunn and

have the very same view. I cannot think of anybody that I have

met and dealt with in this administration or any other who is

more—the word ‘‘professional’’ has been used here. That is certainly accurate. I would add a few more adjectives. One is he is

very open. He has always got an open mind. He is always thinking

and asking what you have on your mind, not closed-minded or dogmatic.

In addition to that, he is always upbeat, always optimistic, always trying to find a solution, which is, I think, a hallmark of a

very good public servant, serving, trying to find answers to some

of these problems. And he is certainly one who knows agriculture

backwards, forwards, and inside out, just really a good guy.

Whatever you do, Mike, I wish you very well, and I hope this

nomination proceeds very quickly, and in other jobs you have in

life, I know you will do well, and I wish you the very best.

Mr. DUNN. Thank you, Senator.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Baucus.

Senator Harkin.
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STATEMENT OF HON. TOM HARKIN, A U.S. SENATOR FROM

IOWA, RANKING MEMBER, COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE,

NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY

Senator HARKIN. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I apologize. I went over to the Russell Building for this hearing, and then

I figured out it was someplace else. I should look at my schedule.

First of all, I am just proud to have this opportunity to express

my strong support for the nomination of Mike Dunn to the board

of the Farm Credit Administration. I can tell all of you I have

known Mike Dunn for 30-years now—30-years—and I can assure

you that he is eminently well qualified for this position. His experience and background in ag credit and all the related matters will

serve him well. I can tell you that deep down he has a strong commitment to agriculture and to our farm families, rural communities. He is a very conscientious and dedicated public servant.

I think it would be hard to find anyone with a stronger background in farm credit matters, the positions he has held in the

Farm Credit System institutions, area director, Administrator of

the former Farmers Home Administration. He did really great

work for this committee helping us find solutions to the farm credit

crisis of the 1980s, and he worked long hours and long weeks to

get over those credit problems in the 1980s.

So, Mr. Chairman, he is eminently well qualified. He will do a

great job on the FCA Board, and I hope we can get this nomination

through and get him on board in a hurry. He is a great guy. Congratulations, Mike.

Mr. DUNN. Thank you, Senator.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Harkin.

Are there any further questions of the nominee by Senators?

[No response.]

Hearing no requests for further comment, we thank you, Mr.

Dunn, for appearing before the Committee, and we will try to

progress with our consideration of the nomination as promptly as

possible.

Mr. DUNN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate that very

much.

[Whereupon, at 9:30 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.]

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