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30–236 PDF 2006

S. HRG. 109–713

NOMINATIONS FOR DR. GALE A. BUCHANAN,

MARC L. KESSELMAN, BOYDE K. RUTHERFORD,

AND LINDA A. STRACHAN

HEARING

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, 

NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY

UNITED STATES SENATE

ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

MARCH 14, 2006

Printed for the use of the 

Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

(

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

COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY

SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia, Chairman 

RICHARD G. LUGAR, Indiana 

THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi 

MITCH MCCONNELL, Kentucky 

PAT ROBERTS, Kansas 

JAMES M. TALENT, Missouri 

CRAIG THOMAS, Wyoming 

RICK SANTORUM, Pennsylvania 

NORM COLEMAN, Minnesota 

MICHEAL D. CRAPO, Idaho 

CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa 

TOM HARKIN, Iowa 

PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont 

KENT CONRAD, North Dakota 

MAX BAUCUS, Montana 

BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, Arkansas 

DEBBIE A. STABENOW, Michigan 

E. BENJAMIN NELSON, Nebraska 

MARK DAYTON, Minnesota 

KEN SALAZAR, Colorado

MARTHA SCOTT POINDEXTER, Majority Staff Director 

DAVID L. JOHNSON, Majority Chief Counsel 

VERNIE HUBERT, Majority Deputy Chief Counsel 

ROBERT E. STURM, Chief Clerk 

MARK HALVERSON, Minority Staff Director 

(II) 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

HEARING(S):

Nominations for Dr. Gale A. Buchanan, Marc L. Kesselman, Boyde K. Rutherford, and Linda Strachan .................................................................................... 1

Tuesday March 14, 2006

STATEMENTS PRESENTED BY SENATORS 

Chambliss, Hon. Saxby, a U.S. Senator from Georgia, 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 ............................................................. 10

WITNESSES 

Buchanan, Gale A. Dr., Adel, Georgia, Nominated to be Under Secretary 

for Research, Education, and Economics ........................................................... 2

Kesselman, Marc L., Bethesda, Maryland, Nominated to be General Counsel 

of the Department of Agriculture ....................................................................... 4

Rutherford, Boyd K., Columbia, Maryland, Nominated to be an Assistant 

Secretary of Agriculture ...................................................................................... 6

Strachan, Linda A., Nominated to be an Assistant Secretary of Agriculture .... 8

APPENDIX 

PREPARED STATEMENTS: 

Harkin, Hon. Tom ............................................................................................ 22

Buchanan, Gale A. Dr ...................................................................................... 24

Kesselman, Marc L ........................................................................................... 30

Rutherford, Boyd K .......................................................................................... 32

Strachan, Linda A ............................................................................................ 37

DOCUMENT(S) SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD: 

Talent, Hon. Jim ............................................................................................... 40

Biograpical information of Dr. Gale A. Buchanan ......................................... 43

Biograpical information of Marc L. Kesselman .............................................. 154

Biograpical information of Boyd K. Rutherford ............................................. 175

Biograpical information of Linda A. Strachan ............................................... 191

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD: 

Chambliss, Hon. Saxby .................................................................................... 216

Harkin, Hon. Tom ............................................................................................ 218

Nelson, Hon. Ben .............................................................................................. 226

Talent, Hon. Jim ............................................................................................... 235

(1)

NOMINATIONS FOR DR. GALE A. BUCHANAN, 

MARC L. KESSELMAN, BOYDE K. RUTHERFORD, AND LINDA STRACHAN 

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

U.S. SENATE, 

COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY, 

Washington, DC. 

The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:06 a.m., in room 

SR–332, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Saxby Chambliss, 

chairman of the committee, presiding. 

Present or submitting a statement: Senators Chambliss, Lugar, 

and Harkin. 

STATEMENT OF HON. SAXBY CHAMBLISS, A U.S. SENATOR 

FROM GEORGIA, CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, 

NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY 

The CHAIRMAN. Good morning. We are here today to conduct a 

hearing on four nominations to important posts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The nominees are: Dr. Gale A. Buchanan, to 

be Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics; Marc 

L. Kesselman, to be General Counsel; Boyd K. Rutherford, to be 

Assistant Secretary for Administration; and Linda Strachan, to be 

Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations. 

I have had the opportunity to meet with all four nominees and 

review their backgrounds. We all appreciate their willingness to 

come forward and to engage in public service. 

While we welcome all the nominees, I do want to make a special 

comment about my good friend and my fellow Georgian, Dr. Gale 

Buchanan. Dr. Buchanan has been a dedicated public servant for 

his entire life. He has been the dean and director of the University 

of Georgia College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, the 

interim director of Georgia Agricultural Experiment Stations, and 

the dean and director of Alabama Agricultural Experiment Stations, and a professor at the University of Georgia and Auburn. He 

spent some time at Auburn, then decided to come to Georgia to get 

an education, Dick. 

[Laughter.] 

The CHAIRMAN. We are glad he made that step in the right direction. He is also a retired colonel in the Army National Guard. Dr. 

Buchanan has a distinguished record of service to our country, and 

we are very pleased that he has agreed to come to Washington and 

continue that service at the Federal level. He has been a dear 

friend of mine for many years and Gale, we welcome you to this 

2

committee today, as we do to all of you, and we welcome you to 

public service in Washington. 

Once again, I do want to welcome all the nominees. Thank you 

for appearing before the committee today. 

For the information of Senators and staff, I would ask that any 

questions of the nominees for the record be submitted by 5 p.m. 

today in order to expedite the confirmation process. 

Senator Harkin is going to be here shortly, and when he does arrive, we will give him the opportunity to make any opening statement. 

At this time we are going to take statements from the individual 

nominees, but before we do that, I will ask all four of you if you 

will please stand up and raise your right hand’s. 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. BUCHANAN. I do. 

Mr. KESSELMAN. I do. 

Mr. RUTHERFORD. I do. 

Ms. STRACHAN. I do. 

The CHAIRMAN. To each of you--and I will ask you to affirmatively respond to this--do you agree that, if confirmed, you will appear before any duly constituted committee of Congress if so asked? 

Mr. BUCHANAN. I will. 

Mr. KESSELMAN. I will. 

Mr. RUTHERFORD. Yes. 

Ms. STRACHAN. I will. 

The CHAIRMAN. Let the record reflect that all responded affirmatively. Thank you very much. 

Dr. Buchanan, we will start with you, and, Mr. Kesselman, Mr. 

Rutherford, Ms. Strachan, we will come this way. So, Dr. Buchanan, we welcome any comments you have this morning, and 

any introduction of your family members here. 

STATEMENT OF GALE A. BUCHANAN, OF GEORGIA, TO BE 

UNDER SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE FOR RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND ECONOMICS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Mr. BUCHANAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and distinguished 

members of the committee. I want to thank you for the opportunity 

of appearing before you today, and I would like to have my full report included for the record, but I want to speak from an abbreviated form. 

The CHAIRMAN. Without objection. 

Mr. BUCHANAN. I am honored and humbled to be nominated by 

our President to be considered for the position of Under Secretary 

of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics in the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture. 

With me today is Carol, my wife and greatest supporter. Not 

with me are our children--Judy, Kim, and Brad--and grandson Stephen. 

I have been associated with agriculture my entire life. I was born 

and raised on a general farm in Madison County, Florida, and 

growing up on a family farm, I learned early in life the fundamenVerDate 0ct 09 2002 09:34 Dec 14, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\DOCS\30236.TXT TOSHD PsN: LAVERN
3

tals of farming, acceptance of responsibility, and the nature of rural 

life. 

After graduation from high school, I enrolled at the University 

of Florida where I received a degree in agronomy. After a tour with 

the U.S. Army 2nd Infantry Division, I returned to the University 

of Florida where I completed requirements for a degree in weed 

science. Rounding out my education, I enrolled at Iowa State University. In addition to completing the requirements for the Ph.D. 

degree in plant physiology, I learned something about Midwest agriculture. I have also completed postdoctoral research in biochemistry at the University of Georgia and in weed ecology/biology 

at the Weed Research Organization in Oxford, England. 

My first job was at Auburn University where I served as a researcher and teacher in weed science and as an administrator of 

the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station. 

In 1986, I relocated to the University of Georgia where I served 

as resident director of the Coastal Plain Experiment Station in 

Tifton and later as dean and director of the College of Agriculture 

and Environmental Sciences in Athens. I retired from the university in April of 2005. 

I have also been involved in other activities that have broadened 

my experience in agriculture. My brothers and I have been engaged 

in a general farming operation growing corn and soybeans. 

I have been active in several scientific societies and professional 

organizations both as a participant and in various leadership roles. 

This includes leadership roles in the National Association of State 

Universities and Land Grant Colleges Board on Agriculture Assembly. I have served as president of the American Peanut Research 

and Education Society, the Southern Weed Science Society, and the 

Council for Agricultural Science and Technology. 

If confirmed, I look forward to continuing to serve because I believe in American agriculture. It is among our most important endeavors and enables the success of our country and, indeed, our 

civilization. Successful agriculture makes all other of man’s endeavors possible. I also might add that agriculture is an important part 

of our economy. A major contributor to the success of agriculture 

is information, knowledge, and technology gained through research 

and education programs. Few would argue that one of the prime 

factors in agriculture’s success has been the effectiveness of these 

programs that tie local, State, and the Federal Governments, along 

with our universities, close together. Our system has been so successful through these joint efforts that these programs are the envy 

of much of the world. 

I am confident that the continued strength and success in the future of American agriculture is contingent upon strong and effective research and education programs. Consequently, I believe 

these programs must be supported and carefully nurtured to ensure their future success. Agriculture will continue to provide food 

and fiber but, in addition, will be called to play a major role in addressing the Nation’s energy needs in the future. Clearly, this is a 

challenge, but a fantastic opportunity. Research and education programs will make the difference in this success. 

In the U.S. Department of Agriculture, we have strong in-house 

capabilities through ARS, ERS, and NASS, all supported by the 

4

National Agriculture Library. Another of our great strengths in agriculture is the unique relationship that brings together the Federal Government and our States through CSREES. This program 

ties the Department closely to the Nation’s land grant universities, 

including our 1862, our 1890, and our 1994 institutions as well as 

other universities that have agricultural programs. 

The position of Under Secretary carries an important responsibility in working with each of these institutions as well as with a 

multitude of other groups in assuring the success of research and 

education programs. 

If confirmed, I would look forward to being on the point in working with you, the Department, the Nation’s land grant and other 

agricultural universities, American industry, and others in assuring the success of research and education programs. I pledge to you 

that, if confirmed, I will work as hard and as effectively as I can 

to support American agriculture through these programs in the 

U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

Thank you for your consideration, and I would like to respond to 

your questions and hear your comments at the proper time. Thank 

you, sir. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Buchanan can be found in the 

appendix on page 24.] 

[The biographical information of Dr. Buchanan can be found in 

the appendix on page 43.] 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. 

Mr. Kesselman, again, we are pleased to have you here, and I 

would state for the record that we have a statement from Senator 

Lamar Alexander of Tennessee by way of introduction of Mr. 

Kesselman and in support of Mr. Kesselman’s nomination, and it 

will be entered in the record. 

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Kesselman, we are happy to hear from you. 

STATEMENT OF MARC L. KESSELMAN, OF MARYLAND, TO BE 

GENERAL COUNSEL, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Mr. KESSELMAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Senator Harkin, and 

other distinguished members of this committee. Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to appear before you today. I am 

deeply honored to be here as the President’s nominee for General 

Counsel of the United States Department of Agriculture. 

I would like to express my gratitude to President Bush for nominating me for this position. If confirmed, it would be a privilege to 

serve under the leadership of Secretary Johanns and Deputy Secretary Conner. I also want to thank Senator Alexander for his support. 

With me here today is my wife, Risa Cherry Kesselman, along 

with our daughter, Ileana. Our 6–month-old son, Adam, is at home 

today. I want to thank Risa for her constant support and encouragement. She is a talented lawyer and a dedicated public servant 

in her own right. 

My parents, Sally and Fred Kesselman of Memphis, Tennessee, 

are also here. I am forever indebted to them for sacrificing so much 

to give me the opportunities that led me here today. Also joining 

me today are several friends and colleagues, and several more people listening over the Web, including my sister, who could not be 

5

here because she is abroad, and Risa’s parents and my grandfather, 

who couldn’t make it for health reasons. 

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the courtesies that this committee 

has extended in advance of the hearing. If confirmed I look forward 

to the opportunity to work with all of you and your staff. I am committed to developing a close and cooperative working relationship 

with this committee and with the Congress. In all of our dealings, 

I would start with one very simple premise: We all share the goal 

of a Department of Agriculture that works for America’s farmers, 

ranchers, producers, consumers, and rural communities. 

To achieve this goal, my primary role would be to provide the 

best possible legal advice and counsel to the Department’s leadership team on the many challenging issues facing USDA. Whether 

the issue of a particular day involves our Nation’s 192 million acres 

of national forest lands, the food assistance programs that serve 

one in five Americans every year, protecting plant and animal 

health, or fighting to open export markets for America’s agricultural products, I will work tirelessly and to the best of my ability 

to faithfully discharge the duties of my office. 

I am excited by the opportunity to contribute to the important 

mission of the Department and, if confirmed, stand ready to tackle 

the legal challenges confronting the Department. I have worked as 

a lawyer in the Federal Government and in the private sector. I 

began my legal career as a law clerk for Judge Julia Gibbons, who 

was then Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the 

Western District of Tennessee. She was a key influence in shaping 

my legal career and instilled in me a great respect for the law. I 

then spent several years as a litigator with a private law firm and 

in the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. In these jobs, 

I learned the nuts and bolts of trying cases. I left private practice 

for The Department of Justice for the opportunity to represent the 

United States in constitutional matters. 

I currently serve as the Deputy General Counsel of the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) where I provide legal advice and 

analysis on a wide variety of statutory, legislative, regulatory, administrative, and policy issues. In this position, I have worked with 

USDA attorneys, and I know firsthand that the Office of General 

Counsel has an outstanding, highly experienced career legal staff. 

If confirmed, I look forward to working with them and learning 

from them. 

I also look forward to contributing to the effective, citizen-centered, results-oriented management of the Department and its programs. It is, however, not sufficient that the Department be run efficiently. It must also ensure equal opportunity for all individuals. 

I share the vision expressed by Secretary Johanns in his Civil 

Rights Policy Statement when he said, ‘‘We must strive for a workplace that respects differences and embraces diversity. Our programs and services must be accessible and delivered to all of our 

customers fairly and with dignity. There can be no exceptions or 

excuses.’’ If confirmed, I will work to implement this vision. 

In closing, I would like to thank the committee for holding this 

hearing and for considering my nomination to be the Department’s 

next General Counsel. It would be an honor and a privilege for me 

to serve our President and the American people in this position. 

6

Should you see fit to recommend my confirmation to the Senate, 

and should I be confirmed, I will devote all of my energy and effort 

to doing the kind of job that merits your confidence. 

I would be very pleased to answer any questions you have. 

Thank you again, Mr. Chairman. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Kesselman can be found in the 

appendix on page 30.] 

[The biographical information of Mr. Kesselman can be found in 

the appedix on page 154.] 

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

Mr. Rutherford, as we allow you to make a statement, I would 

note for the record and will introduce into the record without objection two letters of recommendation with respect to your nomination--one from Mr. David R. Craig, County Executive of Harford 

County, Bel Air, Maryland; also a letter from Mr. Robert S. Downs 

of the law firm of Miles and Stockbridge in support of your nomination. And these will be so entered. 

[The letters of recommendation were not submitted for the 

record.] 

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Rutherford, welcome. 

STATEMENT OF BOYD K. RUTHERFORD, OF MARYLAND, TO BE 

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR DEPARTMENTAL ADMINISTRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Mr. RUTHERFORD. Thank you, and good morning, Mr. Chairman 

and Senator Lugar. I am honored to sit here before you today. I 

am humbled by the President’s nomination and the confidence he 

and Secretary Johanns have in my ability to serve as Assistant 

Secretary for Administration. 

I am joined today by my family: my wife, Monica; my daughter, 

Lauren; my mother, Dorothy Rutherford; and other family and 

friends. Our youngest daughter, Kristen, could not attend this 

morning as there is testing in Howard County, Maryland, today. 

Also, our adult, Marshall, who lives in Southern California, is unable to join us because of work obligations. 

I appreciate this opportunity to highlight my administrative experience and qualifications for the position that we are here to discuss today. 

On January 16, 2003, I was nominated by Governor Robert L. 

Ehrlich and later confirmed by the Maryland State Senate to the 

position of Secretary of the Maryland Department of General Services, or DGS. At DGS, we are responsible for security, maintenance, construction, and engineering services of State facilities, including the historic State House and legislative office buildings in 

Annapolis. We are also the primary procurement agency for the 

State, procuring over $1 billion in contracts per year. 

Our mission at DGS is to serve Maryland and its citizens by ensuring State agencies are able to achieve their respective missions 

in a safe, efficient, and effective manner. Accordingly, we focus on 

customer service. Upon my arrival to the department, I found that 

many of our customer concerns were going unaddressed; in response, we initiated a concept that I saw implemented during my 

tenure at the United States General Services Administration that 

called for a single point of contact. In the past, customer agencies 

7

would voice their concerns with regard to facilities or other items 

to whomever they came in contact with and often outside of the 

area of responsibility. To correct this problem, we vested responsibility for customer service within a newly created Office of External 

Affairs, within the Office of the Secretary. Now all divisional leaders know that customer concerns that are outside of their division 

or cross divisions are to be referred to External Affairs for followup and resolution. 

My focus on customer service started in my early career as a 

sales representative for the old Control Data Corporation. I found 

success as a salesman by focusing on servicing existing customers. 

By being personally responsive to the customer needs, it engendered confidence on the part of our customers and loyalty in the 

most competitive environments. 

In addition to emphasizing customer service, the department has 

been able to help Governor Ehrlich turn around the State’s budget 

challenges through improved efficiencies and more effective resource utilization. With the support of an excellent staff, DGS has 

been able to save the State over $78 million in the 3 years that I 

have served as Secretary. Now, $78 million may seem small when 

compared to Federal budgets, but it does represent at least 1 year 

of our general fund budget in the department. 

Before concluding, I would like to express my support and appreciation for agriculture and its impact on our lives. Being a city boy, 

as I was born and reared right here in Washington, D.C., one 

might ask how did I get considered for this opportunity. I asked 

that question myself. 

First, the position of Assistant Secretary for Departmental Administration is a management position. The chief function is to ensure that the Secretary and the Department in general have the 

tools and support necessary to carry out the important mission of 

USDA. Unless USDA is able to operate efficiently and effectively, 

it cannot provide the essential services needed to ensure that 

American consumers continue to enjoy some of the lowest costs and 

safest foods in the world. 

Second, during my tenure in State government, I have grown to 

understand the significant impact of agriculture on Maryland as 

well as the national economy. Maryland is often looked at as an 

urban/suburban small State. However, many people are surprised 

by the impact of agriculture on the State’s economy, ranging from 

the fisheries on the Chesapeake Bay, the poultry industry on the 

Eastern Shore, the horse breeding and training facilities in the 

North/Central portions of the State, and all the industries that support them contribute billions of dollars to the State’s economy. 

Last, the area of bioenergy is a significant but small overlap with 

some of the work I have been doing over the past year at General 

Services. The Maryland Department of General Services has been 

in the lead of supporting legislation currently before the Maryland 

Legislature to require the use of biodiesel in the State’s diesel fleet. 

In addition, our department is in the process of installing the first 

State-operated ethanol filling station at the Baltimore State Office 

Complex. Accordingly, I look forward to continuing this effort as 

well as supporting the mission of USDA in expanding the use of 

bio-based products. 

8

In conclusion, if confirmed as Assistant Secretary of Administration, I will make sure that Departmental Administration is customer service oriented with a focus on providing the services needed to allow the USDA to carry out its mission. 

I appreciate this opportunity to be before you today, and I await 

your questions. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Rutherford can be found in the 

appendix on page 32.] 

[The biographical information of Mr. Rutherford can be found in 

the appendix on page 175.] 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. 

Ms. Strachan, we look forward to hearing your comments. 

STATEMENT OF LINDA A. STRACHAN, OF THE DISTRICT OF 

COLUMBIA, TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR CONGRESSIONAL RELATIONS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Ms. STRACHAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. Chairman, Senator Lugar, thank you for considering my 

nomination as Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Congressional 

Relations. I am honored to appear before you today, and thank you 

for the opportunity to introduce my family. 

Behind me is my mother, Queet Strachan, and she is from South 

Carolina; my brother, Steve, and his wife, Martie, and they are 

from Wilmington, Delaware; my Uncle Bruce--and I could go on. I 

have got two nieces, a godson, lots of aunts and uncles--this whole 

section. So thank you for giving me the opportunity to introduce 

them. 

I wish to thank President Bush for nominating me for this position and Secretary Johanns and Deputy Secretary Conner for their 

support of my appointment. I have tremendous respect for the Department of Agriculture and the community it represents. I recognize the importance of rural America and agriculture to our Nation. And, if confirmed, I look forward to having the opportunity to 

work with this committee to promote our common goals for U.S. agriculture. 

At a very early age, my brother and I came to Capitol Hill. We 

sat in the Senate Gallery and on the Senate floor speaking was 

Senator Everett Dirksen. I will never forget his voice, and I will 

never forget his presence. Little did I know that many years later 

I would end up working in the Majority Leader’s office for Senator 

Baker, his son-in-law. I would like to express my gratitude and respect to Senator Baker for teaching me the ‘‘ways of the Senate’’ 

and for guiding me toward public service. 

Before coming to Washington, I was a 6th grade social studies 

teacher in Virginia Beach, Virginia. And as part of a lesson on the 

legislative process, my students and I drafted a proposed bill. We 

worked with our State legislators and actually got it introduced in 

the General Assembly in Virginia. We went to Richmond to lobby 

for its passage, and as luck would have it, we were successful in 

getting the bill passed and signed by the Governor that year. Because of our efforts, the Commonwealth of Virginia has an official 

State shell, and that is the oyster shell. After this experience, I left 

teaching and headed to Washington. 

9

Mr. Chairman, I have spent 14 years in Federal service working 

at the Department of State and the Environmental Protection 

Agency. During this time, I learned the importance of working 

closely and cooperatively with Congress, State and local officials, as 

well as a broad range of constituent groups on various policy initiatives. 

Most recently, I worked for an agribusiness company, Monsanto, 

which is headquartered, in St. Louis, Missouri. In this position, I 

spent a significant amount of time traveling throughout farm country. During my tenure, I gained tremendous respect and admiration for farmers who work to provide Americans with a safe and 

affordable food supply. I have had the pleasure of working with 

several members and staff on this committee and others on a variety of issues, including biotechnology acceptance and conservation 

programs. 

If confirmed by the Senate, I will apply the skills, knowledge, 

and experiences I have gained over the years to represent the 

views of the administration and the Department of Agriculture on 

matters before this committee. If confirmed, I pledge that I will 

make sure your views are accurately conveyed and understood at 

the Department. I will keep the lines of communication open and 

will strive to see that your concerns--and those of your constituents--are answered in a timely manner. 

Mr. Chairman, thank you for giving me the opportunity to testify 

today. It is a great honor for me and for my family. Thank you for 

your consideration, and if you have any questions, I will be more 

than happy to answer them. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Strachan can be found in the appendix on page 37.] 

[The biographical information of Ms. Strachan can be found in 

the appendix on page 191.] 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, and each of you, for your comments, 

and we are pleased to see all your family here. They are deservedly 

proud of you, and it says a lot that you have got so many folks here 

in support of you. So welcome to all of you. 

Mr. Rutherford, as I told you in my meeting with you previously, 

Governor Ehrlich is a very close personal friend. He and I were 

elected to Congress together, and knowing the great respect that 

he has for you, we are not going to worry about you not being able 

to drive a tractor down there. 

[Laughter.] 

The CHAIRMAN. We are going to let Dr. Buchanan drive that 

tractor. 

Mr. RUTHERFORD. Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. We are just going to let you make the good policy. That is what that is all about. 

Before I begin the questioning, I will turn to my ranking member, my good friend Senator Harkin, for any comments he has to 

make. 

10

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 

welcome our four nominees to the committee today, obviously all 

well qualified to fill these positions. 

First of all, Mr. Chairman, I know that Dr. Buchanan has been 

a Georgian for about 20 years, but in reading his resume, I see that 

he traveled to Iowa State University to get his Ph.D., my alma 

mater. So I guess we can both claim him--OK?--as one of our own 

from Iowa State. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator HARKIN. General Counsel office, again, the position must 

be filled by someone who appreciates the diversity of USDA programs. Farm programs, crop insurance, conservation, food stamps, 

school lunches--all those things have to be taken into account and 

require the best legal advice. 

We rely on the Assistant Secretary for Administration to help 

keep the Department running and to make the most effective and 

efficient use of the resources that we devote, Mr. Rutherford. And 

again, we here in Congress really rely upon having a good, conscientious person filling the position of Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs. I have known and worked with Linda Strachan 

for a number of years, with Monsanto, and, again, I could not ask 

for a better working relationship and keeping open lines of communication which are just vital to us here in Congress. And I guess 

I did not know that your tutor had been Senator Baker, but you 

had a great tutor in Senator Howard Baker. And so I just have 

every confidence that Linda Strachan will fill this position admirably and well and will excel in these responsibilities. 

So four good nominees, Mr. Chairman. I welcome them and look 

forward to supporting them and hope we can get them through as 

expeditiously as possible. 

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

appendix on page 22.] 

The CHAIRMAN. Great. Thank you very much. 

Dr. Buchanan, you know that one of my pet projects is agricultural research or research in general, whether it is agriculture, defense, science, health, whatever. I think it certainly portends for 

the future of this country. 

You have worked as an agricultural scientist and within the experiment station and university system for virtually your entire career, and we will take particular note that you did get your Ph.D. 

at Iowa State, and in spite of that, we know that you know an 

awful lot about agriculture. 

[Laughter.] 

The CHAIRMAN. Actually, those folks at Iowa State, Tom, are becoming even more and more important, and, you know, we have got 

a special issue that just came up in the last several days where the 

University of Georgia and Iowa State collaborated on our BSE 

issue. And Iowa State is such a great university, particularly from 

an agriculture perspective. 

As Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics, you 

will have the opportunity and responsibility to lead the entire U.S. 

11

agricultural research system. What issues or problems have you 

witnessed in your past positions that you would now like to address? What goals have you set for the research, education, and economics mission? What would you like to accomplish during your 

tenure in this position? 

Mr. BUCHANAN. Thank you, Senator Chambliss. That certainly is 

a good and far-reaching question and one that I have thought 

about. And I guess if I had to sum up what I would really like to 

accomplish, it is to do everything I can to strengthen the research 

and education aspects throughout agriculture. And, of course, clearly one of the first things you always look at is how do you fund 

agricultural research and education, but I look at more how we can 

find ways to work together among all various entities. Having been 

involved in the land grant university system and watched over the 

past several decades efforts to develop more collaborative relationships among universities, I think that is something that I want to 

try to do, that is to strengthen cooperative relationships among all 

universities, including The Agricultural Research Service, but even 

more important is to find ways to get more agricultural research 

throughout the existing universities. I know at the University of 

Georgia anytime you can get scientists in other parts of the university to work on agriculture-related problems, it is to our advantage. 

And so I think that if I had one single goal I want to do, it is 

to try to build more collaborative relationships among everybody 

that can contribute to the solving of problems in agriculture. 

Senator T4Harkin. Mr. Chairman, if you would excuse me, I 

have an FDA hearing on Ag Appropriations at this very time, and 

because of this BSE issue and FDA is here, I have got to go and 

attend to that. 

The CHAIRMAN. Sure. 

Senator HARKIN. So I apologize, but I just wanted to be here, 

again, to welcome our nominees and say that on our side we hope 

that we can get them through as quickly as possible. They are all 

well qualified. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. Tell those appropriators we are talking about ag research. We want more money. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator HARKIN. I got my marching orders. Thanks. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thanks, Tom. 

Funding for agricultural research has not kept pace with the 

Federal investments in other areas of science and research. This is 

going to be one of your biggest challenges. Now, you somewhat alluded to that. Setting aside that challenge, what are the greatest 

scientific issues that you think are facing agricultural research in 

the United States? 

Mr. BUCHANAN. That is another good question, and, clearly, they 

are the kinds of things that I have spent a lot of time on during 

my last decade as dean and director of agriculture at the University of Georgia. Certainly the whole area of food safety is one that 

I think is critically important. Another one is the emerging issue 

of energy, and that is one that we are seeing more discussion 

about. But, clearly, that is an area that we need to be working on. 

I have personally been involved over the past few years in trying 

to stimulate more interest in looking at things that on the surface 

12

you do not think are necessarily related to energy. For example, 

the cost of nitrogen. I think we have got to develop more effective 

ways of growing our nitrogen rather than depending upon nitrogen 

from petroleum products. So these are the kinds of issues that I see 

as important. 

Another thing, too, is it seems like we have a never ending supply of new diseases and new problems. Just this past year or the 

last couple of years, we have seen the soybean rust come on like 

gangbusters. We still do not know what the potential for that disease will be. 

We have also seen tomato spotted wilt virus emerge as a real 

problem, and I can remember, if we go back just a couple of decades, you had never heard of it. But, also, we have other diseases 

like citrus canker and citrus greening, in other parts of the country. So keeping up with just the problems is a major challenge, but 

when you add all those together, I think we have a full portfolio 

of challenges for agricultural research in the future. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. And for those of you who are not 

from the South ‘‘nitagen’’ is the same as ‘‘nitrogen.’’

[Laughter.] 

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Kesselman, could you please describe for the 

committee your qualifications to be General Counsel at USDA? 

Mr. KESSELMAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the opportunity to address my qualifications. Not only am I excited by 

the opportunity to serve at USDA, but I feel that I am ready. 

My background is in both the Government and private sectors. 

I have had the opportunity to litigate at the Department of Justice 

and to work at OMB. At OMB we have a chance to see issues 

across the Government—issues that will ultimately go to litigation, 

regulatory issues, and legal policy issues. I have also worked in the 

private sector where I have represented regulated parties, and so 

I understand the effects that Government regulations and actions 

and activities have on real people in the real world. 

I would also say from my experience working with USDA staff 

that I appreciate and understand what a great and experienced 

crew there is in the Office of the General Counsel. I would look forward to working with the career attorneys, drawing upon their expertise and using the skills that I have built at OMB, The Department of Justice, and in private practice. 

The CHAIRMAN. You mentioned that you have been at OMB and 

at Justice. What involvement have you had with agricultural issues 

in your career? And how familiar are you with the programs and 

the organization of USDA? 

Mr. KESSELMAN. Thank you, Senator. At OMB I have had an opportunity to work with agencies across the Federal Government, including USDA. One of the things that I do on a daily basis is provide advice to people who are involved in the rulemaking process. 

Some very big USDA rulemakings have come through during the 

last couple of years, especially on the animal health side with BSE 

regulations. There have also been issues involving the COOL Program, animal identification, and other issues be of significant importance to USDA. In some form or another, we see many of 

USDA’s issues at OMB. I would come to USDA with a good idea 

of the types of challenges that face the Department, and I am anxVerDate 0ct 09 2002 09:34 Dec 14, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\DOCS\30236.TXT TOSHD PsN: LAVERN
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ious to participate in resolving those challenges because they affect 

every American’s life. 

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Kesselman, I do not know whether Senator 

Salazar will be here or not, but he very well may be, and I thought 

he might ask questions related to this. But in all fairness, we received a letter from Mr. Lupe Garcia of the Hispanic Farmers and 

Ranchers of America regarding to your nomination. He is not critical or objecting to your nomination, but he has asked that we seriously subject you to examination relative to some issues pending at 

USDA, and let me just cite this. I think you are familiar with this. 

He says, ‘‘Inasmuch as there are numerous outstanding class action lawsuits and legal actions currently pending against USDA, 

the nomination of Mr. Kesselman warrants careful scrutiny. Mr. 

Kesselman should be subjected to a full hearing debate about his 

qualifications to be the next General Counsel. Mr. Kesselman 

should be closely questioned concerning his plans, if any, to deal 

with the numerous discrimination lawsuits against USDA that are 

costing taxpayers millions of dollars each year in legal fees and 

contributing to USDA’s reputation as the last plantation. That discrimination of the sort that is both well documented and admitted 

should exist in 2006 is appalling and is all the more reprehensible 

that such discrimination is perpetrated by a Federal Government 

agency funded by taxpayers who pay for the privilege of being victims of discrimination.’’

So I want to give you the opportunity to address that particular 

issue in response to the comments of Mr. Garcia. 

Mr. KESSELMAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the opportunity to address the race relations issues that have been the 

subject of litigation involving USDA. I am aware Hispanic farmers, 

African American farmers, and other classes have filed lawsuits. 

I think that any discussion of that issue has to begin with one 

very simple premise: discrimination on the basis of race, national 

origin, ethnicity, gender, or any of the other prohibited factors is 

wrong, both as a legal matter and as a matter of principle. I would 

come to the position with that fundamental belief. 

I understand that there is litigation pending in the D.C. Circuit 

in which Hispanic farmers have filed a class action lawsuit for discrimination in the administration of credit programs. The topic of 

the motion before the court is whether or not the class should be 

certified. The court recently resolved the issue as it applies to female farmers, but has not yet resolved the issue as it applies to 

Hispanic farmers. I think that decision will probably come down 

any time now, and certainly, if confirmed, it would be my responsibility to deal with that decision. In terms of a specific plan, I would 

work with you, Mr. Chairman, with Senator Salazar with the citizen who wrote this letter, and with any other stakeholders to 

make sure that people feel they are being treated fairly. Decisions 

about USDA’s litigation posture must be made with the full facts 

in mind. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you for those comments. In my State we 

have a number of minority farmers who are outstanding farmers. 

Dr. Buchanan and I have had the opportunity to work with any 

number of them, and we want to make sure that USDA is once and 

for all rid of this tag that I think in a lot of instances is unfairly 

14

given to them. So we look forward to working with you as we move 

through this, and all the other complex and controversial issues 

that might be forthcoming. 

Mr. Rutherford, USDA has over 100,000 employees, 14,000 of- fices and field locations, $128 billion in assets, and provides approximately $100 billion in loans, loan guarantees and insurance. 

Obviously, it is a major job to administer such a large organization. 

While you have overseen large entities in your career, USDA is one 

of the largest organizations in the world. How does your background prepare you for this kind of responsibility? 

Mr. RUTHERFORD. Thank you for that question, and you are absolutely right, it is going to be a challenge. It is a large organization, 

but I believe my history, and particularly in Maryland, with the 

administration of the Department of General Services, which essentially serves as a back office or backbone for the entire State 

Government has prepared me for the challenge. We touch every 

agency, every department throughout the State. We house and provide the equipment and services for the several hundred thousand 

employees that work for the State, as well as provide security. 

While we are not directly responsible for their programs, we are 

the support agency for other State governmental functions. 

I would look at my role, if confirmed, in departmental administration, in a similar manner, as the support function for the mission of USDA. And as I said initially in my statement, we would 

need to make sure that we are operating in an effective and efficient manner to make sure that mission can be carried out. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. For years USDA has faced information technology challenges, including the inability of agencies within the Department to share information with each other. Given 

your experience in State and Federal Government, are there strategies that USDA should pursue to better manage its information 

technology infrastructure? 

Mr. RUTHERFORD. Well, first of all, I would need to explore what 

the challenges have been in the past and currently. Not being on 

board, I don’t know exactly what their challenges are. 

However, what I found is that in most cases there’s a communications challenge. There’s also what can often happen--and I’m 

not saying that this is going on at USDA--is that you can have proprietary or people having silos, and they don’t want to share their 

information or work together. And one of the things I think I have 

been able to do is to bring different philosophies together. I’m trying to be nice in terms of sometimes you have strong personalities 

that can head different agencies and different departments, and it 

can be a challenge to bring them together. But once you recognize 

those and cut through the silos, I think you can address most of 

those challenges, and we will look forward to work on that area. 

The CHAIRMAN. This idea of spreading information technology to 

rural America is something Senator Lugar, I know, has a particular interest in. I have a very keen interest in it, and I have expressed to both Secretary Johanns, as well as Teresa Lassiter, the 

Director of FSA, that as we look at consolidating or eliminating 

FSA offices around the country, all of that is fine and good, but we 

cannot forget the fact that our farmers have got to have access to 

their Government and their U.S. Department of Agriculture. I hope 

15

that we are going to give some serious thought, as we go through 

this process, to make sure that those farmers who are moving 

ahead in this new world of information technology, and as they do 

not have access to an FSA office that may be close by, that we can 

give them access to USDA through technologies, so that they can 

sit in their offices or in their homes, instead of having to go to an 

FSA Office that may be further away than what they are used to. 

I think it is going to be a critically important decision and process 

that you will be involved in, so we look forward to engaging in this 

with you down the road. 

Ms. Strachan, you have been involved in congressional relations 

for a number of years. Are there lessons from your private sector 

experience that you think would be useful at USDA? 

Ms. T4Strachan. T1Mr. Chairman, I think I had some wonderful 

experiences in the private sector that I can bring to Department of 

Agriculture. I was fortunate to be able to participate in educational 

opportunities, helping staffers learn about agriculture outside of 

the Washington area, to see new technologies, and meet with researchers who are working on interesting projects that are bringing 

value to the American farmer. Those are the type of activities that 

I would like to continue at the Department, if confirmed. 

The CHAIRMAN. I believe it is important to have open lines of 

communication between Congress and USDA, and I think you have 

a unique ability to be able to do that based upon your previous employment and your contact with all of us up here on the Hill, who 

have known you for many years, and have had the opportunity to 

work with you for years. How do you plan to move forward and facilitate that communication, with USDA, and the Hill? 

Ms. STRACHAN. I’m very fortunate, if confirmed, to work with 

Secretary Johanns and Deputy Secretary Conner, who also share 

the same view about keeping the lines of communication open and 

making sure that the Hill is briefed, as your constituents need to 

know. The fact that there are a lot of top drawer tickets coming 

up regarding agriculture, it is very important that we set up a 

process that you are regularly briefed on any upcoming issue. If 

confirmed, I would make sure a process was definitely in place. 

The CHAIRMAN. Good. Let me just say I am in my 12th year on 

the Hill now, and this Secretary of Agriculture has been the most 

open and the one that has been in communication with the Hill 

more so than any other Secretary of Agriculture during my 12 

years. We work very closely together because we do have that open 

dialog, and we look forward to working with you to continue that. 

Senator Lugar? 

Senator LUGAR. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I join you 

in welcoming our nominees, and congratulating the President on 

the four excellent choices. I look forward to supporting each one of 

you, and encourage our colleagues to do that. 

Let me just say, Ms. Strachan, I join Senator Harkin and Senator Chambliss in congratulating you in having Howard Baker as 

a mentor. He is a very good friend of all of ours, but even more 

importantly, the epitome of good relations between the Congress, 

the administration and the public, and, obviously, your career has 

manifested that in many ways. 

Ms. STRACHAN. Thank you, Senator. 

16

Senator LUGAR. I would like to have you here and look forward 

to working with you. 

Ms. STRACHAN. Thank you, Senator. 

Senator LUGAR. Mr. Rutherford, I was struck by the conclusion 

of your statement as one of the things that I think is especially important. When you point out, you say, last bio-energy is a small but 

significant overlap between one of the administration’s priorities 

and what I have been working on for the past year. And you point 

out that in Maryland you have been working to get legislation to 

require the use of bio-diesel in the State’s diesel fleet, and put up 

an ethanol filling station. 

I do not know what the constraints on you will be in USDA, but 

I hope that they will not be severe as you perceive, think through 

in a much larger context. That is, all the vehicle in one form or another come under the purview of USDA, that they would have a 

bio-diesel capability or a flexible fuel capability, or that they might 

even be hybrid in terms of their capabilities energy-wise. It seems 

to me that at this point, as the President has stated, we are addicted to oil, that we have to, in the course of a fairly short period 

of time, diminish by 75 percent our dependence upon Middle Eastern oil for a variety of reasons. That really requires an extraordinary shift in the whole transportation system of our country, and 

the leadership that can be offered by departments such as USDA, 

which have, as Senator Chambliss has pointed out, a strong interest really in people that we are serving, farmers who are now growing for energy, as well as growing for food, and the symbiotic relationship between the administration of the Department and that 

emphasis is just absolutely critical. 

I have no idea how far and how rapidly you can proceed. I would 

hope that it would be a very strong process, because usually testimony on these things points out that Rome was not built in a day, 

that these things take time, that in the fullness of time, maybe 

three administrations down the trail, certain things will happen, 

when really the Congress hopes that things will happen in 2006. 

The strength of our country will be manifested to others really in 

this timeframe, and without getting into the problems of foreign 

policy that should verge really upon this situation. The fact is that 

we are not as credible as we need to be as a Nation. In terms of 

moving toward non-energy independence, but simply an ability to 

hold our own against other powers that do not wish us well. 

So I am most hopeful, and I will be eager to hear of your 

progress, and look forward, as I know others will on this Committee, as supporting that. 

In the same framework, Dr. Buchanan, your research efforts 

have covered a myriad of fields. But I would hope that the specific 

emphasis USDA can place upon research and energy now would 

really come to the fore. The President, when he has visited with 

Senators, has pointed out that cellulosic ethanol is very, important 

to him, but then he qualifies this by saying within a 6–year period 

of time or some other context. As you may know, there is a potential plan that could be available in Idaho this year. It is a question 

of moving ahead to the Treasury guarantees and that type of thing, 

which you cannot handle in a research position in USDA. But with 

17

your expertise, this certainly can be a strong voice as to what this 

means. 

Now, the President is talking about cellulosic ethanol because 

various types of biomass occur in all of the States of the Union. 

Some critics of corn-based ethanol point out that the Midwest is 

not the entirety of U.S. agriculture, and as enthusiastic as many 

of us are about building ethanol plants using corn or bio-diesel 

plants that may use soybeans, the fact is, as the President pointed 

out in a meeting we had, in Arizona and New Mexico, and whathave-you, may be out of luck with regard to any of the above. But 

nevertheless, in every State there are biomass sources, and the 

question will be how to organize this material, how to transport 

and how to provide laboratories that convert it into something that 

is a renewable fuel every year in the same way that agriculture 

provides abundance in our food supply. Once again, people say, 

well, in the by-and-by, this may all work out. But we are in a critical point in this world, in which it has to happen very, quickly, 

and there has to be credibility. 

And so, I am excited by your coming to the Department because 

you really bring an understanding of agriculture and the world and 

the ways we make money in agriculture. Your own farming experience manifests that. I saw your experience as a tree farmer, and 

I identify with that. Your harvest of trees and your pointing out 

how $28,000 was yours and so forth, that is very valid, taking a 

look at that. But I am really most hopeful that you can outline for 

the Committee, as you come back and forth to visit with us, or even 

when you don’t visit with us, to send us reports, letters and whathave-you that offer encouragement as to what is happening in energy research. 

Do you have any broad comment about that as you undertake 

these responsibilities? 

Mr. BUCHANAN. Yes, sir, I certainly do, and I appreciate your 

comments, Senator Lugar, because I am one of those that is firmly 

convinced that we need to be looking at every possible aspect of energy, and certainly, I am convinced--and I think I am right--that 

one of our real opportunities for solution is what we can grow utilizing the energy from the sun. And by definition, that which we 

can get from energy from the sun is agriculture. And there are 

many, many different opportunities, and it is not just one part of 

the U.S. that is blessed, but the whole country has opportunities. 

I took a group of farmers and Development Authority officials out 

to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) out in Golden, Colorado this past summer to study and look at the energy research going on at NREL. Then we visited some facilities in Nebraska and Iowa and spent some time at Iowa State. Then we visited in southern Minnesota and on over into South Dakota, and 

clearly, they have fantastic opportunities for corn, as we know, but 

also wind. In much of the other parts of the country, we don’t have 

much wind. Well, you don’t have much opportunity for biomass in 

some parts of the Southwest, but you certainly have a lot of sunshine, and I think we must consider all of the opportunities we 

have, and get on with the business. Clearly, developing energy is 

one of the areas that, as I mentioned, in response to Senator 

Chambliss’s question, I think is a real challenge. 

18

And as I also pointed out, things like growing your own nitrogen 

is one of those you don’t think of as being energy-related, but yet, 

most of our nitrogen comes from petroleum products, from natural 

gas. So if you can grow that and combine it into a production systems without having to make that purchase, then that is just as 

good as filling up your car with ethanol. 

So, Senator, I think you’re exactly right, and I really look forward to work in this area because I think it’s one of the great opportunities we have. 

Senator LUGAR. Let me just ask one more question. It is a settled 

aspect of this, but sometimes, as people in my home State of Indiana take a look at the fact that 14 percent of our corn now is going 

into ethanol, and that may be 20 percent by the end of this year, 

and that surprises most corn farmers that things have moved along 

that rapidly. It makes them happy because the price of corn is a 

little stronger, given the large surpluses in the world, and that will 

probably continue to be the case. 

But let us take the opposite case that people who say, after all, 

God meant this corn to be used for feed for either human beings 

or for livestock, and not for energy, and we are going to run out 

of it. Or they will make an argument that we are going to run out 

of farmland if we continue to use that many acres for biomass or 

for soybeans, and for soy-diesel and what-have-you. One of the arguments, of course, and your lifetime has encompassed, as mine 

has--I have seen it on our own farm--the yield in corn go from 40 

to 50 bushels to the acre, to 140, to 150, just in the course of that 

period of time. And therefore, Americans doing research have done 

remarkable things in tripling our yields, more than that on some 

occasion. And working through Dr. Borlog and others in the Green 

Revolution around the world. 

So can you think of at least an agenda likewise in research, leaving aside these exciting new vistas in energy, likewise address the 

problem of yields, how we are going to in fact improve corn and 

soybeans, or wheat, you know, common objectives, but ones in 

which some people say, well, we have almost reached the limits of 

this. Can you assure us the best is still to come? 

Mr. BUCHANAN. I am firmly convinced the best is still yet to 

come. And of course there’s other things, and you know, in the 

President’s address he mentioned switchgrass, which gets back to 

cellulosic ethanol. I think that this has clearly got to be one of the 

high priorities. I know that NREL is really working in this area, 

but a lot of other laboratories are working too because we really 

need the enzymes that really make cellulosic ethanol a reality. 

While we’re talking about agricultural opportunities, we need to 

be thinking about all of the other products that we could use, for 

example things from cities. A lot of people don’t think about cities 

as having a lot of waste material, but there’s literally thousands 

and thousands of tons of biomass that could be converted into useful energy if we had the technology to do it. So that’s another area 

that I think we’re going to see some research emphasis on in the 

future. 

Senator LUGAR. We look for your leadership to keep us excited. 

Mr. Kesselman, just one final question that I have. You have 

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19

nation and your own convictions, with which this committee agrees, 

and it is important, because over the years we have had a number 

of hearings in our committee that have been disturbing in terms 

of testimony of those who felt discrimination had occurred in agricultural programs. It is not new, but it is not entirely resolved. 

Your ability to work constructively, this is very important. 

I am just curious, as you survey that job, as you have taken a 

look at it, what kind of lawsuits occur in USDA? What is likely to 

be your portfolio of activity as you look at it presently? 

Mr. KESSELMAN. Senator, thank you. USDA is an incredibly 

large and diverse organization. The types of conflicts that arise are 

as diverse as the mission areas of the Department itself. The Department has been litigating these program class actions involving 

allegations of discrimination in the administration of credit programs. At the same time, lawyers in the Office of the General 

Counsel are also busy enforcing trade practices laws with respect 

to agriculture. They are also representing the Forest Service to ensure compliance with environmental statutes. They are also helping to make sure that we have the legal authorities that this country is going to need in the event that the avian flu comes over here. 

It is incumbent upon the next General Counsel to be able to work 

with the attorneys in the Office of the General Counsel on a wide 

variety of subject areas. I is also important to have a cooperative 

working relationship, not just with the various policy officials who 

work at the Department of Agriculture, but also with officials 

across the Federal Government. I think that my OMB experience 

will be a real strength if I am confirmed, because I have worked 

with the Chief Counsel of the Food and Drug Administration and 

the General Counsel of HHS. I’ve worked with the attorneys at the 

EPA, and at the State Department. I think that this breadth of experience could be of benefit to the Department of Agriculture if you 

see fit to place me in this important position. 

Senator LUGAR. That experience will be important, and I appreciate your outlining that. 

Mr. Rutherford, I am just intrigued. Are you going to be able to 

set up USDA ethanol gas stations in each State? 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. RUTHERFORD. Well, I don’t know until and unless I’m confirmed. I’m not sure if we would be able to do that or not, but I 

would like to explore it and would be willing to sit down and talk 

to you about that. 

Senator LUGAR. You have had the experience in Maryland. 

Mr. RUTHERFORD. Yes. 

Senator LUGAR. And so I emboldened to ask whether now that 

your purview may be national, 50 States, that might be replicated, 

and I hope that will be the case, because once again, the leadership 

of showing how to do it is tremendously encouraging and important. 

Mr. RUTHERFORD. You are correct that the leadership from the 

President to Secretary Johanns have made bio-energy and biobased products a priority, and if confirmed, I would look to assist 

in meeting that mission. 

Senator LUGAR. Thank you. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

20

The CHAIRMAN. [Presiding] Thank you, Senator. 

Let me just echo Senator Lugar’s comments regarding to alternative fuels. He and I share a common interest relative to the development of this issue, and we talked just last week again about 

it, and we are going to explore some ideas. He mentioned something that, Mr. Rutherford, and I know some of this is light comment, but Senator Lugar and I have a very strong belief in the fact 

that we can produce all the alternative energy in the world, but if 

we cannot get it in the hands of the consumers, then it does us no 

good. We are going to be moving toward the writing of the farm 

bill next year, and there are a number of members of this Committee who have an interest in alternative fuels, and we are going 

to continue to develop that. I want to also see if we can have a 

mechanism for the delivery of those alternative fuels, because I 

firmly believe that Americans, being what they are, if they pull up 

to a service station and gasoline is $2.50 and ethanol is $1.10, I 

think we know what they are going to do, and particularly if that 

fuel that goes into their cars gives them the same power as gasoline will, and instead of going 10 miles per gallon of gasoline, all 

of a sudden we go 200 miles per gallon on gasoline, so it is a critically important issue. 

Senator Lugar, Dr. Buchanan, is talking a little bit about research in this area. And we do not grow the abundance of corn that 

you do in the Midwest, but we are believers in alternative fuels, 

and we were doing something under his leadership at the University of Georgia, while he was Dean there from a research standpoint of taking a crop that we can grow a lot of, which is pine trees, 

and using it in the manufacture of energy. We are even now taking 

what used to be the waste, the tops and the limbs that the harvesters leave in the forest, and we are gathering those up now and 

finding ways of developing those products into energy. So there is 

a lot of research that needs to be done, but there are a lot of great 

things that we can do, and I look forward, obviously, to continuing 

to work with you in that respect. 

Ms. Strachan, I cannot let you leave here, since you have mentioned Senator Dirksen and Senator Baker, who is a good friend of 

both Senator Lugar and mine. The Senate is such a great place 

from a historical standpoint. We are graced here today with portraits of former members of the Senate Ag Committee, including 

Senator Lugar up there, including one of my mentors and dear 

friend, Senator Herman Talmadge up here, but the one thing that 

we do is we keep a record of all the desks that we utilize on the 

floor of the Senate as well as in our personal offices. I get to sit 

behind a desk in my personal office every day that once was the 

desk of Senator Everett Dirksen, and it is pretty neat stuff. He was 

not just a great asset to the Senate, he was a great America. 

With that, I will remind all members of the committee that they 

must get their questions in to each of you if they have any additional questions in writing by 5 o’clock today. I would ask that you 

please get those answers and responses to those questions back immediately, as we want to bring these nominations to the floor, 

hopefully, this week. 

With that, we are going to stand adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 11:09 a.m., the committee was adjourned.] 

(21)

A P P E N D I X

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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

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Æ


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