U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

31–156 PDF WASHINGTON : 2019

S. HRG. 115–599 

NOMINATION HEARING: 

STEPHEN CENSKY TO BE DEPUTY 

SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE, 

AND TED MCKINNEY TO BE UNDER 

SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE 

FOR TRADE AND FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL 

AFFAIRS 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, 

NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017 

Printed for the use of the 

Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

( 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov/ 
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY 

PAT ROBERTS, Kansas, Chairman 

THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi 

MITCH MCCONNELL, Kentucky 

JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas 

JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota 

JONI ERNST, Iowa 

CHARLES GRASSLEY, Iowa 

JOHN THUNE, South Dakota 

STEVE DAINES, Montana 

DAVID PERDUE, Georgia 

LUTHER STRANGE, Alabama 

DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan 

PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont 

SHERROD BROWN, Ohio 

AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota 

MICHAEL BENNET, Colorado 

KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, New York 

JOE DONNELLY, Indiana 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota 

ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania 

CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland 

JAMES A. GLUECK, JR., MAJORITY STAFF DIRECTOR

DANITA M. MURRAY, MAJORITY CHIEF COUNSEL

JESSICA L. WILLIAMS, CHIEF CLERK

JOSEPH A. SHULTZ, MINORITY STAFF DIRECTOR

MARY BETH SCHULTZ, MINORITY CHIEF COUNSEL

(II) 
(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

HEARING(S): 

Nomination Hearing: Stephen Censky to be Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, 

and Ted Mckinney to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and 

Foreign Agricultural Affairs ................................................................................ 1 

Tuesday, September 19, 2017 

STATEMENTS PRESENTED BY SENATORS 

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

Stabenow, Hon. Debbie, U.S. Senator from the State of Michigan ..................... 3 

Donnelly, Hon. Joe, U.S. Senator from the State of Indiana ............................... 3 

Thune, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from the State of South Dakota ...................... 5 

Panel I 

Censky, Stephen, of Missouri, to be Deputy Secretary of Agriculture ................ 7 

McKinney, Ted, of Indiana, to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade 

and Foreign Agricultural Affairs ........................................................................ 9 

APPENDIX 

PREPARED STATEMENTS: 

Censky, Stephen ............................................................................................... 22 

McKinney, Ted .................................................................................................. 28 

DOCUMENT(S) SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD: 

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

Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report filed 

by Stephen Censky ....................................................................................... 34 

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

Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report filed 

by Ted McKinney .......................................................................................... 62 

QUESTION AND ANSWER: 

Censky, Stephen: 

Written response to questions from Hon. Pat Roberts .................................. 90 

Written response to questions from Hon. Debbie Stabenow ......................... 93 

Written response to questions from Hon. John Thune .................................. 105 

Written response to questions from Hon. Steve Daines ................................ 107 

Written response to questions from Hon. Sherrod Brown ............................ 108 

Written response to questions from Hon. Amy Klobuchar ........................... 109 

Written response to questions from Hon. Michael Bennet ........................... 110 

Written response to questions from Hon. Kirsten Gillibrand ....................... 112 

Written response to questions from Hon. Robert Casey, Jr. ......................... 114 

McKinney, Ted: 

Written response to questions from Hon. Pat Roberts .................................. 116 

Written response to questions from Hon. Debbie Stabenow ......................... 118 

Written response to questions from Hon. John Thune .................................. 127 

Written response to questions from Hon. Steve Daines ................................ 128 

Written response to questions from Hon. Sherrod Brown ............................ 129 

Written response to questions from Hon. Michael Bennet ........................... 130 
Page

IV 

McKinney, Ted—Continued 

Written response to questions from Hon. Kirsten Gillibrand ....................... 131 

Written response to questions from Hon. Robert Casey, Jr. ......................... 133 
(1) 

NOMINATION HEARING: 

STEPHEN CENSKY TO BE DEPUTY 

SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE, 

AND TED MCKINNEY TO BE UNDER 

SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE 

FOR TRADE AND FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL 

AFFAIRS 

Tuesday, September 19, 2017 

UNITED STATES SENATE, 

COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY, 

Washington, DC 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:44 a.m., in Room 

SH–216, Hart Senate Office Building, Hon. Pat Roberts, Chairman 

of the Committee, presiding. 

Present: Senators Roberts, Boozman, Ernst, Grassley, Thune, 

Stabenow, Brown, Klobuchar, Bennet, Gillibrand, Donnelly, 

Heitkamp, Casey, and Van Hollen. 

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

STATE OF KANSAS, CHAIRMAN, U.S. COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY 

Chairman ROBERTS. I call this hearing of the Senate Agriculture, 

Nutrition, and Forestry Committee to order. I welcome my colleagues this morning as we consider the nominations of Stephen 

Censky, to be the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, and Ted McKinney, to be the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is made up of 29 agencies 

and offices. It employs nearly 100,000 men and women who work 

in all 50 States and all around the globe. The Department provides 

leadership on food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, nutrition, scientific research, and related issues that impact 

Americans each and every day. 

Secretary Perdue and his team have hit the ground running to 

keep the Department working on behalf of the Nation’s farmers, 

ranchers, and other rural stakeholders. We need to get his team officially on board. The Secretary is with us this morning. Mr. Secretary, if you would stand for a moment, I would appreciate it. 

Thank you for the job that you are doing. 

[Applause.] 

Chairman ROBERTS. Now, the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture is 

the second-highest-ranking official at the U.S. Department of Agri-
2 

culture appointed by the President with the advice and consent of 

the Senate. More importantly, he becomes the Acting Secretary if 

the Secretary is unable to perform the duties of his office. That is 

not going to happen. 

The position also coordinates day-to-day operations within the 

Department and efforts across agencies. The Deputy Secretary is 

tasked with implementing the departmental mission of fostering 

strong rural communities and creating new agriculture markets. 

The Deputy Secretary receives input from outside the agency and 

stays up-to-date on issues and trends in the agriculture arena. 

The nominee for this role, Steve Censky, grew up on a soybean, 

corn, and diversified livestock farm near Jackson, Minnesota. I am 

sorry. I think probably I will turn that over to the distinguished 

Senator from Minnesota. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Go ahead. 

Chairman ROBERTS. No, please. I insist. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. We are just always happy to have a Minnesotan in a position of such importance, so thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ROBERTS. I will get into the details after that introduction, and I thank the Senator. 

He began his career working as a legislative assistant for Senator Jim Abdnor. Later, Steve served at the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture during both the Reagan and the Bush administrations. 

More recently, he has served as the American Soybean Association’s chief executive officer. Steve and his wife, Carmen, reside in 

suburban St. Louis, have two daughters who are in college. 

Steve, we welcome you to the Ag Committee. 

The position of Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs was established by this Committee with strong bipartisan support in the 2014 farm bill. It is designed to provide singular focus on trade at the Department and to foster more effective 

coordination of trade policies all across our USDA agencies. In addition, it will bring high-level representation to key trade negotiations, foreign officials, and within the Executive Branch. 

Secretary Perdue moved quickly during his first month at the 

Department to follow the direction of the Congress and establish 

this important position. The new Trade and Foreign Agricultural 

Affairs mission area will include the Foreign Agricultural Service, 

which deals with international markets, and the U.S. Codex Office, 

which is part of an interagency and international partnership that 

develops international governmental and nongovernmental food 

standards. 

If confirmed, Ted McKinney would be the first person to officially 

lead this mission, and his background offers a range of experience 

for him to do exactly that job. He grew up on a family grain and 

livestock form in Tipton, Indiana. He is currently the Director of 

the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. Previously, Ted has 

worked with Dow AgroSciences and with Elanco. 

I am going to yield to the distinguished Senator from Indiana for 

any remarks he might want to make at this particular time. 
3 

STATEMENT OF HON. JOE DONNELLY, U.S. SENATOR FROM 

THE STATE OF INDIANA 

Senator DONNELLY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to 

quickly welcome to the Committee my friend, Ted McKinney, and 

his whole family. Ted and I have gotten to know each other really 

well over the past years, and I have enjoyed being partners advocating on behalf of Hoosier farmers with Ted. 

As you indicated, Ted comes from a farm in Tipton, Indiana, and 

has strong roots in agriculture. He is a hard worker. He is dedicated to agriculture. He is going to do a terrific job in this position 

and work really, really hard to help American farmers all over the 

world. 

So to the family, thank you for your sacrifice and lending Ted to 

us during this time. To Ted, thanks for your service. We have a lot 

of work for you to do, my friend. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Good luck with the dentist. 

Senator DONNELLY. Thank you. 

Chairman ROBERTS. All of this gives Ted firsthand knowledge of 

potential trade issues in the row crop as well as the livestock sectors. He and his wife, Julie, have three children and four grandchildren. Welcome to the Ag Committee, sir. 

Earlier this year, the Committee moved to confirm Secretary 

Perdue in a strong bipartisan fashion, and we have successfully 

moved several nominations to the Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission. We look forward to considering these nominations in 

the same fashion. Today is an important step in that process. 

Again, I thank the nominees for being here today. I look forward 

to your testimony. 

I now turn to my colleague Ranking Member Stabenow for her 

opening remarks. 

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

FROM THE STATE OF MICHIGAN 

Senator STABENOW. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and 

welcome, Secretary. We are happy to have you with us at any 

meeting. I am really pleased that we are here to consider two very 

important USDA nominees, as the Chairman has indicated. I 

would like to congratulate Mr. Censky and Mr. McKinney and welcome your families here today. 

USDA must be a forceful advocate for our farmers and ranchers. 

I know you share that feeling. USDA also plays a role in protecting 

our land and water, standing up for our small towns and rural 

communities, and ensuring that all families have enough nutritious 

food to eat. 

We need strong leaders who understand the vital role USDA 

plays in the lives of every American. In Michigan, agriculture is 

our second largest industry. It is supporting one in four jobs, and 

we are very proud of that. 

The farmers, families, and rural communities in my State deserve to have experienced and impartial leaders who will always 

have their back. 

Mr. Censky and Mr. McKinney, both of you have had distinguished careers in agriculture. It is clear that you share a deep- 
4 

rooted commitment to our farmers and those who call rural America home. 

Mr. Censky, you have held an impressive tenure at the American 

Soybean Association as a strong advocate and leader for one of our 

country’s top crops. Your reputation as a steady hand will be especially useful as our farmers struggle with low prices and USDA 

faces tight budgets and a daunting reorganization. 

Communities in Michigan and across the country deserve a high 

level of service from the USDA, and we look forward to working 

with you to ensure that it continues. 

The Deputy Secretary traditionally serves as the Chief Operating 

Officer of the USDA. In this role you will need to ensure that none 

of the Department’s diverse roles or critical missions are forgotten. 

This responsibility is one of the most important and likely the most 

challenging. I hope you will consider this Committee a partner in 

that task. 

Mr. McKinney, you are no stranger to agriculture either, serving 

as the Director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. As 

a neighbor to Michigan, you know that agriculture is critical to 

both of our States economics. You also know that our farmers need 

consistent access to markets abroad in order to sell their products. 

As the administration reexamines our trade agreements, producers in my State are concerned that agriculture could lose important trading partners. For example, as we have talked about, Canada and Mexico import many Michigan-grown commodities, including corn, soybeans, dairy, and apples. If confirmed, Mr. McKinney, 

it is important that you be a strong advocate for agriculture within 

the administration broadly. It is vitally important that any NAFTA 

reorganization first ‘‘does no harm’’ to Michigan agriculture and 

our farmers and ranchers across the country. If the administration 

chooses to reexamine other trade agreements, your voice will be essential in making sure that agriculture is not left behind. 

I also want to underscore the important role that both of you will 

play in the budget process, and the appropriations process as well. 

In President Trump’s first budget proposal, the administration recommended completely eliminating funding for many important programs, including areas that the Under Secretary of Trade would 

oversee. The budget would eliminate agricultural export programs, 

which support hundreds of thousands of jobs on and off the farm. 

Many of these jobs are in Michigan. 

If confirmed, it is vitally important that both of you advocate for 

our farmers and families and fight back against any proposed additional cuts. 

I am sure you both share my frustration that crucial leadership 

positions at the Department have been vacant since the beginning 

of the year. During the Trump administration we have seen historic delays in receiving nominees from the White House. I am glad 

to see that USDA nominations are beginning to trickle in, but 

there is still a long way to go. 

Mr. Chairman, I was pleased to work with you to quickly confirm 

our new Agriculture Secretary, Sonny Perdue, after he was finally 

nominated. But he cannot singlehandedly run the Department, 

which is why we are here today to give him support. Our farmers 
5 

and our families desperately need a fully functioning USDA, and 

USDA needs qualified leadership to carry out its duties. 

So, Mr. Chairman, I look forward to working with you, as we 

have continued to do on a bipartisan basis, to move qualified nominees through the process as quickly as possible and give the Secretary his full team. 

Thank you. 

Chairman ROBERTS. I thank the Senator. 

I now welcome our panel of nominees this morning, but before 

that, I see that both nominees have numerous family and friends 

in the audience to share in this special occasion. Let me welcome 

all of you to the Ag Committee, if you would stand, and thank you 

for being here. Please. 

[Applause.] 

Chairman ROBERTS. Good-looking families. 

For our first nominee, I do now turn to Senator Thune, and as 

Chair I take unique leeway in recognizing Coop to introduce Steve 

Censky. I might add that only Senator Thune and I know what 

‘‘Coop’’ means. 

Senator STABENOW. I actually know, too. 

Chairman ROBERTS. You actually know, too? 

[Laughter.] 

Chairman ROBERTS. Would you like to share that knowledge? 

Senator STABENOW. No. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Coop? 

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN THUNE, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE 

STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

Senator THUNE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and for the longest 

time, only you knew what that meant. But you have explained to 

me now. 

Chairman ROBERTS. It was Gary Cooper. I know half the audience does not even know who Gary Cooper is, but that is beside 

the point. 

Senator THUNE. It was before my time, too. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator THUNE. But I understand—— 

Chairman ROBERTS. You did not have to add that. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator THUNE. I understand I should be flattered, so I am. But, 

Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member Stabenow, I want to say that 

it is with great pleasure that I get to introduce to you and to this 

Committee Steve Censky, who is nominated for the number two position, Deputy Secretary, at USDA. I know that my colleague Senator Klobuchar will claim him because he is a Minnesotan, but like 

so many people from western Minnesota, he saw the value of an 

education from South Dakota State University. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator THUNE. Go Jackrabbits. 

But Steve and I go back to the mid-1980s when we both served 

on the staff of South Dakota Senator Jim Abdnor, and I am sure 

that more than 30 years ago, as staff in the U.S. Senate, we would 

not have imagined that we would both be here again today and 

both very engaged in U.S. agricultural policy. But I will tell mem-
6 

bers of the Committee that Steve and I sat across from each other 

in our Senate office, and I always watched with great interest how 

he handled what was a very difficult economic time in agriculture, 

a time of great crisis, with great patience, diplomacy, empathy, and 

knowledge, and helped shape policies that made agriculture at that 

time more survivable for our farmers and ranchers in South Dakota and across the country. That was a difficult time, and these 

are difficult times on the farm, Mr. Chairman, and so in my opinion, Steve could not be a better choice for Deputy Secretary at 

USDA as his entire background has been focused on so many diverse areas of the agriculture industry. 

Growing up on a farm in southwestern Minnesota, Steve later 

graduated from South Dakota State University, as I mentioned, 

with a general agriculture and animal science degree, received a 

postgraduate degree from the University of Melbourne. He is no 

stranger to USDA as he has served at the Ag Marketing Service, 

the International Affairs and Commodity Programs Under Secretary Office, and as Foreign Agricultural Service Administrator. 

Most recently, as has been mentioned, Steve has served as the 

CEO of the American Soybean Association beginning in 1996 to the 

present. 

Mr. Chairman, my comfort level in not only writing the next 

farm bill but in that farm bill being successfully implemented by 

USDA is much greater with Steve partnering with Secretary 

Perdue in leadership at USDA. Sonny Perdue in just a few months 

as USDA Secretary has proven that he has the leadership skills to 

face the challenges of today’s agriculture, and with Steve Censky 

at his side, USDA will be even more prepared to provide this Committee with the assistance we need in writing the next farm bill, 

as well as covering the broad scope of research, trade, and regulatory issues facing U.S. agriculture. 

Mr. Chairman, I am very proud today to not only introduce but 

to strongly support Steve Censky as the next Deputy Secretary of 

USDA. Agriculture has not just been Steve’s profession. It has been 

his passion and way of life from his childhood on, and I can think 

of no one better to work at this level of USDA for the farmers and 

ranchers of this country and to help me support my home State of 

South Dakota’s number one industry—agriculture. 

Mr. Chairman, I yield back, and thank you. 

Chairman ROBERTS. I thank the Senator. 

For our other nominee, we have heard from Senator Donnelly 

with regards to Ted McKinney, but I would like to indicate that he 

is currently Director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, serving from 2014 to the present under then-Governor 

Mike Pence and now Governor Eric Holcomb. Mr. McKinney grew 

up on a family grain and livestock farm in Tipton, Indiana. He also 

worked for 19 years with Dow AgroSciences and 14 years with 

Elanco, a subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company, where he was director of global corporate affairs. His industry and civic involvements 

include the National FFA Conventions Local Organizing Committee, Indiana State Fair Commission, International Food Information Council, the U.S. Meat Export Federation, International 

Federation of Animal Health, and the Purdue Dean of Agriculture 

Advisory Committee. Mr. McKinney is a graduate of Purdue Uni-
7 

versity, where he earned a B.S. in agricultural economics, home of 

the Fighting Boilermakers. Mr. McKinney and his wife have three 

children and four grandchildren. 

As is the tradition and custom of the Committee for nominees 

and witnesses who are to provide testimony, I need to administer 

the oath. If both of you could please stand and raise your right 

hand. First, do you swear that the testimony you are about to 

present is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, 

so help you God? 

Mr. CENSKY. I do. 

Mr. MCKINNEY. I do. 

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

appear before any duly constituted committee of Congress if asked 

to appear? 

Mr. CENSKY. I do. 

Mr. MCKINNEY. I do. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Thank you. We look forward to your testimony. Stephen? 

TESTIMONY OF STEPHEN L. CENSKY, OF MISSOURI, TO BE 

DEPUTY SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE 

Mr. CENSKY. Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, 

thank you very much for this opportunity to appear before you 

today as the President’s nominee to be Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. I am deeply humbled by this opportunity to make a positive difference for rural America. 

I also want to thank my former colleague from Senator Jim 

Abdnor’s office—and now your colleague—Senator John Thune for 

that very kind introduction. Senator Abdnor taught both John and 

me the value that public service can have to positively impact our 

Nation. 

With me today is my wife of 25 years and my best friend, Carmen, along with my daughters Abigail and Emma. They are my 

biggest champions and sources of sound advice, so thank you very 

much for your support. 

I would also like to recognize my sister and her husband, my 

mother-and father-in-law, and my sister-in-law and niece who always give me love and support. Finally, I would like to acknowledge friends, colleagues, and American Soybean Association leaders, and also recognize Secretary Perdue. What a nice surprise and 

treat it is, and it really shows great support to have you here, Mr. 

Secretary. So thank you very much. As they might say in Sonny 

Perdue’s neck of the woods rather than mine, I appreciate ‘‘all 

y’all’s’’ support. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. CENSKY. I am proud to say that I was born on a farm near 

Jackson, Minnesota. My father, Harry, was a farmer. He grew soybeans, corn, and alfalfa, and like many farms of the era, also had 

a small diversified livestock operation. My mother, Gladys, worked 

as a reporter for the local newspaper and always took the greatest 

joy in writing stories about rural life. My sister, Jolene, and I grew 

up doing chores every day and entering all manner of projects in 

both 4–H and FFA. My mom in particular was a strong Democrat, 

and although she might be a bit chagrined that I continue to work 
8 

in Republican administrations, I know that both my parents are 

looking down and smiling today. 

In fact, the bipartisan approach that this Committee has taken 

to the issues facing farmers, ranchers, and consumers is something 

about which all of you should feel very proud. As a leader of the 

American Soybean Association for the last 23 years, we too worked 

on a bipartisan basis, and I saw the value that approach has. If 

confirmed, you have my commitment to be open and responsive to 

all points of view. 

As has been mentioned, after my time with Senator Abdnor, I 

worked in the Reagan administration as assistant to the Administrator of the Agriculture Marketing Service. Then in the George 

H.W. Bush administration, I served as the assistant to the Under 

Secretary of International Affairs and Commodity Programs. In 

that capacity I assisted in managing our farm and trade programs. 

We also coordinated the administration’s proposals for the 1990 

farm bill. Secretary Perdue has already pledged to make the resources of the Department available to assist Congress as you write 

and then pass the 2018 farm bill, and I look forward to assisting 

Secretary Perdue and all of you in that important work. 

I later served as Associate Administrator and then Acting Administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service, again, in the 

George H.W. Bush administration. There I managed and directed 

that agency’s export programs and involvement in trade negotiations. I know that farmers and ranchers absolutely depend on trade 

in order to be profitable. 

Like you have already seen from Secretary Perdue over these 

past number of months, I promise to be a strong advocate for fair 

trade for America’s farmers and ranchers. 

I have been asked whether there are any specific goals that I 

would like to advance if confirmed. At the risk of omitting other 

worthy goals, I have identified three areas that I think are very important to current but, perhaps more importantly, future generations. 

One, diversification of markets. This includes expanding foreign 

trade and promotion of local and regional food markets. In addition, diversification of crops through research, extension, and crop 

insurance coverage. 

Two, preparation for and adaption to changing weather and climate. Our agricultural production systems and forests truly are on 

the front line of impact by changes in weather and climate. I believe USDA has an inherent responsibility to help our farmers, 

ranchers, and forests become more resilient. 

Three, expansion of broadband to rural America. Broadband can 

be transformative. From precision agriculture that allows our farmers to farm more sustainably to promotion of rural development 

and jobs, America’s rural areas need broadband. 

Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, thank you for 

your consideration of my nomination to be Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. I look forward to answering any questions you may have. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Censky can be found on page 22 

in the appendix.] 

Chairman ROBERTS. I thank you for your very timely comments. 

Mr. McKinney. 
9 

TESTIMONY OF TED McKINNEY, OF INDIANA, TO BE UNDER 

SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE FOR TRADE AND FOREIGN 

AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS 

Mr. MCKINNEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member 

Stabenow. It is an honor and a pleasure to be here, and I want to 

thank all members of the Senate Ag, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee for the time here today. I too want to thank the President 

and Secretary Perdue for this nomination and for your presence 

here today, Mr. Secretary. This is an honor, and thank you. 

I am also honored to be apparently the first to be nominated for 

this remade or this newly made position that you all created in the 

2014 farm bill as Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. 

I know he had to depart, but I also want to say thank you publicly to my very good friend Senator Joe Donnelly. He is a great 

friend. We have collaborated on numerous activities, and I am just 

very grateful for his support. 

Before I proceed, I too would like to introduce my family. I know 

there was the introduction, but just a little bit more, if you do not 

mind. 

First, off to my left and your right is my wife of 35 years, Julie. 

Julie just retired in June of this year after 19 years as a second 

grade school teacher, so she has done God’s work as far as I am 

concerned. 

Then our son, Brad, and his wife, Kristie, who live nearby in 

Falls Church; daughter Brooke from just north of Cincinnati, her 

husband and brood of three are remaining home; and then our 

daughter Caroline, from Indianapolis. So love you all. Thank you 

all for being here. We would have had the grandchildren, but three 

of them are under age 4, and it would have created perhaps some 

havoc. 

I suspect many of you know a little bit about me, but I would 

like to extract just a few things that I think are most relevant to 

this newly created position. 

First, my roots are absolutely then and still are with the farm 

in north-central Indiana. It has been there for six generations, and 

two of the farms are now century-plus farms. My twin brother and 

his wife, and my mom and dad, each age 85, continue to manage 

and grow a diversified farm. Now, it is an ‘‘I’’ State, so, yes, there 

is plenty of soy, corn, occasionally wheat and livestock. But over 

the last 40 years, we have continued to add to that with valueadded operations like seed sales, seed production, custom spraying, 

and now Precision Planting technologies. So my formative years 

were there, and they still are. 

As I grew up, not unlike you, I was very active and still am today 

with 4–H and FFA. I was a 10-year 4–H member, a State FFA officer. Then after going to Purdue for 4 wonderful years, graduating 

in ag econ, I joined, as you said, Mr. Chairman, the Ag Division 

of Eli Lilly and Company where I spent 28 years in the plant 

science world with seeds, crop protection products, more recently 

biotechnology traits. It was a wonderful, wonderful experience. 

The last thing on my business bucket list was to lead a global 

corporate affairs group, and so I moved on back to Elanco—there 

were some transitions—and led the global corporate affairs group 
10 

for Elanco for 4 wonderful years. So the bottom line there is 28 

wonderful years with one leg steeped in plant science, seeds, and 

crops, and then 4 wonderful years steeped in livestock, and I think 

that has helped me. In all of those jobs, there was a great deal of 

interface on international markets and trade missions and all 

things exports. 

In early 2014, then-Governor Pence invited me to join the Department of Agriculture to lead as its director, and what a trip it 

has been. I think relative to this new opportunity that I am being 

considered for is that it opened up a lot more of the interface with 

USDA, from programs like MAP and FMD funding, to trade missions, to all kinds of policy discussions. So it was very valuable to 

have the private sector experience, but, oh, my, it was also great 

to have had 4 good years in the public sector where I continue now. 

I would add one other things that I think is very germane to this 

new opportunity. It was about 2–1/2 years ago that Governor Pence 

asked if I would lead the ag economic development for the State, 

so that means growing existing businesses and recruiting some 

from other places. It has been a boon. We have grown substantially 

our agribusiness sector, and so I hope that has some direct relevance to this opportunity. 

Now, as for this new opportunity, I want you to know that I have 

read and I believe entirely in the mission of the Foreign Ag Service. I will read it: ‘‘To link U.S. agriculture to the world to enhance 

export opportunities and global food security.’’ Whoever wrote that 

I think got it right on. I agree with it. I anticipate investing significant time in many foreign countries, building trust, opening doors 

for farmers and processors, removing trade barriers, and otherwise 

being what I hope to be known as a high trust and high delivery 

person of our ag portfolio. 

I want to make a comment about one area I think is very, very 

important. Not unlike you, I have experienced firsthand the issues 

of nonscientific trade barriers. Many times, but not always, those 

are sanitary-phytosanitary issues. Too often, we play by the rules, 

but many foreign countries do not. So however we might have tackled that with all our friends in the other agencies that have a stake 

in international relations, I believe this is one we have got to take 

on. There cannot be a double standard. 

Finally, I will just say that as to where we might place our priorities, a question that many of you asked as we met one on one, 

well, we have many countries that we have got to pay attention to, 

and all are very critical to our farmers and our processors, particularly in these times of relatively low commodity prices. I will just 

say I think you always finish what you start, so I think NAFTA 

has to be right at the fore. But right on its heels, dare I say even 

simultaneously, are all the other very critical trade partners that 

we have around the world. 

In conclusion, I offer three important points, at least to me, and 

I think I want to share them with you. 

First, I have to applaud again this Committee for creating this 

stand-alone position that we are now seeing come to fruition and 

Secretary Perdue for making it happen. I believe in it, and I have 

said so even times prior to this. It is important and it is time for 

our farmers. 
11 

Secondly, I promise the very best of teamwork, not only within 

USDA, with my long-time friend Deputy Secretary Nominee 

Censky, Secretary Perdue, and those who might come along, but 

also with this Committee and other constituencies. 

Third, American agriculture will have my undivided attention 

and passion. I will be a happy warrior to chase these exports, grow 

our trust, and build those relations. 

Thank you all for this time. I am honored to be with you today. 

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

28 in the appendix.] 

Chairman ROBERTS. We now turn to questions of the witnesses. 

Mr. Censky, as you know, current farm bill programs expire at 

the end of 2018. We have held numerous farm bill hearings and 

had comments from across rural America. The distinguished Ranking Member has done so as well. We had hearings in Kansas and 

Michigan. I personally went to Montana and to Alabama. The number one issue of concern—well, there are two: one is crop insurance, 

the other is trade. 

So my question to you is: Can I have your commitment to work 

with the Committee to craft a farm bill that maintains the farm 

safety net without cutting crop insurance? Your answer is yes. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. CENSKY. Yes, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Thank you. 

Mr. CENSKY. We look forward to working with you, and clearly, 

as you have stated so well, my experience in talking to farmers 

across the country is that crop insurance is really the most important element of their risk management program, and so I very 

much look forward to working with the Committee and the administration to make sure that we have an effective and viable crop insurance program. 

Chairman ROBERTS. You have extensive knowledge of the tough 

times, and I hope everybody in this Committee room understands 

that we are in a rough patch with regards to what all of our producers in agriculture are facing. What do you see as the greatest 

challenge facing the Department? There is an add-on here. With 

that in mind, how do you plan on helping to convey those challenges to the White House, more especially Congress, and other 

Federal agencies? 

Mr. CENSKY. I do think that we have the best agriculture in the 

world. We have the best producers. We have innovative companies 

that are assisting. We have the diversity of agriculture production 

systems. But I think our challenge is always going to be on finding 

those new market opportunities, whether those are at home or 

abroad. I see that as one of the big roles as the Department. Mr. 

McKinney, if confirmed, is going to be a lead advocate in assisting 

in that. I look forward to assisting Secretary Perdue in that and 

making sure that we have diverse markets across the programs for 

all of our products. 

Chairman ROBERTS. I appreciate that. 

Mr. McKinney, the U.S. Trade Representative, the Department 

of Commerce, and the newly created National Trade Council are all 

contributing to decisions made on U.S. trade policy. As the top 

trade voice now at the Department of Agriculture—I know you 
12 

have described yourself as a ‘‘happy warrior,’’ and I agree with 

that—how will you work with other Federal agencies that hold responsibilities over U.S. trade functions? How do you plan to ensure 

that agriculture is strongly represented in international trade policy? 

Mr. MCKINNEY. Sure, thank you. That is a very good question. 

The first thing I would say is get it right at home, so I am going 

to work with future, hopefully approved Deputy Secretary Censky 

and Secretary Perdue to make sure we have our talking points, our 

house in order. But to your point about teamwork, all my life I 

have practiced teamwork. In the private sector I have managed 

sideways far, far more than I have up or down to subordinates or 

superiors. I think the same skill sets will apply as we work with 

the many, many partners. You mentioned USTR, State, Commerce, 

and others. I think that is just what we are going to have to do. 

I think there is something that comes with the position you have 

created, a stand-alone Under Secretary for Trade, and I hope that 

gets us something. I hope it gets us a lot, that they will look first 

to us. But I think we have to earn that trust, and that is what I 

intend to do with a passion. 

Chairman ROBERTS. As we progress in a renegotiation—I am 

happy to use that word instead of ‘‘termination’’—with regards to 

NAFTA, the agricultural industry has made it clear the number 

one priority is to ‘‘do no harm’’. NAFTA has widely been viewed as 

successful for agriculture in all three countries, and Canada and 

Mexico are two of the top three markets for U.S. agricultural products. What do you view as the appropriate measure of ‘‘doing no 

harm’’ to agriculture when in NAFTA or other existing agreements 

like the Free Trade Agreement with Korea or the Pacific Rim countries? I hasten to add that the words ‘‘renegotiate,’’ ‘‘modernization,’’ ‘‘improve,’’ ‘‘fix’’ are better descriptions, I think, as opposed 

to ‘‘terminate.’’ 

Mr. MCKINNEY. Is that directed at me, Mr. Chairman? 

Chairman ROBERTS. Yes. Sorry. 

Mr. MCKINNEY. Absolutely. Well, for sure, do no harm in my 

view means we sustain the baseline. I will not be satisfied with 

that. You said yourself that we are facing a tough patch in terms 

of many of our commodities, and my goal is to lift those up ever 

higher. So I think do no harm, as I interpret it, would be to hold 

that baseline and look for opportunities for growth across all of our 

American ag sector. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Senator Stabenow. 

Senator STABENOW. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Welcome again. 

First, let me just reiterate what we know. We have received over 

500 farm, conservation, nutrition, and rural development groups, 

including the American Soybean Association, and we are so grateful, Mr. Censky, for your leadership there, arguing against any cuts 

to the farm bill, certainly including crop insurance. I want to reiterate again that I think the entire agriculture and farm and food 

community understands what we need to do to move forward on 

the budget, and I share that as well. 

Within the context of that, though, you and I have had the opportunity to talk, and certainly the Chairman and I have talked 

with the Secretary, along with others about the fact that when we 
13 

look at the safety net that we created in the 2014 farm bill, there 

was one area in particular that did not hit the mark, and that is 

with our dairy farmers. There are other areas we may need to finetune, but there are some significant issues with the dairy safety 

net that we need to fix. We are working on addressing that as 

quickly as possible. I appreciate the American Farm Bureau, Farmers Union, National Milk, and a whole range of folks that are very, 

very supportive of this. Specifically, stakeholders want to improve 

the dairy insurance options by offering insurance as an agricultural 

commodity and to avoid artificial limits on dairy insurance. 

When we look at crop insurance, it is something not available to 

dairy farmers right now, and I do not see why it should not be. So 

if confirmed, Mr. Censky, can I count on your support within the 

Department and the White House to advocate for such an improvement to the safety net for dairy farmers? 

Mr. CENSKY. Yes, Senator, thank you. Thanks for the opportunity to meet with you and to discuss this issue. Clearly, we know 

that the farm bill is important work, and we do know that there 

are areas that do need to be improved from the last farm bill. Some 

areas are just going to be tweaked. Some others are in need of 

some more significant improvements, and the dairy title is one of 

those. Of course, we are well aware of the concerns of the cotton 

growers and others as well to address those. 

Certainly I look forward to working, if confirmed, with Secretary 

Perdue and taking a look at those options, working with this Committee and working with Congress to see how we can utilize the 

Department’s programs and the authorities that the Department 

has to provide a better safety net for our dairy producers, among 

others. 

Senator STABENOW. Thanks very much. 

Mr. McKinney, we have all said that our farmers and ranchers 

can compete with anybody as long as there is a level playing field, 

and I really believe that to be true. Unfortunately, for many of the 

commodities we produce in Michigan, whether it is dairy, sugar, 

cherries or asparagus, we have seen trading partners that did not 

always abide by their commitments. If you are confirmed, how will 

you work across the Government to make enforcing our trade 

agreements a priority? How will you press countries that are violating their trade commitments to change their unfair trade practices? 

Mr. MCKINNEY. Sure, thank you, Senator Stabenow. That is a 

very good point, and in my role in Indiana, I too have seen that 

kind of activity, I would say notably with dairy. 

I think the first thing is I am a big believer in the Covey principles, and you seek first to understand. I want to meet with those 

who are affected to get every different angle, every different potential solution, understand the problem fully. I think I do, but I do 

not ever want to presume that. After that, I think we sit down with 

a team, an A team across the different agencies that would interface with these other countries. You mentioned Canada, and so I 

think clearly USTR, Commerce, State, and others who might have 

a role in that, and we would like to continue working with you because you have a voice and you have sources of information. But 

I think we have got to address that. 
14 

My sense is that if there is a way we can address that more 

quickly than not, we should do that. But if we need to have to wait 

until the NAFTA modernization, we will do that. But we have to 

address that. 

You extended that to other crops, and that is where I think we 

can get into some specialty crop products which have different 

unique programs that we can lift up. 

Senator STABENOW. Great. Thank you very much. I look forward 

to working with you on that. 

Mr. Censky, I was very impressed with the three goals that you 

laid out in terms of your position and the Department, and I would 

underscore and agree with all of those as being incredibly important. But I was heartened to read in your testimony about helping 

farmers and ranchers and foresters adapt to the changing climate, 

and I could not agree more. Given that, can you share some more 

specifics about what programs are working well in helping our producers become more resilient and where we can be doing more? Because they are certainly on the front lines, as we see the intense 

weather patterns. 

Mr. CENSKY. Thank you, Senator, for that question. Absolutely, 

I do think we do need to utilize all the resources that the Department has to try to help our farmers and ranchers and foresters become resilient. Farmers and ranchers, as you well know, have faced 

climate and weather variability for thousands of years. I think we 

can utilize the Department’s research programs to understand the 

trends that are happening, what pests might be emerging, to try 

to adapt our crops so that they can survive and are better in colder, 

hotter, wetter, drier climates, and we can utilize our research, our 

extension, as well as even our crop insurance coverage. 

Senator STABENOW. Thanks very much, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Senator Ernst. 

Senator ERNST. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Gentlemen, thank you for 

being here today, and congratulations on your nominations. 

The agricultural community is going through one of the toughest 

stretches that we have had since the 1980s, facing historically low 

commodity prices, battling drought and other natural disasters. In 

this challenging environment, it is imperative that we have a fully 

functioning USDA with all of those top positions filled, so thank 

you very much for coming forward and answering the questions 

that we have today. 

Mr. Censky, I would like to start with you. If confirmed for the 

role of Deputy Secretary, you will be working on much of the dayto-day operations of the Department, as we discussed in our meeting. One of the complaints I hear from my constituents as I am 

traveling around Iowa is how Federal agencies will often contradict 

each other and produce unnecessary regulations that can be confusing and actually impede investment. 

You mentioned in your testimony—and Senator Stabenow mentioned this as well—that one of your goals is to remove every obstacle and allow the men and women of America’s agriculture to create jobs and prosper. So how do we go about breaking down those 

barriers between the agencies and make sure that the USDA is 

working hand in hand with EPA, FDA, so many of those other 

agencies? What are the priorities there? What agencies would you 
15 

start with just to make sure that we are not contradicting each 

other within those agencies? 

Mr. CENSKY. Well, thank you very much, Senator, and thanks for 

that question and raising that important topic, and thanks for the 

opportunity to meet with you as well to discuss this and other topics. 

I do see the President, as you know, has announced a regulatory 

reform agenda. USDA is a key part of working as part of the administration’s regulatory reform agenda. I look forward, if confirmed, to being down at the Department to assist the Secretary in 

that important work. I am aware, although I am not on the inside 

yet, I know from the outside and as I have been briefed, that there 

really are some good initiatives to try to make sure that our regulations are not standing in the way of farmers and ranchers and job 

creation by businesses to do what is necessary. I think some of that 

coordination is as well happening because it is an administrationwide effort. It is not just USDA that is working alone. USDA is 

working as part of the whole administration’s team to take a look 

across agencies and across departments. 

Clearly, working with the Environmental Protection Agency is a 

key area that we need to do, but there are other agencies as well. 

Senator ERNST. Fantastic, and I am glad you mentioned that, 

too. It is a whole-of-administration effort, not just one department 

or another. I think with that approach, maybe we will be successful 

in that area. I truly hope so. 

Mr. McKinney, as the first person nominated to perform the important task and new role at USDA, you will set the precedent for 

how your office collaborates with the U.S. Trade Representative, 

the President’s National Economic Council, and the National Trade 

Council. You have outlined your priorities quite well. I want to 

thank you for that. I just want to reiterate how important trade is 

for agriculture. You have heard it so many times over. You completely understand this. We want to make sure that you always 

have a seat at the table when we are negotiating trade deals with 

other countries, whether it is Japan, China, South Korea, et cetera. 

But I just want to thank you for that. I am really excited about 

your opportunity and how you will be able to help those within the 

ag community. So thank you very much for being here today. 

Mr. Censky, I do want to ask you one final question here before 

my time runs out. In your testimony you highlighted the importance of rural broadband technology, which is something that I 

hear a lot about from my constituents. Not only do they use that 

technology for precision farming but also for growing jobs in our 

rural communities. The President’s budget request called for cuts 

to USDA’s Office of Rural Development, so I just wanted to get 

your thoughts on how we strike a balance with a constrained budgetary environment, how do we proceed with some of the goals that 

we have through rural economic development? 

Mr. CENSKY. I agree, you raise a fair point that in any budget 

and at any time we do have to set priorities, and while I was not 

involved in developing the current budget proposal, I look forward 

to working with the Congress and making—if confirmed, implementing the program and the budget as authorized by Congress, 

but also in developing priorities for future years. Clearly, I think 
16 

Secretary Perdue also has stated very clearly that broadband is 

transformative for rural areas. I could not agree more. I think that 

USDA does have a major role to play there as the administration 

develops its infrastructure initiative, and having broadband is part 

of the infrastructure initiative, as well as through USDA’s own programs to make sure that we are doing all we can to promote 

broadband and make sure that it is there, to do that kind of rural 

development and job creation that rural America needs. 

Senator ERNST. Great. Thank you. 

Thank you, Mr. Chair. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Senator Klobuchar. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I welcome both 

nominees, and I will note—I know Senator Thune is not here, but 

I will pass on to him—that there are a few notable people that 

moved the opposite way, from South Dakota to Minnesota, including someone named Hubert Humphrey. There we go. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. You also, Mr. McKinney, I know, spent 

time outside of Mankato, which is where my husband grew up with 

five brothers, and so it is exciting to have both of you here, and 

especially with your knowledge of the Midwest. I am really excited 

about that, as well as your backgrounds, and I want to thank Secretary Perdue for his wise choices. So thank you very much. 

I thought I would start with some of the issues we have been 

having with avian flu and the like. Maybe I will start with you, Mr. 

McKinney. You know the issues. You and I discussed some of the 

trade issues when other countries close down their markets, even 

in the face of science that shows that the animals that we would 

like to export are perfectly safe. In 2015, Minnesota lost almost 9 

million turkeys as a result of avian flu. Since that time, despite the 

safety that is clearly there, we have been working to lift the export 

ban from China. 

What do you see as the next steps to officially reopening the Chinese market to U.S. poultry products? 

Mr. MCKINNEY. Sure. Well, thank you very much, and I will just 

say that Julie and I enjoyed immensely our time in Mankato, and 

that is where our son was born. So love that. 

Your question is a very good one, and we experienced not quite 

the dramatic loss that you did in Minnesota with turkeys, but we 

had our own bout in southern Indiana. Just two comments. 

First, I think we have to acknowledge the quality of the Animal 

and Plant Health Inspection Service who I think have grown immensely in their quality and their ability to help address these 

issues. Clearly, it was done in a federalism format with States and 

Federals working together. But I think that is one of the best ways 

we address this. 

I will go further, though, because your question is how do we address some of the blockages that we are seeing, if I can use that 

phrase. Well, I think the regionalization concept is one that has 

worked and is working in several countries where they acknowledge that just because something is happening in one part of the 

U.S. but is not happening in the other part, that is a reason to 

completely shut off exports of those products or commodities from 
17 

the United States. So I think that gives us more than a toehold to 

build upon. 

I think the rest is we have got to continue to use science and research to show that these—we can manage these diseases, and we 

have. We can stop them. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Very good. Thank you very much. Mr. 

Censky, I will follow up with that a bit with you on the record, not 

right now, on a bill I am working on to strengthen animal disease 

prevention. 

But I wanted to move on to the renewable fuel standard, very 

important in my State. Can you talk about the importance of this 

standard? Will you commit to working with the EPA to ensure that 

the 2018 RVO targets are forward-looking and reflect the reality of 

advanced biofuel production? 

Mr. MCKINNEY. Thank you, Senator, and I agree that the renewable fuel standard is very important to rural America and to our 

farmers. It is something that I am familiar with from my past work 

with the American Soybean Association and the importance there. 

I think we have heard strong support from the President, from Secretary Perdue, in support of the renewable fuel standard. I look forward, if confirmed, to be there and to be a champion for the appropriate levels there. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Thank you. Thank you very much. As you 

know—and we can talk about this more later—we really do appreciate that work as well, but there are some changes that some of 

us would like to see on those RVO targets. But I appreciate your 

interest in working with us. 

Last question just on exports, trade agreements. Minnesota is 

the fourth largest ag exporting State in the Nation, accounting for 

more than one-third of our State’s total exports. That is despite the 

fact that we have 18 Fortune 500 companies that do a little bit of 

exporting. So it is very important to me. Our primary markets are 

China, Mexico, Japan, Canada, South Korea, and Taiwan. 

Mr. McKinney, could you just talk very briefly, in 30 seconds 

here, how do you see the importance of access to these export markets? 

Mr. MCKINNEY. Certainly. I will make this short and sweet. We 

have got to continue to have ‘‘do no harm’’ resonate, and I think 

that it is. 

Secondly, beyond that, we have got to lift up these exports, and 

that is why my intent is to find myself on an airplane seat, go out, 

build trust, and continue to open markets. I continue to be encouraged. We are moving from 7 to 9 billion people, and the protein demand around the world is rising rather rapidly. So I think we catch 

that wave, but we have to earn that. I intend to do that. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Very good. We just discussed China getting 

more ethanol, which would be great. I also just last want to mention that my mom taught second grade until she was 70 years old, 

so she may have even stayed a little long. You look a little younger 

than that. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. All right. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. 

Chairman ROBERTS. I thank the Senator. 
18 

Senator Grassley? 

Senator GRASSLEY. I thank Senator Klobuchar for bringing up 

the issue of biofuels, and I would just associate myself with her remarks, and thanks for your statement on it, the renewable fuel 

statement. 

I want to follow on that a little bit, because in your positions, I 

am sure some of you are going to be involved in interagency councils. We have so many of them. I assume you are going to be. So 

on the issue of biofuels, you will probably be having reason to have 

meetings with the Special Trade Representative, the Commerce Department, the Energy Department, the EPA as an example. For 

trade, one of the issues we have is with Brazil threatening to or 

maybe they have already put on import duties on ethanol. I would 

hope that you could be in a strong position to express to them that 

we need to fight that very, very hard. I am not asking you to—unless you disagree with me, I am not asking you to comment right 

now. That would be one place to start. 

I hope you all know the importance of E15 because we have 

reached the point where with E10 we do not have enough petroleum to mix much beyond E10. That is why the exports are very 

important. But, also, we are going to have a growing corn crop year 

after year, just like starting 10 years ago there has been a steady 

upturn in production. That is going to continue. So if we do not 

move to E15—so you are going to have opportunities within EPA 

and Energy to urge them not to stand in the way of it. I am sure 

you all know of the significant weight that the petroleum industry 

puts on the EPA in the past to curb whatever they can under existing law to stop them from doing that. They have been stopped by 

the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, some things that EPA had done 

in the past in regard to reducing the amount of renewable fuel 

standard requirements, that they do not have the authority to do 

that. So we have the law more on our side now than we did. But 

the extent to which you can be a spokesman for E15 with these different agencies is very, very important because your job in the Department of Agriculture will be to make the market forces work as 

much as they can from the standpoint that if we have overproduction, you are going to have lower prices; you are going to have an 

increase in support for farmers out of the taxpayers, and we ought 

to have the marketplace and the consumer benefit from that. So I 

hope that you will do those things. 

That is kind of an admonition to you. You can comment on it if 

you want to. But if you do not want to comment right now, I have 

got a couple questions. Okay. 

I want to ask Mr. McKinney, your position is a critical leadership 

role as we are in the midst of renegotiating both NAFTA and probably the Korean Free Trade Agreement. I do not think Korea has 

agreed to that, but we are trying to do that. Outside of the ever 

changing currency values, what would you say are the top two or 

three issues facing American exports around the world that you intend to focus on if you are confirmed? 

Mr. MCKINNEY. Well, I cited one in my opening remarks, but let 

me elaborate. I think the nonscientific trade barriers is the largest, 

broadest description. Sanitary-phytosanitary would be a little bit 

more specific. I think they have been abused around the world. 
19 

There is a double standard. We try very hard in the U.S. to subscribe to the WTO standards or any other standards that have 

been agreed to, and the reverse is not true, and I think it is time 

to call that out and address it for what it is and be firm about that. 

To enact that, it is going to have to be a collaboration across the 

many, many different agencies that deal with or touch international trade, but I think that is the one. 

The other thing that has not been mentioned much is the proposal to move Codex to my Department. I will tell you that I believe firmly we have to stay on solid grounds with science. It cannot be a political issue. That is a science-based issue. But we need 

a bit more clout to address what I think has been a failure over 

the last 10 years in the Codex process. You think about the developing countries around the world that rely on Codex as their EPA 

or FDA or USDA or whatever regulatory agency, and it has become 

politicized. Ten years ago or more, it was not that way. I think we 

have got to do our best—and I will have to look into it. I do not 

understand right now exactly the best way, but we will create a 

plan to somehow try to restore that on good grounds based on 

science, not on politics, because we are affecting people’s lives 

around the world. 

Those would be two, Mr. Senator. 

Senator GRASSLEY. Thank you, and I will yield, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ROBERTS. Thank you, Senator. 

Senator Boozman? 

Senator BOOZMAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. McKinney, agriculture is Arkansas’ number one industry and 

accounts for nearly a quarter of my State’s economy. As you know, 

the farm economy is struggling right now with low commodity 

prices. One way we can lessen the economic pressure facing our 

farmers and ranchers is to open up new markets. Cuba represents 

an important opportunity for American agriculture. Cuba imports 

80 percent of the food that it eats, and it is only 90 miles off the 

U.S. coast. Can you talk a little bit about your thoughts on opening 

up Cuba to agricultural trade? 

Mr. MCKINNEY. Sure. Well, stated in the most general and 

broadest sense, I believe in free trade wherever it makes sense. I 

happen to know that there is still some debate on whether we go 

to Cuba. That is not a decision that I will make. But to the degree 

that we can work with, if nominated—if confirmed, Deputy Secretary Censky, Secretary Perdue, and all of you, we will pursue 

that if you will give us that permission. 

Senator BOOZMAN. Mr. Censky, Mr. McKinney, since the end of 

World War II, American food aid programs have saved millions of 

people from malnourishment and starvation. My State is the largest rice-growing State in the country, and since 2007, over 1 million metric tons of rice have been delivered in the form of global 

food assistance. This has been a win-win for U.S. farmers and 

those in need. 

Can you all talk a little bit about your views in regard to the importance of U.S. food aid, particularly now? We have several famines going on that, sadly, are man-made in their cause, but are as 

dire in consequence as any famine going back for many, many 

years. 
20 

Mr. MCKINNEY. I would be delighted to. It is a very good question, and it is one that I feel very personally. As a senior at Purdue 

University, I was very fortunate to have Dr. Don Paarlberg, who 

worked under the Eisenhower, Nixon, and Ford administrations, 

who wrote Public Law 480 as a professor, and that is when I 

learned the backdrop behind that. I sought to understand, and did. 

In my time in the private sector, not once but twice we had a 

cause, which was hunger, and felt it deeply, felt it very deeply. We 

have seen hunger, not just the developing world, which oftentimes 

is cited in photographs, but our neighbors in the Indianapolis area. 

So I am a deep believer in assistance that we can provide in that 

manner. 

I have not been asked about that. I am not yet confirmed, but 

I will assure you that, if confirmed, I will raise my voice within the 

proper channels to see if programs like that have merit. I think 

they do, and I will advocate for such. At the same time, I understand how to take orders, and you all will have a lot to say about 

funding and enacting of that. But am I a believer? I am. 

Senator BOOZMAN. Mr. Censky? 

Mr. CENSKY. I believe Mr. McKinney said it well. I have had the 

opportunity as well to view through the years, both as the head of 

the Foreign Agricultural Service and then in my capacity working 

with the American Soybean Association, and partnering with the 

USA Rice Federation and other groups, to really see the benefits 

of these programs and look forward, if confirmed, to working along 

with Mr. McKinney, with Secretary Perdue, to make sure that we 

have adequate funding for the programs at appropriate levels, 

working within the administration, and making sure that we are 

carrying out the programs at the levels as authorized by Congress. 

Senator BOOZMAN. Very good. I thank both of you for being here, 

and thank you for your willingness to serve. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ROBERTS. I appreciate that. 

That will conclude our hearing today. I thank the nominees for 

taking time to address this Committee, to answer this Committee’s 

questions. Obviously, both of you have tremendous expertise back 

in the past. I thought Senator Frank Carlson wrote the P.L. 480 

program, assisted by Don Paarlberg, of course. 

Today’s nominees’ testimony provided us significant information 

and a solid basis upon which to report them favorably out of Committee. Per our rules, we cannot do so today, but we will endeavor 

to do so in the very near future. I suspect this will be off the floor. 

To that end, I would request that if my fellow members have any 

additional questions from the Committee, they be submitted to the 

Committee clerk by 5 o’clock tomorrow, September 20. We look forward to receiving your responses and to further considering your 

nominations. 

The Committee stands adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 10:47 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.] 
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A P P E N D I X 

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DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD 

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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 

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