Rep. Mann Demands Answers from USDA Secretary Vilsack

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Tracey Mann (KS-01) questioned U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack during a House Agriculture Committee hearing.  

“Those in farm country have made it loud and clear,” said Rep. Mann. “They cannot survive when the government burdens them with nonsensical regulations and red tape. From the Biden Administration’s proposal to eliminate the stepped-up basis, to USDA’s recycled Packers and Stockyards rules that extend well beyond congressional intent, and from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Waters of the U.S. rule that regulates water in private ponds and ditches, to USDA’s absence from decisions pertaining to atrazine on the farm — the federal government must stop hamstringing the people who feed, fuel, and clothe the world.” 

Representative Mann’s questions included comments regarding: 

• USDA’s proposed Packers and Stockyards rules that extend beyond the bounds of Congressional intent and ignore legal precedent regarding Harm to Competition; 

• President Biden’s budget proposal that eliminates the stepped-up basis and imposes the Farm Killer Tax, both of which would kill family farms overnight, jeopardizing America’s food security; 

• EPA’s refusal to incorporate any feedback from USDA in their proposed mitigation measures that producers would be required to implement when using atrazine; and 

• USDA’s role in the new WOTUS rule. 

“If we do not stand up for agricultural producers when these decisions are being made, then no one will,” said Rep. Mann. 

Click here to see Rep. Mann’s Commitment to the Big First.

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