Senate Agriculture Hearing on Tom Vilsack's Nomination as Agriculture Secretary
On Tuesday, February 2, the Senate Agriculture Committee held a confirmation hearing for Tom Vilsack for Agriculture secretary. Vilsack is former Iowa governor and served eight years as USDA secretary in the Obama administration.
The Senate Agriculture Committee approved Vilsack by voice vote soon after the confirmation hearing and Vilsack is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate in coming days.
During the hearing, Vilsack described four core opportunities he will seek to advance:
1) Addressing climate change by working with farmers to sequester carbon;
2) Addressing hunger and food insecurity
3) Promoting open, transparent, and fair markets
4) Addressing discrimination and inequities in USDA programs
The priorities articulated by Vilsack are in line with some of NOC’s top priorities, including the need to advance organic agriculture as a climate change solution and address racial disparities in the food system, the organic movement, and USDA programs.
Vilsack addressed organic issues three times during the hearing. In response to questions posed by Senator Brown (D-OH) about lost markets during the pandemic, Vilsack talked about diversifying the food supply chain and building local market opportunities by expanding farm to institution programs. He also described the need to create food hubs, support farmers markets, increase processing opportunities for small and medium size operations, and help producers transition to organic.
Senator Leahy (D-VT) talked about long overdue organic rulemakings at USDA. He noted the lack of action the Origin of Livestock rule, which impacts organic dairy producers in particular and asked Vilsack to commit to addressing that issue. In response, Vilsack mentioned his support for the organic industry and for getting the Origin of Livestock rule completed.
Senate Agriculture Committee member Deb Fischer (R-NE) said that Nebraska is a leader in precision agriculture and in producing data on climate change benefits. In response to this topic, Vilsack talked about how U.S. agriculture can be competitive when it is sustainable, including in world markets. He referenced President Biden’s goal of zero net emissions in agriculture and talked about the role of organic in helping with this goal.
Vilsack several times discussed the need to create market opportunities to help farmers adopt climate-friendly practices, and discussed the idea of using the Commodity Credit Corporation to fund a carbon bank that would pay farmers to sequester carbon using practices such as cover cropping and conservation tillage. In his remarks, he discussed the need for farmer input into programs and rigorous data collection to measure how much carbon is being sequestered through different practices. He also emphasized the need to make sure farmers, not traders, benefit from carbon markets.
Incoming Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) says that she believes Vilsack has the authority to move forward with the carbon bank idea without Congressional legislation, but incoming ranking member John Boozman (R-AR) is arguing that this action would require approval from Congress.
Food and ag leaders, including some Black farmers and civil rights organizations, have criticized Biden’s pick of Vilsack to lead the USDA, stating that his record on civil rights should disqualify him for the job.
A recording of the hearing can be viewed on the Senate Agriculture Committee website here.