Perdue Testifying Before Congress and Greeting Farmers Next Week

(ORLANDO, FL) Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is lacing up his running shoes in anticipation of a very busy week ahead. The head of the USDA is scheduled to testify before the House Agriculture Committee on Wednesday, the Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday and to speak at Commodity Classic in Orlando on Friday. Perdue is expected to outline the departments’ plan for implementing the 2018 Farm Bill that was signed into law in December. On the Senate side, he is also expected to challenge the upper chamber to stop wasting time on confirming nominees to USDA. Currently, there are at least three open positions that require full Senate approval, something the Senate failed to do before the end of the previous Congress. With a new Congress in session (the 116th Congress), the administration has resubmitted the nominations of Dr. Mindy Brashears to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety; Naomi Earp to be Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Civil Rights; and Dr. Scott Hutchins to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics.