IARN — Two key agricultural positions remain vacated under the Biden administration.
In a letter sent to President Biden this week, U.S. Representatives Ashley Hinson, Randy Feenstra, Mariannette Miller-Meeks and many of their colleagues urged the administration to quickly nominate two qualified individuals to the positions of Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Chief Agriculture Negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).
Speaking with members of the media on Friday, Congresswoman Hinson said she’s concerned these two positions have been vacant since the beginning of the Biden administration. She says it’s “leaving American farmers, producers and their families behind.”
During a press conference at last month’s Commodity Classic, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack was asked if he’s concerned about expanding the number of 2022 trade missions as the USDA navigates without an undersecretary for trade.
“We had a record year in exports last year at $177 billion,” Vilsack said. “We’re expected to break that record this year. When you ask a question about what’s going to happen, you need to understand there are a whole heck of a lot of people at USDA that are working very hard to make these trade missions successful. It doesn’t require a single person to make them successful.”
The full letter can be viewed here.
Story courtesy of the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network.
Pictured: Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson speaks during a recent telephone town hall. (Photo courtesy of Rep. Hinson/Twitter)
