Washington, DC — Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack isn’t ruling out another stint as US Agriculture Secretary if Kamala Harris wins and asks him to continue in the role.
Vilsack served eight years as US Ag Secretary during the Obama Adminsitration and has been President Biden’s Secretary of Agriculture since 2021. The nation’s longest serving Ag Secretary was from Iowa. “Tama Jim” Wilson, a farmer from Traer who served in the Iowa legislature and the US congress, was ag secretary for 16 years, during the administrations of Presidents McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt and Taft. Vilsack, who is 74, was elected mayor of Mount Pleasant in 1987, then served in the state senate before he was elected to two terms as Iowa’s governor. Vilsack spoke with reporters yesterday (Thursday) at the Farm Progress Show in Boone. Vilsack indicated he would not comment on Governor Reyonlds’ request for a waiver from a USDA program, so she can provide state-purchased food to needy families with kids next summer. The USDA program provides electronic benefits cards to families during the summer months if a child in the household qualifies for a free or reduced price lunch during the school year.
The governors of 43 states have signed up for the USDA program for the summer of 2025. He says research shows it’s the most successful way to make sure youngesters have appropriate nutrition in the summer months.
Reynolds says the state will be able to provide more food, by making bulk purchases of nutritious food.
