Agriculture & Rural Development
Farmers, ranchers, and producers are the backbone of America's more than $1 trillion dollar agriculture industry. Georgia's agriculture industry generates $ billion annually. As a leader of the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, the Co-Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Chicken Caucus, and Co-Chair of the Congressional Peanut Caucus, Congressman Bishop is one of agriculture's most steadfast supporters in Congress, directing crucial funds to federal programs that build our rural communities, support agriculture, and ensure that America has the safest, most abundant, and affordable food, fiber, and medicine.
Congressman Bishop is also a member of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, where he helps oversee and craft federal agriculture policy and programs through the Farm Bill. He works diligently to protect farmers and help them recover from natural disasters, fights against overbearing regulatory burdens, strengthen America’s nutrition programs, improve the H2-A program for non-immigrant agricultural workers, advance education and research that makes agriculture more efficient and resilient, promote fair trade and treatment of American agriculture goods in international markets.
More on Agriculture & Rural Development
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA) and Congressman Rick Crawford (R-AR), Co-Chairs of the Congressional Chicken Caucus, welcomed advance notification of the Mexican government’s decision to delay the implementation of anti-dumping duties on U.S. chicken leg quarters. In June 2012, the Congressional Chicken Caucus sent a letter to Ambassador Ron Kirk, the U.S. Trade Representative, expressing its concern that antidumping duties would have a devastating economic impact on the U.S. Chicken Industry and supporting industries.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) released the following statement today announcing the awarding of five new and continuing grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to assist socially disadvantaged farmers, ranchers, and landowners in Georgia. A total of 70 grants were awarded throughout the United States through the Outreach and Assistance to Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers (OASDFR) Competitive Grants Program, also known as the “2501 Program.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) supported H.R. 6233, the Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act, which would authorize assistance to farmers affected by drought, wildfires, and other natural disasters that occurred in fiscal year 2012.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), who serves on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, joined 62 of his colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives in sending a letter the House Leadership urging them to bring H.R. 6083, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act, or Farm Bill, to a vote before the August District Work Period, scheduled to begin on August 4, 2012.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, stood in support of Georgia’s tomato industry in regards to unfair trade practices. In a letter to the Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce Rebecca Blank, Congressman Bishop called for the withdrawal of the 1996 antidumping petition and the termination of the 2008 Suspension Agreement governing the importation of tomatoes from Mexico.
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) released the following statement today in recognition of the 150th anniversary of the United States Department of Agriculture:
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) and Congressman Rick Crawford, (AR-01) will hold a lunch on Wednesday, March 21st with leaders of the American chicken industry. The lunch will serve as the inaugural event of the bipartisan Congressional Chicken Caucus. The Chicken Caucus was established to educate members of Congress and their staffs on the concerns and benefits of the U.S. chicken industry.
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) attended a budget hearing hosted by the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Related Agencies. Dr. Margaret Hamburg, the Food and Drug Administration’s Commissioner for Food and Drugs, testified before the subcommittee on President Obama’s fiscal year 2013 budget request for the FDA.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) sent a letter to Ambassador Ron Kirk, United States Trade Representative, urging him to ensure that Georgia’s tobacco farmers are not excluded from taking advantage of trade protections offered under the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA). Georgia Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson along with Representatives Jack Kingston, John Barrow, and Austin Scott were co-signatories to the letter.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) today joined members of Georgia's congressional delegation in urging U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to grant Secretarial Disaster Designations for those counties that have been adversely impacted by the state's ongoing drought. Due to high temperatures that have engulfed Georgia the last several months, sectors of the state's agricultural industry, particularly farming communities in southwest Georgia, have suffered severe economic hardships. |