Agriculture & Rural Development

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Reps. Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-GA), Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) led 98 other Members in a letter to U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez and Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services León Rodriguez regarding the administrative breakdown in the timely processing of H-2A agricultural worker program applications and visa petitions.

WASHINGTON, D.C. ─ Today, Congressman Sanford Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, welcomed the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) creation of the new Cotton Ginning Cost Share Program in order to expand and maintain the domestic marketing of cotton. Through the new program, cotton producers will be able to reduce their costs for the 2015 crop by an estimated $300 million nationwide.

ALBANY, GA – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) welcomed the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announcement of a Federal Marketing Order (FMO) for pecans grown in 15 states, a self-help program funded by the pecan industry and administered by a new 17-member American Pecan Council for the benefit of the industry.

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), Member of the House Appropriations Committee, released the following statement after the full Appropriations Committee approved its Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill. The government spending bill now goes to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives for its consideration.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, released the following statement after the full Appropriations Committee passed its Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 government spending bill. The government spending bill now goes to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives for its consideration.

ALBANY, GA – Yesterday, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) successfully included language in the Fiscal Year 2017 Agriculture Appropriations Bill protecting pecan processors and one of Georgia’s largest industries. If signed into law, the bill would require the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to include pecans in its preliminary report, providing pecan processors with necessary figure estimates related to the overall size of the crop produced and cost of product.

MONTEZUMA, GA – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop Jr. (GA-02), co-chair of the Congressional Working Forests Caucus, welcomed the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) recent action to expand use of forest products in their Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building program by including recognition of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the American Tree Farm System (AFTS), effectively opening a pathway for more U.S. forest products to be used in the LEED rating system.

FORT VALLEY, GA— Today, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Vilsack announced $18 million in grants will be available to strengthen research and teaching at historically black land-grant universities. The grants are available through the 1890 Institution Research, Extension, and Teaching Capacity Building Grants program administered by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).