Congressman Huelskamp Invites Top Regulators to Attend Farm Bill Field Hearing

Press Release

On Friday, April 20, 2012, Congressman Tim Huelskamp will host in his district an official House Agriculture Committee Field Hearing on the 2012 Farm Bill. Last week, Congressman Huelskamp invited two of President Obama's Cabinet members to attend: U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. In addition, Congressman Huelskamp invited EPA Regional Administrator Karl Brooks and Max Strathman, Division Administrator of the Kansas office of the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration. None of the four has confirmed their attendance yet.

"The Dodge City Farm Bill field hearing will be an excellent opportunity to showcase what Kansas has to offer the nation and the world, but also an occasion to discuss the factors that are hampering American agriculture, especially overregulation," Congressman Huelskamp said. "Washington's approach to farmers and ranchers often is antagonistic towards producers. America's farmers and ranchers expect that Secretaries Solis and Vilsack and Administrators Brooks and Strathman should want to hear directly from them, the individuals and entrepreneurs who are affected by counterproductive and often harmful rules and red tape their agencies enforce."

"Overregulation is a very real and serious threat to the prosperity of American agriculture and all of rural America. While some regulations might be written with the best of intentions, they are often written at the expense of productivity, efficiency, and common sense. Washington often forgets that our farmers and ranchers rely on the land and other natural resources for our prosperity, not some bureaucracy in some far-off capital."

The field hearing will begin promptly at 9:00 AM on Friday, April 20 at the Magouirk Conference Center (4100 W. Comanche, Dodge City). The names and affiliations of witnesses testifying at the hearing will be made public on Thursday, April 19, 2012 by the House Agriculture Committee. Their testimonies will be published on the House Agriculture Committee website the day of the hearing. Following a lunch break, Congressman Huelskamp will host an Agriculture Town Hall Meeting at 1:00 PM in the same location. Constituents with questions should direct them to Congressman Huelskamp's Dodge City office at 620-225-0172.

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