On Tuesday, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee.
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00:00Great. Thank you, Chairman Collins, Chairman Hovind, Vice Chair Murray, Ranking Member Shaheen,
00:05and distinguished members of this subcommittee. I am so grateful for the opportunity to appear
00:11before you to share what we've accomplished at USDA in the last 100 days, but also to answer
00:18your questions on the President's budget request and the priorities moving forward.
00:24When farmers prosper, rural America prospers. And I want to thank you all for your shared
00:30bipartisan commitment to that effort in ensuring that our farmers and our ranchers and our rural
00:35communities thrive. During my confirmation hearing, which some of you attended, not all,
00:41I quoted Thomas Jefferson's 1787 letter to George Washington in which he wrote,
00:47Agriculture is our wisest pursuit because it will, in the end, contribute most to real wealth,
00:54to good morals, and to happiness. I have had the distinct privilege of serving American farmers
01:00and ranchers for the past 82 days, and I can tell you our farmers continue to embody every single day
01:08the ideals that Thomas Jefferson described over two centuries ago, and serving as their champion
01:14continues to be my greatest honor. We at the Department of Agriculture have wasted no time
01:20in implementing President Trump's bold policy agenda. The President's fiscal year 2026 discretionary
01:27budget that we're talking about today identifies the priorities of our administration with the same
01:32degree of prudence and frugality our family farmers practice when they draft their annual budgets.
01:38Let me touch on a few highlights of the last 82 days and then turn it back to you, Mr. Chairman.
01:46Upon taking office, I was tasked by President Trump to lower the cost of eggs in the short term
01:51and also to provide farmers with resources that are needed to combat the avian influenza
01:58in the long term. In February, at the direction of President Trump, we announced a five-point plan
02:04to meet this challenge head-on, and I am proud to report that since that plan was introduced,
02:09the wholesale price of eggs has decreased 56 percent, with the retail price following.
02:15In taking this position, I fully understood that American agriculture was facing one of the most
02:20economically challenging times in our country's history. For generations, American producers and
02:27consumers enjoyed the fruits of an agricultural trade surplus. But under the last four years,
02:33that surplus went from zero, or that trade deficit went from zero to a nearly $50 billion trade
02:41deficit, and the newest numbers coming in are actually significantly more than that.
02:45President Trump and I know this problem will not solve itself. That's why he is taking action,
02:52bold action, which I'm sure we're going to talk about today, to address our imbalanced trade commitments.
02:57And I am working tirelessly to promote American agricultural products on the world stage. In April,
03:05USDA launched our agricultural trade promotion programs for fiscal year 2026, and is currently
03:11accepting applications for four export market development programs. As part of this effort,
03:17I will be traveling to seven countries in the next few months. The first trip begins Sunday when I head to
03:23the UK, where I will be making sure our trading partners know that American agriculture is the crown jewel of
03:31American production. And in fact, I was talking to Chairman Hoven, I have to leave here at noon because the
03:36Secretary of Agriculture from Mexico has just landed here in Washington, and I'm going to meet and talk with him
03:42momentarily as soon as we finish. We are also streamlining unnecessary regulations and cutting red tape for
03:48agricultural producers and industries so that they can continue to do what they do best. And that is to
03:54everyday feed, fuel and clothe America and our world. To that end, my team and I have sought to eliminate waste
04:02fraud and abuse in all USDA programs, including the SNAP improper payments, fraud and programs that fail to fulfill the
04:10USDA mission of putting farmers first. Our team is meeting daily with our partners at the Department of Government
04:17Efficiency with Doge, which again, I'm sure we'll get into, to ensure that we are doing right by the American
04:23taxpayer while also protecting critical USDA programs. What is also of paramount importance at the United
04:31States Department of Agriculture is our mission to make America healthy again. We've been taking major steps to
04:39fulfill this mandate by accepting SNAP waivers and working alongside our country's great governors, both Republican and
04:47Democrat, as we move that project forward. The MAHA movement at USDA has also supported major, major
04:55voluntary changes to make food healthier, including just last week, the International Dairy Foods Association's
05:02most recent announcement related to dyes in school lunch dairy products. We are also working around the clock to
05:09address major threats to our farmers and our ranchers, including the new world screw worm, which would
05:15devastate our cattle industry in this country. Alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Deputy Secretary of State
05:22Christopher Landau, we were pleased to share just last week that we have negotiated a deal with the
05:28government of Mexico to allow the best preventative tools we have to land our response aircraft in Mexico
05:34without further hindrance. Additionally, working to ensure that Mexico abides by the 1944 Water Treaty, providing the water it owes to our ag producers in America.
05:40Finally, and again, just a quick summary of the last 82 days. Just last week, alongside Senator Rounds and some other great Americans, we stood with Charles and Heather Mott, a South Dakota cattle family, fifth-generation cattle ranching family, who operates small cattle and hogs, who endured a senseless, politically motivated prosecution over 25 acres of forest land that had had had the
06:10fence line on it for almost 100 years. The criminal charges against the family were dropped last week. And to prevent further injustices against our farmers and ranchers, we launched a portal for farmers and ranchers to tell us their stories if they too are being treated in a similar situation as to the mods. And since we launched that a week ago Thursday, so I guess just four or five days ago now, we've had over 100 farmers and ranchers reply and move their stories into the
06:40into our portal. So we're already following up on that. Again, during my first 82 days as the Secretary of Agriculture, we have visited 15 states. We have not visited yours yet. We're coming very, very soon. I have attended over 100 events, given dozens and dozens of keynote speeches, and met with nearly 1,000 farmers and ranchers across this great country, both here in Washington and out in the states. We will continue to build, based on their
07:10feedback based on their hard work and based on reconstituting, rebuilding and revivifying United States Department of Agriculture to better serve our customers. American Ag does not rest and I can assure you that under my tenure, neither will the US Department of Ag. I'm proud to be at the helm of the People's Department as President Lincoln so aptly launched and said in the 1860s. I'm proud to be at the Department. I'm proud to be at the table with President
07:15Trump. And I'm so proud to be fighting for the most American of all American
07:44all Americans and that is our farmers and our ranchers and our agriculture communities. Thank you so much.