i want to thank any chairman of the agriculture committee. i'm proud to serve on that committee as well. and i want to thank all of the witnesses for testifying. mr. thompson, i want to thank you as well because all day we've had members come up and refer to us as the democrat party and i appreciate the fact that you refer to us as the democratic party and democratic amendments. thank you for that. and i want to say thank you to you for highlighting the fact that you're working in a bipartisan with chairman takano and there are others on this committee, mr. mccall, who i have great respect for, who also are doing incredible bipartisan work. in the spirit of bipartisanship, i'm going to yield to my ranking member, mr. cole, for any questions he may have. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. and i regret i missed a fair amount of the testimony because i had a physician's appointment. and i thank all of you for your understanding. so if the question is a little off mark or not -- or has been dealt with, please forgive for that. mr. wahlberg, are

in alliance with the agricultural workers organizing committee, we begin a new chapter of long farmworkerknow in september of 1965, the delay no grape strike began for union recognition on the pay scale of a dollar 40 an hour, became much more than that. it was the strikers themselves were to declare, their own manifesto. the plan of delay no. >> we are conscience of the historical significance. it is clearly evident that their path travels through a valley well-known through mexican lawmakers. we know all of these towns of deadly know, mud as to, stockton and sacramento because along this very same road, in this very same valley, the mexican race has sacrificed itself to for the last hundred years. on our sweat and our -- has fallen on this land to make other men rich. this pilgrimage is a witness to see the suffering we have seen for generations. dependence we accept symbolizes the suffering which will have to bring justice to the same towns, to the same valley. the pilgrimage we make symbolizes the long historical road we have traveled in this valley alone. and the long road we have ye

when that national farmworkers association merged with the agricultural workers committee, was -- stillits vice president. actually one of several vice presidents. however she was probably the most president out there in the media. she was the main communicator to radio, tv, printed media on the schools and values. she was also a contract negotiator, which is something that she was extremely successful in. he was also a picket captain and one of the main strategies of the boycott. the grapes boycott was a concurrent strategy with a strike that was devised around 1965, at a very local level. it grew to become in national and international movement by 1966, 1967. so what happened was that in times where there was not much harvesting activity, basically grape pickers and farm workers went to supermarkets around the nation asking consumers not abide grapes that were produced by these companies that didn't want to negotiate contracts with the bmw and telling them about the conditions under which workers were working. so it was the first time that orban consumers were made aware of the human

agricultural producers who suffered disaster losses in 2020. the amendment is extremely important to our nation's farmers who have suffered from natural disasters in 2020. it is so important, the committee on agriculture passed this amendment and added it to the bill, but the bipartisan amendment which is one of only two amendments adopted the dishabille is now no longer present in this package. we are considering before us. this is concerning, and a far departure of any semblance of regular order. we have an opportunity to fix this oversight by making this bipartisan amendment in order, and i urged the adoption of my motion. chair mcgovern: any discussion? all of those in favor say ay. opposed, no. opinion of the chair, the no's have it. >> i request a recorded vote. chair mcgovern: recorded vote has been requested, call the roll. [clerk calls the roll] >> no. >> no. >> no. >> no. >> no. >> no. >> no. >> ay. >> ay. >> ay. >> ay. >> no. chair mcgovern: clerk, report the total. clerk: 4 ays, 8 nays. chair mcgovern: the amendment is not agreed to. >> thank you. i have an amendment to the rule to make in order for amendment 144 to hr 1319 offered by the representative from kentucky. and en

when you think about committees that have been involved in this process, everybody from the agriculture committee to energy and commerce to education, to science, to veterans affairs,, across-the-board, you realize three things. one is the breadth of the impact of the pandemic in personal and economic terms, and the many ways in which the pandemic has affected this country in virtually every corner of society, and third the magnitude of the response that is required. that is what you see reflected in this legislation, an incredible piece of work that deals with the pandemic in all of its manifestations, and in a way that will truly be effective in not only stopping the virus, stopping the pandemic, helping our citizens get through the economic challenges that they have had and also, helping our state and local governments in rebuilding the economy, getting set to rebuild the economy. i think you realize why this piece of legislation has much rod support. this week, -- such broad support. 70% of the american people support the bill, according to a poll this week, 60 percent of republicans, one hun

the agriculture committee held a bipartisan hearing earlier this month and mere hours later we voted to advance his nomination without any objection. his deep knowledge of agriculture in rural america is needed now more than ever. for our farmers, our families, our rural communities have so many challenges right now. the covid-19 crisis is continuing to disrupt our food supply chain for farmers, food processors, and essential workers. tens of millions of families still don't have enough to eat and are lining up at food banks in order to put food on the table. the climate crisis is posing an extremely grave threat to the long-term viability of our economy and our food supply. farmers of color who have long faced civil rights abuses and systemic racism continue to experience economic disparities. on top of all this, there is a lot of work to be done to rebuild the usda workforce so the department can fulfill its very important mission. american farmers, families, rural communities need strong, effective leadership now more than ever, and when it comes to strengthening our food and farm

you think about the committees that have been involved in this process everybody from the agriculture committee energy and commerce education science veterans affairs across-the-board you realize three things. one is the breadth of the impact of the pandemic in both personal and economic terms and the many ways in which the pandemic has affected this country in virtually every corner of society and finally third of magnitude of the response that is required and i think that's what you see reflected in this legislation. an incredible piece of work that deals with the pandemic and all of its manifestations in a way that will surely be effective and not only stopping the virus in stopping the pandemic, helping citizens get through the economic challenges that they have had and also helping state and local governments in rebuilding the economy, getting set to rebuild the economy. i think we all realize why this legislation has such broad support. just this week a poll of 76% of the mac and people support the bill and republicans everyone from the chairman of the fed to major business groups, 150 ce

in august 1966 the national farm workers association and the agriculture organizing committee were mergedganizing committee afl cio. chavez is its director. >> if the establishment is powerful. the organized farm worker and his family is forced to fight on every field and in every orchard. they have to live with this. man has learned he cannot fight machines. they fight to improve their substandard way of life within a system that so far has given every advantage to those for whom they are forced to work. and they have learned the fight is part of the work. to the farm workers their wives and children and to all those who have joined them in their struggle, this film is dedicated. >> you're watching american history tv. every weekend on c-span 3 explore our nation's past. american history tv on c-span 3 created by america's cable television companies. and today we're brought to you by these television companies who provide american history tv to viewers as a public service. >> weeknights this month we're featuring american history tv programs as a preview of what's available every weekend

>> my number one pick would be the agriculture committee. i would love to be on transportation and infrastructure committee, or the education and workforce committee. >> how do you plan to make your life work balance work out here, your commute back to minnesota. i heard of the minnesota winters. the snows and so forth, which will be coming up soon, if not already there. how do you plan to balance all of that? >> we were kind of chuckling, i was saying earlier, we are -- we minnesotans are prepared for snow and cold, so we will get through it. whenever any winter hits, it is always a challenge. when ice or snow hits. but we will make it work, particularly getting home on the weekends, and when we are not in session here. i think it is going to be a great, great experience, and a great experience representing people in the districts. >> what are some of your top priorities as soon as the new congress starts in january? >> i talked about the economy, making sure we are working on the economy, but taking a look at every piece of legislation with

he testified before the senate agriculture committee. live coverage begins this morning at 10:30 on c-span. >> you're watching c-span2, your unfiltered view of governor. c-span2 by america's cable television companies and today we're looking at these companies for viewers as a public service. live now this morning on c-span2, dr. anthony fauci will be updating new research on the covid-19 vaccine and progress getting it distributed across the u.s. he's speaking at an event this morning hosted by "the washington post". >> changes occur because the virus has a playing field, as it were, to mutate. if you stop that and stop the replication, the viruses cannot mutate if they don't replicate. ♪♪ >> good morning, everybody. welcome to washington live, i'm david ignatius. and the next guest is one of the most familiar faces in the fight against covid-19. dr. anthony fauci, welcome. >> thank you, david, good to be with you. >> so, dr. fauci, every time we think we see some light at the end of the covid tunnel we worry that there's another train

10:30 on c-span, former agriculture secretary in the obama administration before the senate agriculture committee. wednesday at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span 3, education secretary nominee. at 2:00 p.m. on c-span 3, michael regan, environmental protection agency administrator nominee. thursday at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span 3, marty walsh, secretary of labor nominee. watch the confirmation hearings live on c-span and c-span 3, on demand at c-span.org, or listen on the c-span radio app. announcer: former president trump came the first president to be impeached twice. last week, house impeachment managers delivered the article of impeachment against the former president on incitement of insurrection to the senate, with the maryland democratic representative reading the article before the senate. >> donald just -- removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the united states. >> so help you god. announcer: the following day, senators were sworn in as jurors in the trial. republican kentucky senator rand paul requested a point of order to di

vilsack was approved by the agriculture committee by a unanimous, a unanimous vote. i expect he will receive the same bipartisan reception by the full senate. for the rest of the week we will continue to confirm members of the president's cabinet. first, jennifer granholm to serve as the secretary of energy. second, dr. miguel cardona to serve as secretary of education. both nominees have been advanced by the respective committees with bipartisan votes, a pattern this week and at a time when our nation is gripped by a once in a century crisis, the president deserves to have his nominees approved quickly by this chamber so they can immediately get to work healing our great country. on another matter entirely, today, madam president, the united states will surpass more than 500,000 deaths from covid-19. half a million souls, half a million souls. how as a nation do we grapple with this enormous tragedy? how do we even comp mend a number that big or a loss that great? do we imagine five of our largest football stadiums filled to the max, wiped out in an instant. the cit

joining me now, arkansas congressman on the agriculture committee and transportation and infrastructureyour thoughts? >> well, look, we've seen the environmental review take place whether we're talking about the access pipeline or keystone, whichever and all the boxes have been checked. this is environmentally speaking, it's more friendly than the alternative and we need to continue from an economic standpoint as well because the jobs associated with it so i think this is a bad decision, bad policy. jackie: and it's going to impact the u.s. consumers. that's the thing, it's not just about the pipeline per se, energy policy or oil of. we're talking about the stock market, we're talking about inflation and all these elements that are impacting how we live and how our economy grows and yet we could see food prices rise from this unforeseen consequence of a shutdown. >> well, that's true. we don't tend to think about this as holistically as we should. we start to see fuel costs rise as a result of these decisions, we start to see production costs rise on the farm and transportation costs ri

i'm proud to yield one minute to the lead republican of the house agriculture committee, mr. thompson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. were to tomp -- mr. thompson: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, two weeks ago the majority did a legislative charade designed to depive this process a veneer of regular order. this bill was drafted behind closed doors by the democratic leadership without input from many rural stakeholders who have been begging this congress for help. the result is a bill that spends too much on flawed priorities and fails to meet the needs of rural communities. agriculture committee republicans offered amendments to provide much-needed funding for rural hospitals, schools and businesses. telemedicine services and broadband connectivity and critical disaster relief. surprising no one, these were defeated on a partisan basis. for the one that did pass in our committee, it was stripped from this bill before reaching the floor. it's astonishing, mr. speaker, despite the wish list of political giveaways and excess

. ♪ >> coming up on tuesday, the senate agriculture committee hears from tom vilsack, president biden'sinee to be agriculture secretary, 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. at 2:00 -- 10:30 a.m. eastern. at 2:00 p.m., taking up a process for taking up president biden's coronavirus relief legislation. c-span hears from dr. anthony fauci on covid-19 vaccine distribution. at 10:30 a.m., the senate returns for debate on nominations. at noon, members vote on the nomination of pete buttigieg to be transportation secretary. at 2:30 p.m., a boat on -- a vote on homeland security secretary. on c-span3 at 930 a.m. eastern, the senate armed services committee hears from the deputy defense secretary nominee, kathleen hicks. >> listen to c-span's podcast, the weekly. this week, the paris agreement. three and a half years after former president trump withdrew, president biden's executive order for the u.s. to reenter the global treaty. the wall street journal brussels bureau chief explains what is next for the united states. >> the first challenge would seem to be, when he meets his counterpart, to discuss

in between that i was in the conference room in markups with the ways and means kmut tee on agriculture committeethe work. we're getting the legislation together for it to be brought to the senate and the senate to do its job and bring it to the president's job for signature. we've got to look at knew trugs. we've got to look at health care workers in supporting them as well, as well as questioning the virus in nursing homes and making sure the teachers feel safe and we've been transparent with them so our children can get back to school and back to learning, that there's a place for their children as well as as you said providing that support to small businesses and unemployment insurance all at the same time. that's got to be big. it's got to be bold. and then on top of that, we need to continue to begin working on the president's plan to build back better. that means infrastructure. i'm part of a new democratic coalition where we're really very focused on infrastructure and economic development to try and support businesses and innovation, which america has always been at the forefront of in t

themselves like they did two years ago when steve king was kicked off the judiciary and the agricultural committee when questioning why white supremacy was to bad and making racial comments. marjorie taylor greene is much different. what's changed? what's changed is, of course, two more years of marinating in conspiracy theories, lies under donald trump who has been the conspiracy theorist in chief but also watching how those conspiracy theories lead to acts of actual violence less than a month ago. so it's really extraordinary to me that republicans have the opportunity to clean this up themselves. they've done it in the past. they refuse to do it and now, 199 of them are on record, the ads write themselves, basically backing marjorie taylor green's position in congress. it's a really bad moment for republicans but also it's a good moment, i think, to draw the line especially after what happened on january 6th. >> well, i mean, and brandon, it's this noxious combination of white supremacy, which marjorie taylor green isn't even embarrassed about. it's a combination of that and this mania for guns

he testified before the senate agriculture committee. live coverage begins this morning at 10:30 on c-span. >> you're watching c-span2, your unfiltered view of governor. c-span2 by america's cable television companies and today we're looking at these companies for viewers as a

house of representatives and the house agriculture committee. may god bless you. mr. speaker, i also rise today to celebrate the national f.f.a. week. it was founded by a group of young farmers in 1928 as the future farmers of america. their mission was to prepare future generations for the challenges of feeding the world. today more than 760,000 blue corduroy jacket wearing f.f.a. members and more than 8 - 700 chapters across the country. and 220 chapters in kansas alone are working hard to advance our nation's most critical industry, food anding a afplgt these members are our future farmers, ranchers, engineers, doctors, lawyers, teachers, scientists, communicators, and businesspeople. they are the next generation of leaders. this week they'll celebrate national f.f.a. week to respect agriculture heritage. as a past president and a proud alumnus, i'm honored to join nearly 80 of my colleagues to introduce house resolution 150 expressing support for the designation of the february 20 to february 27, 2021 as national f.f.a. week. we recognize the important role of the

budget committee has the role of combining the recommendations submitted by the committee on agriculture, committee on education and labor, the committee on energy and commerce, the committee on financial services, the committee on oversight and reform, the committee on small business, committee on transportation and infrastructure, the committee on veterans affairs, and the committee on ways and means. and reporting the bill to the house without any substantive revision. the rules committee has the authority to make substantive changes and report reconciliation bills as amended to the floor. i will start by describing the format of today's meeting. under the agreement i've reached with the ranking member mr. smith of missouri, there will be ten minutes evenly divided for the ranking member and i to each make an opening statement. given time constraints, i ask that any other members who wish to make a statement submit their written statements for the record to the email inbox. as i mentioned earlier, we have distributed that email address to your staff. i will hold the record open until the end of

. >> coming up on tuesday, the agriculture committee hears from tom vilsack, resident biden's nominee for agriculture secretary, that is 10: 30 a.m. eastern on c-span. at 2:00 p.m. the house takes up an apprenticeship bill

he testified before the senate -- testifies before the senate agriculture committee and about half aness members are hoping to work on a covid-19 response plan. president biden has proposed nearly $2 trillion. republican senators have their own plan. also in the house, federal programs to encourage apprenticeship training. live house coverage, here on c-span. announcer: former president trump became the first president to be impeached twice. last week, impeachment managers deliver the articles of impeachment on incitement of insurrection to the senate, with marilyn representative jamie raskin reading the article. >> donald trump warrants impeachment and trial. removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the united states. so help you god. >> agreed. announcer: the following day, senators were sworn in as jurors for the trial. senator rand paul requested a point of order to dismiss the impeachment charge as unconstitutional. >> i make a point of order that this proceeding, which would

the conservative chair of the agriculture select committee wrote to the government, saying these issues needed to be gripped by government before businesses go to the wall. ministers are adamant that disruption in general has been lower than expected, and that problems will go away, especially after a £23 million fund for fish exporters. but having prioritised freedom from eu rules over the free flow of exports to it, there were always going to be consequences. faisal islam, bbc news, in bridport. the 55th annual super bowl takes place in tampa, florida next sunday — it's the most—watched sporting event in america — and all eyes will be on tom brady. at 43 years old, the quarter—back is aiming to win an incredible 7th super bowl, with his new team the tampa bay buccaneers. the achievement would see him take his place among the greatest americans sports stars of all time — as nesta mcgregor reports. 21 years in a league where the average career is just over three. brady... got the touchdown! now a record ten trips to the super bowl, aiming for win number seven. let's go! and at 43, zero

on agriculture and nutrition will come to order. today, the committee will be hearing from former secretary thomas j vilsack, president biden's nominee for the secretary of the united states department of agriculture. secretary vilsack, you are no stranger to this committee, having served as secretary of agriculture from 2009 to 2017 under the obama administration. 22 thousand 17 under the obama administration. you have an excellent reputation and we look forward to working with you. i have enjoyed working with you in the past and look forward to strength ning that were -- strengthening that relationship as we do good work to help our agriculture community. before i begin with my opening remarks, i would like to take a minute to state for the record that this hearing is a little bit different than we are used to attending. the senate has not passed -- it is on the verge, but has not passed a resolution that allows for the committees of the senator organize. thus, the committee has no official chairman at the moment with the retirement of senator pat rob

strong voices for agriculture in congress and that is why i am honored to serve on the house agriculture committee. at the very top center of the big first sits lebanon kansas, a seemingly ordinary small town. about 2 1/2 miles northwest of lebanon is the exact middle of the contiguous 48 states. a few months ago a group of us met in lebanon and prayed for our nation and that god's will would be done and our future bright. there is something about being in the middle of the country where farmers pray for rain, parents drive 30 miles one way to take their kids to scoorblings and communities shrink and grow with oil and gas price that is gives you a great perspective. to be in the middle of it all we must demand results. i received many calls from family farmers in the big first gravely concerned with president biden's executive order restricting travel from countries like south africa where many of our legal farm workers come from during the harvest. i'll tell you, if an issue matters to kansans, it matters to me. i worked with a number of my colleagues here to issue a letter to president biden ask

the conservative chair of the agriculture select committee wrote to the government, saying these issuess been lower than expected, and that problems will go away, especially after a £23 million fund for fish exporters. but having prioritised freedom from eu rules over the free flow of exports to it, there were always going to be consequences. faisal islam, bbc news, in bridport. the 55th annual super bowl takes place in tampa, florida next sunday — it's the most—watched sporting event in america — and all eyes will be on tom brady. at 43 years old, the quarter—back is aiming to win an incredible 7th super bowl, with his new team the tampa bay buccaneers. the achievement would see him take his place among the greatest americans sports stars of all time — as nesta mcgregor reports.

live today, the senate agriculture committee hears from tom vilsack, president biden's nominee to be agriculture secretary that's at 10:30 a.m. eastern on c-span. at 2 p.m., the house returns to take up an apprenticeship bill and begin the process for taking a president biden's coronavirus relief legislation. on c-span two at 9:30 a.m., washington post live hears from dr. anthony fauci on covid-19 vaccine distribution and virus mutation. at 10:30 a.m. come the senate returns for debate on nominations and at noon, members vote on the nomination of pete buttigieg to be transportation secretary. at 2:30 p.m. come a vote on the nomination of alejandro majorca to be transportation secretary. at 9:30 a.m. on c-span3, the senate hears from kathlyn hicks. coming up, the heightened domestic

coming up on tuesday, the senate agriculture committee hears from president biden's nominee to be agriculture secretary at 10:30 a.m. eastern on c-span. at 2:00 p.m., the house takes up an apprenticeship bill and begins the process for taking up president biden's coronavirus relief legislation. on c-span two at 9:30 am, the washington post live hears from dr. anthony fauci covid-19 vaccine distribution antivirus mutation. at 10: 30 am, the senate returns for debate on nominations. at noon, members vote on the nomination of pete buttigieg to be transportation secretary and at 2:30, a vote on the homeland security secretary. 9:30 on c-span three, the senate armed services committee hears from deputy defense secretary nominee kathleen hicks. >> thursday morning, the senate health, education, labor, and pensions committee hold a confirmation for marty walsh to serve as labor secretary. watch live starting at 10:00 eastern on c-span three, online at www.c-span.org or listen live on the free c-span radio app. ♪ >> you are watching c-span, your unfiltered view of government. c-span was created by am

i'm proud to yield one minute to the lead republican of the house agriculture committee, mr. thompson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. were to tomp -- mr. thompson: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, two weeks ago the majority did a legislative charade designed to depive this process a veneer of regular order. this bill was drafted behind closed doors by the democratic leadership without input from many rural stakeholders who have been begging this congress for help. the result is a bill that spends too much on flawed priorities and fails to meet the needs of rural communities. agriculture committee republicans offered amendments to provide much-needed funding for rural hospitals, schools and businesses. telemedicine services and broadband connectivity and critical disaster relief. surprising no one, these were defeated on a partisan basis. for the one that did pass in our committee, it was stripped from this bill before reaching the floor. it's astonishing, mr. speaker, despite the wish list of political giveaways and excess

agriculture secretary under president obama. [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] >> the senate committee on agriculture and foreswi

budget committee has the role of combining the recommendations submitted by the committee on agriculture, committee on educationth and labor, committee on education or energy and commerce, committee on financial services committee on oversight and reform and committee on small business and committee on transportation and infrastructure and committee on veterans affairs and the committee on ways and means. and reporting the bill to the house without any substantive revision. rules committee has the authority to make substitutions changes and as amended to the floor. i willl start by describing the format of today's meeting and under the agreement i reached with the ranking member of missouri there will be ten minutes evenly divided for the ranking member and i each make an opening statement. given time restraints i asked that any other members who make a statement submit their statements to the e-mail and backs we've established before and during committee proceedings. as i mentioned earlier we have distribute it that e-mail to your staff and i will hold the record open until the end of the day to a

just two years ago that republicans stripped steve king of his seats on the judiciary and agriculture committees because of bigoted comments he made. flash forward, flonl do they not do to marjorie taylor greene what they did to steve king, but they allowed this vote where 199 republicans now are on record say, yeah, we're okay with this person being our party's representative. look, this is something that the republicans could have done themselves. they could have cleaned house. a lot of these republicans will go back to the district saying we didn't want to set a precedent. the question that should be asked, why didn't you fix it yourself? this has just backfired on them so predictably. she's just rubbing it in their faces, and republicans could have sent the message that this is not who we are, but instead last night, because of that vote and the unwillingness for kevin mccarthy to pull the trigger, because of that vote, they're saying, yeah, marjorie taylor greene is a member in good standing of the republican party. remember that when each of those 199 republicans are on the ballot next yea

and look, friends, i'm chairman of the agriculture committee, i'm a businessman. i graduated from the top school of finance in the world, the wharton school of finance. i can speak on this economy. the basic tools of growth in economy is getting money in the pockets of people who will spend it. that's how you keep your community going. they're not going to sit on that money. they're going to go buy, go into crogers and publix. mr. yarmuth: i yield the gentleman 30 seconds. mr. scott: now is the time. we can't afford more delays. the time for us to be bold is now. the time to be decisive, to move confidently and most importantly, to move democrats and republicans together, to save our great nation, not tomorrow, the time is now. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. yarmuth: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: members are remined to direct their comments to the chair. the gentleman from missouri is recognized. mr. smith: i would like to highlight that just in the last couple of days, the congressional budget office released a repor

he wanted to serve on the agriculture committee. wanted to serve on the appropriations committee he will had big ideas. ideas that inspire other people to want to do better as well. and so, madam speaker, when we remember luke lethe, -- luke letlow, it's that big smile luke had, it's the servant's heart, the heart of a person who cares about other people an wanted to make a difference for all the right reasons. thank god we still have people like luke letlow who care enough to want to get into public service for the right reasons. it's said we -- it's sad we didn't get the opportunity to serve with him. i so looked forward to serving with him as a colleague in the louisiana delegation. he was only five days away from getting sworn in when we lost him. so madam speaker, as we remember the life of luke letlow, i know he's up in heaven looking down. he was a man of deep, deep faith that faith carried him and his family through those difficulties in the last few days when he was struggling and fighting for his life. i know that faith is

tom vilsack making his appearance before the senate agricultural committee for his confirmation hearinghe has been tapped by president biden to head the department of agriculture. more hearing today, including michael reagan, the epa nominee. he will be testifying before the environment and public works committee. you can watch that today at 2:00 p.m. eastern on c-span3 and on c-span.org, and it will be on the free c-span radio app. this morning as well, the education and pension committee will hold a confirmation hearing for miguel cardona. that is to serve as education secretary. you can watch at that after this program at 10:00 a.m., over on c-span3, and again on c-span.org and radial app. we have 10 minutes left in this segment. robert out of massachusetts on the line for those who say america is not a haven for people in need. caller: good morning. how are you? host: i am doing well. why do you say no? caller: i say no, but i say yes, too. yes, we need to wait and get the economy back on track. and get up the jobs again, everything flowing nicely again, and then do major background

one of the honors that i have is being the ranking member of the agriculture committee, representing our farming community. and certainly this has been brought up today, but the waters of the u.s. was really a real burden. as secretary of north carolina department of environmental quality, you signed a letter regarding epa's 2019 rule repealing the 2015 waters of the u.s. rule. in this letter, you stated that the epa should, and i quote, try to promulgate a clear definition of waters and should allow states the flexibility to regulate waters necessary to achieve the goals of the clean water act and in a manner that ensures the health, safety, and economic prosperity of their citizens. but you also may oppose the epa's final navigable waters protection rule. do you support a rule such as the 2015 rule, which had roughly one-half of the country operating on one regulatory construct and the other half of the country operating on another? >> mr. regan: thank you for that question, senator. and you know, as the secretary of deq, having to respond to both rules, there are a lot of lessons

the gentleman from georgia and the chairman of the house committee on agriculture, mr. scott, is recognized for five minutes. rep. scott: thank you very much, chair lady. let me get right to the point here. early on, chair lady waters asked me to zero in on the heroes act and packages as they relate to housing relief and homeowners. we put a package together that would get i think initially -- i forget the figure now, but right now, that figure is at $25 billion for rental assistance. we also wanted to get money in to get money into help with utilities. right now, it is $5 billion to help keep water and light and electricity on, but then when we got down to the mortgage system, we are still in the process of trying to get that in. mr. anthony, i want you to comment on how important it is -- we've got to also understand back in 2008 during the break down, and we put the hardest hit program together, which keeps folks in their homes. this is critical, but right now, we don't have anything there. i wanted to share with the committee with the progress is on that. right now,

the gentleman from georgia and the chairman of the house committee on agriculture mr. st scott is recognized for one minute. >> thank you very much, chair ey lady. a great hearing here. let me just sort of get right to the point here. early on chair lady waters asked me to kind of zeroing in on relping with the heros act and the preceding stimulus packages on the housing relief for home owners. and so we put a package together that would get i think initially -- for forgot the feg yr now but right now that it figures at $25 billion for rental assistance. we started out with some higher numbers. we also wanted to get money in to help with utilities. so right now it's 5 billion to help keep the water, light and electricity on.. but then whenen we got down to e mortgage assistance, we are still in the process of trying to get that in. so mr. anthony, i want you to comment on how important it is -- and we've got to also understand one of the reasons ms. waters and i were back during the time -- i and i think it was 2008 when they had the wn wall street break down. and we p

i interned for the senate agriculture public lands and water resources committee and i just fell in love with legislating and what the wyoming legislature. not long after i graduated iran for the legislature. i was only 23 when i filed for the wyoming legislature and that was 1978. that was the post-watergate backlash year when nontraditional candidates did veryte well. young people did well and people at different ethnic groups did extremely well. it was a reaction to watergate andar people want to see a nontraditional candidate. i won and 78 and continued with my love affair with the wyoming legislature. i served 14 years in the wyoming legislature. ii took time out of serving the legislature to go back to lawaw school. they had put me on the house judiciary committee when i first arrived at the statehouse size exposed to issues i had never been exposed to the probate code the criminal code the liquor laws the involuntary hospitalization laws the eminent domain laws. there was such a variety of issues and i just found it fascinating, so i went out of the legislature for a while and wen

i entered for the senate agriculture public lands and water resources committee. and i just fell in love with legislating, and with the wyoming legislature. so not long after i graduated, i ran for the wyoming legislature. i was only 23 when i filed to run for the wyoming legislature and that was 1978. that was a post-watergate backlash year, when nontraditional candidates did very well. so women did well. young people did well. and people of different ethnic groups did extreme the well. and it was all sort of reaction to watergate, and people wanting to see a different mix of art nontraditional candidates. so i one in 1978 -- won in 1978, and continued with my love affair with wyoming legislature and served 14 years. i took a gap out of serving in the wyoming legislature to go back to law school. they had put me on the house judiciary committee when i arrived in the statehouse. so i was exposed to issues i had never been exposed to, the probate code, criminal code, liquor laws, involuntary hospitalization laws. eminent domain, there was such a variety of issues.