Programs. This joint hearing of the Sub Committees on general fund communities, Risk Management, livestock reviewing the implementation of federal farm and Disaster Relief comes to order. Thank you and welcome to this joint hearing of the subcommittees on general farm commodities and Risk Management and livestock and foreign agriculture. Im pleased to be joined by my colleague and fellow chairman as well as my Ranking Member and the livestock Foreign AffairsRanking Member. Welcome also to our chairman and my fellow texan Ranking Member. This first joint hearing comes at a very important time for farmers. Usda and in particular the Food Production and conservation missionary in the Farm Service Agency is in the middle of a huge job. F packed and fsa are currently at the home of three critical separate efforts to address the needs of farmers, ranchers in Rural Communities in our country. The Market Facilitation Program which is meant to assist those farmers most harmed by the administration straight or, the expanded wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program which will aid in Rural Recovery from Natural Disasters and programs like arc to my dmc another supports within title i of the farm bill which provides a Risk Management program. Its our job on this committee to ensure these programs are structured and implemented in a way that can efficiently and most directly serve the farmers, ranchers in small towns who need them now. Its also our job to ensure these programs are implemented in a way thats fair, transparent and consistent with the law. We can absolutely get farmers the help they need while still conducting appropriate and necessary oversight. I do have concerns about the path usda von especially when it comes to staffing. I hear from farmers all the time about understaffed local offices resources that fsa are stretched thin and id like to hear today what plans the fda has to make sure these resources are managed effectively and on top of that there are many media stories about Software Glitches and unprepared staff struggling to process these disaster payments. Is clear usda wants to find efficiencies but as usda prepared to make the changes needed to deliver these Services Even if that means increasing not decreasing staff and resources. I look forward to hearing your testimony mr. Undersecretary. I now recognize chairman peterson for an Opening Statement. I recognize Ranking Member conaway for an Opening Statement pick guy appreciate you its important in having us focus on the way usda is going about its business of helping farmers and ranchers and Rural America across this country. In junction when is difficult with the chairman mention everything going on the process weve gone through the last eight days on the sierra shameful. Its one thing for ping to use our farmers and ranchers in Rural America as a weapon against President Donald Trump which is Something Else to have the powers of this body be using those same good people as leverage because you simply dont like President Donald Trump this committee on the usda has done yeomans work to make sure Rural America is protected and we eliminate the uncertainties they live that we cant. The way the majority has gone way about this and taken the ccc hostage is now using those folks as a weapon. Shame on us for allowing that to happen. It should never happen. We are addressing this body to a terrible state its one thing for college a list donors of President Donald Trump to harass their businesses and hurt them financially. Its a different for this body, this body to the exact same thing with this funding mechanism that is always gone for it without impediment. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle might say this has been done before, this restriction placed on this funding as a result of leaking and factors affecting future promises not current promises made at that point these promises on nfb and Disaster Relief have been made. For us to threaten Rural America these payments would not go out is terrible. Shame on us for doing that same thing. My colleagues will say we fixed it but you didnt. You left restrictions. Theres a report in the face of all the things the chairman said they had to do now weve added another report due by october 30 or 31st to the workload. Shame on us for doing that. Weve not fully funded it. Weve given some sort of certain funding as opposed to moving it. From now on my congratulations as my chairman said, yesterday on the radio from then on this process will not be a weapon that both sides can use if they take us to their advantage and shame on us for doing that. I yield back. Mr. Chairman i recognize chairman peterson. I want to tell members that havent been here 29 years, some of the history. This was put in place by the Republican Party in 2010. It was put in place because at that time the republicans thought secretary was using the ccc to help lincoln at the time it was chairman of the Senate Ag Committee in her reelection because there was a disaster an arkansas and the senate would do a disaster bill because she was up for election. What happened . What they did is they put a limitation on bill so he can use the ccc to do it. You guys put in place, not us. Well, no whats happened ever since his the Appropriation Committee waived that provision. They didnt change it but they waved it, okay this time it became an issue. If there was not a Single Member on this committee, the ag committee that had anything to do with us. Period, ive subject to making these accusations of our members were complicit. We were not. I found out this came from the senate, it did not come from the house. This whole brouhaha came out of the senate. Whatever it is, my concern about this and what i said on the radio yesterday is, and this is legitimate. There werent a handful of members that understood what the ccc was before this started. And thats not just this latest dustup. The president using this fund for farmers is elevated this thing and so now, ive had people talk to me from the liberal side complaining about they never knew there was a cc see, never knew it operated and yesterday the freedom caucus, they are starting to weigh into this thing. Thats what im concerned about. Nobody on this committee had anything to do with that. Without this committee, this thing may have happened. And it wasnt the house that was pushing it, it was the senate. Thats where these troubles usually start. I just wanted to clear the record. I recognize the gentleman from pennsylvania, Ranking Member of the general farm commodities and Risk Management subcommittee for his opening remarks. Thank you for holding this important hearing regarding implementation of the 2018 farm bill provisions and Disaster Assistance. Thank you to undersecretary for your leadership for attending and for providing us an update on the status of these important policies. As those of us representing Rural America know firsthand times are tough and farm country and over the past few years it seems like there is no single region of the country thats immune to mother natures devastation. Not only do producers have to grapple with extreme weather, they are also being buffeted by bad markets and everchanging landscape for global trade not to mention the policy uncertainty coming from washington. Thats why its so important to get the 2018 farm bill complete without the threat of extensions which would only have exacerbated the challenges facing farmers and ranchers. Im pleased with the timely rollout from usda of the key farm bill programs despite other policies to implement , which im sure well hear more about today. The House Republicans were able to make key targeted improvements to the farm safety nets which should not be overlooked and do not forget conference, we were negotiating against the senate bill that wouldve cut 700 million out of the baseline of these critical programs. Talk about kicking farmers and farm families when their down. Its unconscionably to know people would advocate for the erosion of the safety net when producers are looking for any lifeline available to keep family farms and business. Are proud we can all the line and produce a conference report providing improvements to all title i programs for the benefit of all crops and regions of the country. One additional area where congress could act now, the ease the concerns of the Agricultural Community would be act swiftly to improve the United States mexicocanada agreement u. S. Mca which making improvements to nafta and is expected to provide 2. 2 billion in additional exports for our reducers, particularly jerry thats produced in my district. Be on the axis of the provides u. S. Mca sends a signal to other trading partners in talks with ustr the United States has the wherewithal to follow through on commitments made, which will lead to other opportunities to expand trade just like where we saw with the agreement in principle reese with japan. Congress must approve it now and failure will erode partnerships not just for this administration but for all future administrations, as well. Thank you for holding this joint hearing. I look forward to hearing from the undersecretary. Thank you. I recognize the gentleman from california. Thank you, very much mr. Chairman. Its important these subcommittees meet together this morning, this hearing that deals with the review of the implementation of the federal farm and Disaster Program is fitting and appropriate given the challenges we face today. And we are all of the members that are participating, i thank you. I also want to note it was important chairman peterson clarify the history and record as it relates to these activities that were most recently involved with the continuing resolution that we need to pass, this weekend that we need to obviously have a budget. Frankly, its irresponsible to shut down government. Ive always felt its irresponsible and past actions by previous congresses to do just that for political agendas is inappropriate, period. And certainly, i think the president learned that lesson the hard way last year, at least i hope he did. The history of the ccc, which as chairman peterson pointed out, is really not known by the majority of members of congress until this last week. Its important to note, frankly we should not be politicizing this. Its not part of this committee. My sense is that it came from the senate, as well but we have to deal with it. So, what we are dealing with today is to talk about where the safety net is, wheres the safety net for farmers and ranchers and dairy people across this country. And as this chairman of the subcommittee on livestock, im interested in overseeing the new Dairy Margin Coverage Program that we worked so hard on in the reauthorization of the last farm bill in the administrations Market Facilitation Program is properly implemented. Thats why we have the secretary here today in part, the dairy margin coverage sign up for 2019 was set to end tomorrow. Now, i think its important we give very men and women every opportunity to sign up for this program. We will be asking the secretary where we are in terms of that signup and whether or not you are numbers kind of coincide with the numbers ive heard. I hope there can be a little bit of flexibility with that deadline tomorrow. This year, given that we have a brandnew program but at the same time i know youve got the challenge with the sign up for the 2020 program. So, ice sympathetic to the challenge the department is facing in that instance. Its been tough in code dairy country across the land. We know the large fluctuations in the amount of dairies that have gone bankrupt and have been sold, and thats every region of america. We have lost our fair share in california. I know dairy men and women that a been there for generations and now find themselves having you sell the dairy. Its tough. It has economic ramifications in the communities where those dairies have been. Nationwide though, the program, i think in terms of successes triggered, im told over 1 billion or excuse me one quarter billion dollars in help to Dairy Farmers throughout the country. Thats good. Thats obviously what the intention was. I have a difference with the administration, with the president on this terror for. Ive been clear about that. The president has said farmers are better off with Market Facilitation Program impairments than with the axis they had to china. Before the trade work, i think in the u. S. Mca weve made headway with canada on that section 7 and i can tell you the dairy market is very important in california in mexico but yet, when i talk to farmers and not just my disagreement with this that no one wins a chair for because everybody has leveraged that farmers in california are feeling the pain of it and they agree, they think its important that they have access to markets and they maintain those markets and their fearful when these lose these markets because of the trade work we may never regain them and thats a concern i have. The Market Facilitation Program and how those monies are used for the payments, really dont come close. I mean the example in dairy 0. 12 per hundred weight you get 16 to 18 but 0. 12, its in the margins. It may stave off a bankruptcy or foreclosure by a bank for a certain time period but 0. 12 per hundred weight wont save the dairy. I dont know what the usda leadership thinks. Im interested. Ive got questions on how the Market Facilitation Program was set up and how you are implementing it but chairman thank you for agreeing to assist joint hearing with me. Secretary, you have a farm background and you know how difficult it is and farm country. We appreciate your participation here this morning to give us a sense of what with your testimony where we are going with this. Now, i yield back to the Ranking Member of our sub remedy, my Sub Committee for any remarks he wishes to make. Thank you mr. Chairman. I have a prepared statement that i will submit for the record. I have a couple comments for the sake of time. Im interested in getting to the real neat of the matter. First, i think its important that we recognize just how critical it is, if we in agriculture stick together republican and democrat , its unfortunate that so many of our other colleagues that dont represent our have the opportunity to represent real america is the lack of understanding agriculture is significant. Theres a wide gap there and its not uncommon around the countryside, either. Most folks have no idea where their food and fiber comes from. We take it for granted every day of our lives. I think its really important that we as republican and democrat on this community stick together and promote and educate and cajole and persuade as best we can our other members of congress, so that they will understand the nature and the gravity of what we are doing here with and as it relates to production, agriculture and clearly a country that can feed itself and clothe itself is in a very enviable position, enables us to be prosperous here at home and strong abroad as well. The other thing i would like to mention and ive been around agriculture in these debates for a long time going back to my days on the senate staff. Back then, i never understood why we didnt have some type of in addition to Crop Insurance, some type of Catastrophic Fund of some sort, so when these disasters hit we are not waiting on congress for eight months or 12 months or 14 months or whatever it may be but have a program in place similar to what we had with fema. Where Congress Makes an appropriation every year and you havent there, when disaster hits you have a base. If you need to come back and supplement that, congress can. Its clearly as valuable as Crop Insurance is, you take situation in my home state of North Carolina. You have economic losses year after year after year. The hurricane of economics so to speak and then you have the weather hurricanes coming through. That absolutely devastate your areas, farmers had millions of dollars tied up in the ground. A hurricane hits in september they dont even have an opportunity to get any thing from that investment. Meanwhile, it comes at a time when they installed their equity due to the economic hardships they are faced over a period of time. And then it Takes Congress a month to get any kind of disaster aid package across the finish line, for a variety of reasons. I just think we have got to in this is been an ageold problem. We have to come up with a better solution. Crop ins