Lincoln to chair ag subcommittee
Jun 9, 2009 10:13 AM
Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., is the new chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Rural Revitalization, Conservation, Forestry, and Credit.
“As chair of the Subcommittee on Rural Revitalization, Conservation, Forestry and Credit, I will have the opportunity to focus on issues that are critical for farm families and rural communities who depend on a strong agricultural economy,” Lincoln said.
“I will continue my fight to protect the safety net relied upon by all American producers. The support our U.S. farmers receive from our government is essential to helping them compete in the global marketplace. By maintaining a basic safety net for our producers we also help ensure that Americans continue to enjoy the safest, most abundant, and affordable supply of food and fiber in the world.”
The Subcommittee on Rural Revitalization, Conservation, Forestry, and Credit has jurisdiction over legislation and oversight involving rural economic revitalization and quality of life; rural job and business growth; rural electrification, telecommunications and utilities; conservation, protection and stewardship of natural resources; state, local and private forests and general forestry; and agricultural and rural credit.
In addition, Lincoln will serve as a member of the Subcommittee on Nutrition, Food Security, Futures and Derivatives, and General Legislation and the Subcommittee on Production, Income Protection, and Price Support, which she chaired during the 110th Congress.
Through the subcommittees, Lincoln will have the opportunity to address issues that affect the nation’s forests, rural communities, agriculture and rural credit, nutrition and hunger prevention, food production, trading of futures, and pesticides.
Lincoln is the fifth-highest ranking Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, which has responsibility over the country’s farm policy. Lincoln has served on the Agriculture Committee since entering the Senate in 1999 and played a key role in the 2008 farm bill debate.
Lincoln is also a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, where she serves as chair of the Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy, and as a member of the Subcommittee on Health Care and the Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure.
Lincoln also serves on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, currently at work drafting energy reform legislation, and the Senate Special Committee on Aging.
