I applaud you and your team at USDA for recognizing the important role that we play in on these Committees.
I am astonished, absolutely blown away, that she is not here today.
Unfortunately, her absence speaks volumes about lack of transparency.
Almost immediately then Senator Max Baucus spoke up and embraced the idea, and so it became bipartisan from the moment I offered it.
I think this is the best Committee in the United States Senate.
I offered an amendment to establish an Undersecretary for Trade in Foreign Agriculture Affairs.
Leadership is not about convenience and being available when it works into someone's schedule.
We should not speak down to rural folk. They get this. They want to do it.
Thriving rural areas are in the best interest of this country, especially in States like ours.
I have made rural development a priority throughout my years of public service.
Sometimes the regulatory requirements to build that road or to do whatever are just so incredibly onerous for a small town.