Sanford Bishop

I understand that this sudden reversal in the program was disconcerting for many of the universities and researchers that have received funding in the past and hope to do so in the future. Based on that, I have no objection to this…

We know that you are definitely service-oriented, and you want to make sure that the stakeholders of USDA get the full customer service to which they are entitled.

Is it not true that the Ways and Means Committee does have oversight of the administration of your agency, and that it would be legitimate grounds to request the tax return of a president or an individual, particularly with respect to…

Is there any reason for you to believe that the Ways and Means Committee would not have a legitimate interest in monitoring the auditing and the enforcement of the law with respect to a sitting president?

So if any individual, including but not limited to the president, uses as a justification for not turning over a tax return to the public or releasing it, using the fact that that taxpayer may be under audit, there is no IRS rule or…

Unfortunately, the fiscal year 2020 budget request... continues to deprioritize Enforcement and Taxpayer Services.

You think those people would be sufficient to address the, as you say, $406 billion in the tax gap?

You are not asking for the sufficient resources.

It seems like you would prioritize that.

That was one of the most exciting innovations in dealing within the IRS over the last decade.

But unfortunately, once again the administration has put forward a woefully underfunded budget request that fails agricultural communities...

As chairman, I am intensely focused on rural development.

I know that all House Members are committed to ensuring the areas of the Midwest that were hit with monumental floods...

I hope the irony of making decisions about data-driven agencies without data is not lost on anyone.

We will also forward additional questions for the record, and we appreciate your diligence in getting your responses to us in a timely manner.

Well, it is important that we monitor that closely, because we want to make sure that those dollars go to the small and disadvantaged businesses as they were intended to.

We have to do everything that we can possibly do to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse and mismanagement.

We can't stop Mother Nature, but we can mitigate the devastation that she wreaks, at least to some extent.

Agriculture is a leader when it comes to sustainability and conservation, and it deserves public recognition.

This is not about ERS and NIFA. A constituent of mine whom I believe you know must be dealing with one of the more interesting and bizarre Livestock Indemnity Program cases in history.

I don't see Rural Development as a priority for USDA.

I have serious concerns about your budget proposal and staffing levels at Rural Development.

How, in any way, does it make budget sense to move ERS and NIFA outside of DC when there is rent-free space here available?

To be credible, trustworthy and unhindered in its mission, a statistical agency must maintain a position of independence from undue external influences, and avoid the appearance that its collection, analysis or dissemination processes…

It seems like the cost benefit analysis should be before the fact rather than after the fact.