Tom Vilsack

If we continued down the road we were on, we'd continue to have participation in some, but not all, of livestock.

We believe this is a good budget, a strong budget, a budget that has elements of reform and responds to the challenges that we face in rural America.

The American people have been struggling through the most serious economic recession since the Great Depression.

I think our budget is a constructive one. And I think it is furthering the interests of conservation.

It's time to get our fiscal house in order.

You have to have the resources available to farmers to incent them to produce the feedstocks.

Fifty percent of the infants born in the United States are in the program.

Corn-based ethanol is alive and well, meeting the threshold of 20 percent; soy diesel, biodiesel alive and well, meeting the threshold.

We are focused on a couple of States, in particular, who have had some significant difficulties.

There is a need for better data collection so that we have a better understanding of precisely what causes the difficulties and illnesses that Americans experience.

one of the things we found out was that there were many communities, both rural and in inner-city America, that did not have access to a grocery store.

The administration will work to eliminate food deserts across the country within 7 years.

The uncertainty about the RFS2 also had issues, which we've now cleared up.

What we think will happen at the end of this is that there'll be greater cooperation between State and Federal Government.

We will continue to provide the nutritional assistance necessary to take care of America's families.

We think there needs to be expanded research efforts on identifying pathogens that we may not even be aware of today.

We want to make sure our help is focused and directed in the proper manner.

I think that they are waiting on a completion of the Department of Energy testing.

The dairy outlook is, I think, much better than it was last year when we were faced with record low prices.

We will make sure that those resources are, obviously, strategically focused and make sure that people have input as to where they are to be spent.

One of the things we wanted to focus on was a way in which we could respond to that challenge.

The challenges facing rural communities for decades have grown more acute, which is why the Obama administration is committed to new approaches to strengthen rural America.

We think there is a need for better data collection.

We see this as a critical component, as I said earlier, a critical pillar to a new revitalized rural economy.

Our goal is to get these positions filled as quickly as possible.