I thank the chairman for the time. Mr. Speaker, whenever we take these offices--and understand, I have raised my hand and took an oath of office many times in my life, whether it was in the United States Marine Corps., local government, or…

I did not ask you under any circumstance to break your oath. I never would.

I want to commend you on the job that you've done there.

the concern I really have is for commerce for the United States because if that breaks through ...

The fear that we have on the other side of the Mississippi is the pressures that we're already feeling...

I appreciate working with you, and with that, I yield back.

Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for being here.

As Chairman of this Committee, my concern goes out for every farmer and rancher in the country.

If this doesn't happen quickly; and the other recommendations that you have aren't going to get us there.

We have some cotton guys out there that are hurting, and you know that.

Mr. Secretary, all I ask you to do is to open your mind and go back and relook.

I appreciate the hard work you have put in all these years, the sacrifices you and your wife have made to serve agriculture and rural America the way you have done.

It is an accurate appraisal to say that a whole lot of farmers and ranchers from across the country are living on loans.

crop insurance is actually going to go up because of this. Is there anything that they can be done to get relief from a potential increase for that insurance

We just simply have a disagreement on an important issue that, all politics are local.

An 80 percent solution on time is better than a 100 percent solution 10 minutes after it works.

For Congress' part, I believe it is our duty, our responsibility to hold the line on the farm bill and crop insurance.

will the same assistance that was provided in 2015 disaster declaration be available to producers in the affected areas of my district

What the statutory construction goes to is what Congress thought.

Will the United States Government allow foreign countries to steal our cotton production just as they stole our textile mills, or will we stand up and say, 'No, not this time.'

Resistance Management is a critical concern for all farmers.

the EPA used covert propaganda to bias and skew the comment period.

this rule can make us actually go backwards in--and we are eroding that partnership agreement that was set up in 1972 with the states.

I am very concerned that EPA has not been coordinating with USDA on matters crucial to farmers.

Let's shift. The Department of Commerce operates regional cluster initiatives, which received about $10 million in fiscal year 2015 and $15 million in fiscal year 2016.