I am particularly interested in reaching out to smaller and medium-sized farms and smaller producers as well as speciality crop producers.

I think we need to do a better job of lifting this issue up and I think USAID and the Secretary of State and Secretary Vilsack have done a really good job with Feed the Future.

I care very deeply about our food aid programs, and I appreciate very much both USDA and USAID for a lot of the incredible work that you are doing as we speak.

I would urge you to proceed with extreme caution on both of those things.

I do have a request in to the President calling for a White House conference.

I am hopeful that any cuts to agriculture are reasonable and fair compared to other parts of the budget.

I am worried because hunger is one of those things that doesn't seem to be getting better.

I think everybody, Republican and Democratic, are all committed to trying to end hunger in America.

We need to connect the dots because ending hunger is not just about SNAP, it is not just about WIC, it is about a whole bunch of other things.

SNAP is not only one of the most efficiently run programs at USDA, is one of the most efficiently run programs in the federal government.

I appreciate your offer to work with us and I look forward to working with you.

I think repealing Cat El would decrease participation and make it more difficult and costly for states to administer the SNAP Program.

I don't think all programs are equal, and certainly programs that provide nutrition and food to people in this country to ensure that they don't go hungry I think need to be prioritized.

We have been very aggressive in working with states to help them understand both how to reduce improper payments and the importance of continuing to reduce improper payments.

I also think it also fulfills a moral obligation we have to be proud of this global effort to end hunger.

My understanding is that these programs are pretty well run by independent analysis, and sometimes there is this perception out there that all we need to do is cut more overhead here and staff here.

People need to be able to put food on their table, and this program allows them to be able to do that; not only to put food, but to put healthy food on their table.

I would urge you to help me convince the President to go ahead with that conference.

Which means that thousands or tens of thousands or millions of people will not be able to get food?

I think the Feed the Future Initiative is a good initiative because it connects all the dots and comes up with a comprehensive plan to not only deal with the issue of hunger but to deal with the issue of sustainability.

I think a lot of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle don't quite appreciate the benefits of these programs.

There is not a community in this country that is hunger free.

SNAP error rates are at historic lows and are at levels unseen in both the public and private sectors.

the sugar program is working as it is supposed to, it is administered well and it is something we should not mess with.

This is a global security crisis. The lack of food security contributes to instability.