Jeff Fortenberry

The ag losses are going to mount. It is unclear as to what they were, as people just pull themselves together.

On the one hand, you are our police force out there, making sure that billions are spent legally and effectively.

I think it is an important question. It is the heart of the matter.

Yes, I am assuming FTEs means outcomes. If there is some other metric that determines safety levels, that would be helpful to know.

The damage is very high and real.

I thank you for your emphasis on the bipartisan dynamic of the committee, and look forward to hearing from our Members.

Can I stop you there? Madam Chair, would you be willing, perhaps with Ms. Lee, to go deeper into this issue?

Our farmers, ranchers, and producers face a number of threats to their livelihoods, from low commodity prices and tight margins to the externalities born of hard but necessary trade negotiations as well as the problem of natural disasters.

the enormity of her job, to represent that many constituents, only elevates my respect for her intensity to continue to be engaged here at the table.

I think you are not in front of this dynamic yet, that might be an important on-ramp to leveraging the Farm Credit System.

It is possible, it is urgent, but it depends on security.

Agriculture is one of the areas that can, when there is the will, transcend any perceived divides.

I think we have got some work to do. That is very well-expressed.

I am very shortly--perhaps even today introducing a Northern Iraq Security Resolution, along with my good friend Anna Eshoo, a Democrat from California.

I think the heart of the question is, are the controls, the system robust enough to have caught something like this?

This has huge potentiality and we have got a Foreign Agricultural Service that, from my perspective, doesn't really touch this at all.

The food security space is an absolutely critical part of America's public policy and one that is often overlooked.

Is our imported food safe?

We have consistently engaged and answered questions as they have come before us.

the idea, you are exactly right, of seeing or hearing about a child going to bed hungry in America is heart wrenching, given our abundance and largesse

Even China's inspections?

Americans want Congress to actually do the same; to put aside any differences, and find consensus.

Many outside the agricultural community have little familiarity with what you all do and how it plays a critical role in ensuring that America has among the lowest per capita grocery prices in the world.

Thank you for your long leadership on the Agriculture Committee. You have been a stalwart there.

This is exciting news.