Press Releases

Today, Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Paul A. Gosar D.D.S. (AZ-04) and Western Caucus members Rep. Doug Collins (GA-09) and Rep. Kristi Noem (SD-At Large) issued the following statements in response to the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Nomination Hearing for President Trump’s nominee for Department of Agriculture Secretary, former Georgia Governor, George “Sonny” Perdue:

“Sonny Perdue’s storied past serves as a testament to the leadership and expertise he will bring to the Department of Agriculture. Not only has Governor Perdue lived and worked in agriculture his whole life, but he also understands the critical nature of maintaining healthy forests. He is undoubtedly the right man for the job and is uniquely qualified. I look forward to working with him closely,” said Chairman Gosar.

Congressman Collins remarked, “Former Governor Sonny Perdue would be an outstanding Secretary of Agriculture, and I wholeheartedly support his nomination. As a fellow Georgian, I know firsthand that the experience he would bring to the United States Department of Agriculture would be a boon to agricultural communities from coast to coast. Governor Perdue represents a commonsense approach to how government interacts with America’s farmers as they contribute to our growing economy.”

“Governor Perdue was raised on a row-crop farm, became a veterinarian, and at one point even ran a grain and fertilizer business.  He understands our industry, because he’s lived it, which is the type of experience we need at USDA,” said Congresswoman Noem. “I look forward to working with him to ensure producers have the policies in place they need to feed the world.”

Background:

The purpose of today’s Senate hearing was to consider the nomination of former Georgia Governor George “Sonny” Perdue to be the next Secretary of the Department of Agriculture.

An archived webcast of the hearing can be found HERE.

If confirmed, Governor Perdue would be the 31^st Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture.

More than 600 organizations representing farmers, ranchers, hunters, conservationists, businesses and other agriculture related fields throughout the country sent a letter supporting his nomination on February 2, 2017.

In the letter, these groups made clear their strong support for Governor Purdue stating, “There have been 30 Secretaries of Agriculture since the job was created in 1889, and though some were raised on a farm, only two actually lived and worked in agriculture as adults. If confirmed, Sonny Perdue will be number three…Given his background of growing up on a diversified row crop and dairy operation in Central Georgia, his service in the United States Air Force, and his background in founding three agribusiness firms supplying services to farmers, Gov. Perdue is eminently qualified to lead USDA...Gov. Perdue has proved to be a dedicated servant of the concerns of rural America with a long history of supporting rural infrastructure, agricultural water use projects, and proper forest management.”

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