Harris Remarks at Budget Hearing on Department of Agriculture

Good morning. I want to thank you all for being here today for this hearing to review the budget and programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. We are pleased to be joined by the Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins. Welcome, Madam Secretary.

USDA’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget request totals $19.1 billion for discretionary programs, a decrease of $5.1 billion, or almost 28%, below last year’s enacted levels. As we review the request, I appreciate your willingness to discuss USDA’s efforts to reprioritize our constituents’ hard-earned taxpayer dollars on initiatives that have the greatest impact.

Under President Trump’s leadership, the Administration is refocusing USDA on its core mission of helping all farmers and ranchers by rolling back harmful regulations, fighting against unfair trade practices, protecting the homeland from foreign animal and plant diseases, and providing timely disaster and economic assistance to farmers and ranchers. 

I appreciate your efforts, Secretary Rollins, to modernize meat and poultry processing systems. The proposed updates to line speed regulations will increase processing efficiency to lower costs for consumers while upholding USDA’s high standards for food and worker safety. 

I also appreciate your work to find solutions to high input prices for farmers and ranchers, such as for fertilizer. While producers continue to face challenging economic headwinds, Purdue University just released a survey showing farmers’ optimism is increasing. Producers understand that while challenges persist, this Administration is focused on the policies to improve the agricultural economy and keep family farms and ranches in business.

There’s still more work to be done. I appreciate that you have delayed the Biden-era Packers and Stockyards rule that would end the poultry tournament system. I’m confident that a comprehensive economic analysis will show the financial harm the rule will cause poultry growers, including producers on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. I would urge you to fully repeal this rule rather than allow it to tear down an efficient, successful poultry market structure that helps both farmers and consumers. 

Already, consumers have benefited from your leadership and that of the Trump Administration. At the end of the Biden Administration, egg prices were over $5.00 per dozen. Today, egg prices are half that amount, at approximately $2.50 per dozen. Overall, according to USDA, food prices increased a staggering 9.9% in a single year under the Biden Administration – the fastest increase since 1979. The Trump Administration has successfully prioritized efforts to tame food inflation to be in line with historical norms. Yet, a new baseline of higher food prices was set by the previous Administration that continues to plague consumers and that will take time to overcome.

I want to commend you, Madam Secretary, for your commitment to policies that have made this Administration the most health-conscious in history. USDA has approved 22 SNAP food restriction waivers, and there are more to come. Taxpayer dollars should not subsidize the purchase of foods and beverages with zero nutritional value. I applaud the coordinated effort between USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services to Make America Healthy Again. 

We all know that American farmers and ranchers produce a wide variety of the safest, most abundant and nutritious food in the world, and I want American consumers to purchase more of our healthy American products. The FY26 enacted Agriculture Appropriations bill directs USDA to study a “Buy American” requirement in the SNAP program, which would put more SNAP dollars back into the pocket of American producers, not our foreign competitors. I look forward to the results of this study and to working with you on this initiative.

I also want to thank you, Secretary Rollins, for visiting Maryland to learn firsthand about the invasive blue catfish that continue to damage the Chesapeake Bay. This Subcommittee has spearheaded efforts to expand processing capacity to provide market opportunities for watermen and seafood processors in my district. I appreciate that you have rolled out the first round of grants for catfish processing expansion and have worked to make sure wild-caught catfish are eligible for Section 32 purchases going forward. 

Madam Secretary, I look forward to your testimony regarding the fiscal year 2027 President’s budget request. I hope we learn more about the Administration’s spending priorities, including potential savings and efficiencies that have been identified at USDA as we move through our appropriations process. When the country is running a nearly $2 trillion annual deficit, we have a responsibility to spend every taxpayer dollar wisely.

Again, I appreciate you being with us for today’s discussion, Madam Secretary. Ranking Member Bishop, I will now yield to you for any opening remarks you’d like to make.