During a House Appropriations Committee hearing last week, Rep. Ashely Hinson (R-IA) asked Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins about the United States' food supply chain.
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00:00Thank you very much. The gentlelady from Iowa where agriculture, I hear, is a little important.
00:05We grow and raise a few things in Iowa. Thank you so much, Madam Secretary, for coming today.
00:10And I want to start off by thanking you for coming to Iowa. We were one of the first states that you
00:13came to visit. You visited a hog farm in our state. I feel a little like I'm having to pick
00:17my favorite child of my four. I've got four teenagers. I feel like I'm having to, who's
00:21your favorite? But I had an awesome day in Iowa. I get to brag that you came to Iowa. So thank you so much.
00:25Really appreciate the conversations that you had on the ground. And you've really, you did really
00:30hit the ground running. You know, I have two teenage boys. So I am particularly thankful for what you've
00:35done on egg prices because we were like having to go to market rate. We were like, you know, you can
00:38only have one today. Very, very rationalized. You're protecting conservation, the assistance programs.
00:44I mean, you've really done all this while still respecting taxpayers in this process, which I
00:48really appreciate. But I want to hit on Prop 12. As you probably know, based upon your conversations
00:53in Iowa with our hog farmers, you know, this policy out of California, Massachusetts had question three,
01:00they've really created significant challenges for our producers. And I really appreciate your
01:05commitment to examining laws like this. But can you talk about some of the consequences for
01:09our farmers and producers if policies like this that, you know, are really state by state really
01:14start to flow down and impact interstate commerce issues? I think it's really important. And no one is a
01:19bigger believer in federalism and the 10th Amendment and allowing the blue states and the red states and the
01:24purple states to be the laboratories of democracy. I think that's one of the geniuses of our founding father's vision
01:29when they wrote the Constitution. But when a state like California or other states passes laws that have
01:36significant impact outside of their state border, then that is not sustainable. And specific to Prop 12, we have
01:45understood that we see it, I think it's pretty bipartisan, maybe not 100%, but very bipartisan across both sides of the
01:52aisle. That that is not, it's just not sustainable. So having a federal approach to that, ensuring that we're
01:58protecting our pork producers, especially some of our other livestock producers underneath the regime of Prop 12 is
02:05important. So we'll keep working on that together. And I really look forward to it. Yeah, well, and certainly, I appreciate your
02:10commitment to federalism, because we believe in that too, right? We want California to be able to regulate its own
02:15producers, but we don't want them to be able to tell Iowa farmers how to raise our animals and do their
02:19jobs. And we have heard a lot about that high cost associated with that, about $4,000 per sow. So then you
02:25think about other state laws kind of coming into the mix, and that creep that can happen is something we
02:31certainly have to fix. Do you believe that that kind of patchwork policy, whether it's Prop 12 or other, you
02:38know, other policies that could come down the pipeline, could put small family farms out of business if that's
02:43allowed to continue? I do. And I think, again, speaking across the party line, across the aisle,
02:48that we're all focused on small family farms, regardless of what the lady said. I think that we
02:53all understand and agree that is the backbone of America. And there's no America if they continue
02:59to go out of business and not be able to hand off their farms to their children and their
03:04grandchildren. And when we put so much burden on them, now we're talking about regulation
03:10specifically, but other burdens along the way, it becomes an unsustainable way of life.
03:15And that's what we have to really target. We've already begun the deregulation effort,
03:19not just across the government, but specific to USDA with line speeds and some other decisions
03:24that we've made. And you'll see a much bigger package coming out soon to get the government
03:28off the back of our farmers.
03:29I love hearing that. I know our farmers love hearing that red tape is being cut every single
03:32day. So thank you for your work and leading on that. And in the time I have remaining,
03:36I want to touch on an issue critical for national security. We already talked about China and the
03:41land ownership issues. But I want to talk about our ag supply chain for food because you look at,
03:45I was just recently on the ground at a mill in Iowa and some of their feed, right? They're trying to put
03:52together animal feed. And many of the bags had, you know, Chinese characters. They're coming from
03:56China, right? All these additives. China does control the majority of the world's amino acids
04:01and vitamins. So what risks would our producers continue to face if we continue to have that
04:06reliance on foreign adversaries? You know, hopefully we get these trade deals done and things
04:10normalized. But realistically, we could be in some tumultuous times ahead.
04:14We could be. And I think that's why President Trump's vision is so important,
04:18that if we continue down the trajectory of relying on other countries and other countries coming into
04:25America and buying our farmland, this is no longer just about protecting those who feed,
04:31clothe, and fuel the nation and the world, like some of the guys sitting behind me.
04:34It now becomes about national security. America will no longer be able to protect ourselves,
04:40be the world's economic superpower, if we can't stop relying on international and other countries to
04:46help feed and clothe us. And that can become extremely important. And I think one of the
04:52most important visions of President Trump that we have to effectuate if we want in America to give
04:56to our future children and grandchildren. Well, look forward to working with you on how we can
05:00bring that supply chain home as much as possible to protect those who, as you said, feed, fuel,
05:05and clothe the world. So thank you, Madam Secretary. Thank you, Congresswoman. I yield back,
05:08Mr. Chairman. Thank you.