Summit Notebook
Exclusive outtakes from industry leaders
Ag committee chair says new faces mean new dynamic on Capitol Hill
They are new, enthusiastic and changing the environment on Capitol Hill.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas says “do not underestimate the effect” of the large number of freshmen lawmakers on his committee, which will sit down to overhaul U.S. farm subsidies next year.
“This session of Congress is a little different from the ones I’ve participated in previously. A huge number of new members,” Lucas said at a Reuters Global Food and Agriculture Summit. “I’ve got a very enthusiastic bunch of new faces.”
It turns out that half of the House Agriculture Committee is new — 16 of 26 Republicans and 7 of 20 Democrats.
“Now, granted, freshmen Democrats are hard to come by,” he said, not missing a beat in taking a swipe at Democrats who were pounded in the November elections and lost control of the House of Representatives to Republicans.
“So literally 23 of the 46 members of the committee — no committee experience, no Farm Bill experience. It’s a slightly different dynamic as we go through the course of this year and next year,” Lucas said.
He said the large number of newbies will allow a focus on some issues that would perhaps have been more difficult if there were more senior members on the committee, with their own favorite causes. “It gives me an opportunity, with a very enthusiastic bunch of fresh faces, to conduct a lot of very necessary oversight on the committee this year.”
Will growth in the food industry spur inflation?
Food and agriculture companies, having weathered the global economic meltdown, are now facing the prospects that renewed growth will spur renewed inflation. With costs poised to rise for commodities like wheat and already high for items like sugar and cocoa, packaged foods makers face the task of trying to preserve profits at a time while retailers and consumers are balking at price increases. Trade battles over U.S. meat and regulatory issues like a tax on soft drinks and push for more accurate disclosure of calories and fat on restaurant boards and food package are also concerns for the industry.
