Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, the House Committee on Ways and Means hosted a field hearing in Kimball, Minnesota, to hear from folks in that community about trade in America and the implications of critical supply chains on agriculture in rural America. Congressional Western Caucus Vice Chairs Michelle Fischbach (MN-07), Pete Stauber (MN-08) and Adrian Smith (NE-03) and Western Caucus Members including House Committee on Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (MO-08), and Reps. Blake Moore (UT-01), Beth Van Duyne (TX-24), Randy Feenstra (IA-04), Greg Murphy (NC-03), and Brad Finstad (MN-01) participated.

“The land of 10,000 lakes is a top five agriculture producer in the country and a leader in developing market access for the crops we grow. We also have mineral deposits that have helped build the national highway system and win world wars,” said Vice Chair Michelle Fischbach. “Our state is well positioned to build our future with what lies beneath our feet. Unfortunately, this administration has taken a different approach. To this day, they are seeking critical mineral agreements with foreign countries while Minnesota miners see yet another lease canceled or mine shut down. Through the Ways and Means Committee, Congress is pushing for a more aggressive trade agenda. I’m proud to be a part of that forward progress.”

“The trade of agricultural goods and minerals is so important to the future of our country, and Minnesota plays a huge role in their supply. We have a rich 140 year history of mining in the Iron Range located in Northeastern Minnesota where mining is our past, our present, and our future,” said Vice Chair Pete Stauber. “It was the miners on the Iron Range that supplied the iron that built the ships, the tanks, and the weapons for Americans and our Allied Forces during the Second World War. Today, over 80% of the steel made in this country comes from the taconite mined in Northeastern Minnesota. Now, as the demand for critical minerals increases every day, Northeast Minnesota has an incredible opportunity to make the United States a leader in the critical mineral mining space.”

“I’m frustrated the Biden Administration is approaching trade with dialogues and frameworks rather than congressionally approved, enforceable trade agreements,” said Vice Chair Adrian Smith. “I'd like to see President Biden take a stage somewhere and make it very clear that what Mexico is doing with our corn is wrong and, if Mexico gets away with this, it will undermine all of our trade policies, our rules-based trade approach.”

“The Constitution gives Congress authority over trade because we are the branch closest to the people who are impacted most by our trade policies. There is no substitute for enforceable, congressionally-approved trade agreements for the long-term prosperity of our farmers,” said House Committee on Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith. “Congress will continue to assert its authority over trade given to us in Article I of the Constitution, and we will use this authority to protect the interests of family farmers and ranchers on the world stage.”

“I'm a proud fourth-generation farmer from Southern Minnesota and happy to be raising the fifth. I understand the importance of a robust trade agenda for farm country,” said Rep. Brad Finstad. “American farmers and ranchers efficiently produce the safest and most affordable fuel and food supply in the world. Importantly, opening and expanding markets has direct value for our farmers in rural communities, as well as consumers around the globe who purchase more than 20% of U.S. ag production. Food and farm security is national security, and we must ensure America remains the breadbasket for the world.”

“In the almighty pursuit of everything climate change, radical environmentalists have attempted to overregulate just about every aspect of our economy. They've done so without regard for how we are going to be able to meet our own demand and national security, and have turned a blind eye to the abuses of other countries we're forced to source from,” said Rep. Greg Murphy. “It's time for folks to wake up and put their faith in the American worker who cares a heck of a lot more about environmental safety than the foreign nations we've developed an overreliance on.”

“I'm thinking about my conversations I always have with the Utah Farm Bureau—the ag producers in Northern Utah particularly—and it always comes back down to the VISA program, labor, and a lot of their frustrations that exist there and things that they would love to see improved,” said Rep. Blake Moore. “As we approach these trade deals and we try to produce output and make more opportunities for you all, to the extent we're not doing it well is clear today. We want to make sure that you have the labor you need.”

“As the second largest agriculture-exporting state in the nation, opening new foreign markets for Iowa farmers and producers is a vital priority for me in the 2023 Farm Bill. From corn and soybeans to beef and pork, the success of our producers relies, in part, on the strength of our trade agreements,” said Rep. Randy Feenstra. “Serving on both the House Agriculture Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee, I am working to fully fund the Market Access Program and the Foreign Market Development Program and negotiate new trade agreements to ensure that Iowa’s high quality agricultural products can be exported around the world.”

These Congressional Western Caucus Members heard from the following witnesses during the field hearing:

• Don Schiefelbein, Past President, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

• Tom Bakk, Former Member, Minnesota State Legislature

• Carolyn Olson, Vice President, Minnesota Farm Bureau Board of Directors

• Brad Vold, Owner, Dorrich Dairy

• Gary Wertish, President, Minnesota Farmers Union
  
  

“The progress of American agriculture by our nation's farmers and ranchers has allowed us to produce the highest quality, safest, most affordable food supply in the history of the world, this efficiency has allowed us to make the most dramatic reduction in climate impact and decrease our carbon footprint, I simply ask this committee as it forges new trade agreements and passes legislation to remember that the efficiency of our food production is the single biggest factor in combatting world hunger,” said Don Schiefelbein, Past President, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. “We as farmers and ranchers understand that when the government allows us to do what we do best, the world is a better place.”

“China's latest effort to impose export controls on two critical minerals on the U.S. should be a wakeup call, it's no secret that China has a monopoly on many of the world's critical mineral supply chains,” said Tom Bakk, Former Member, Minnesota State Legislature. “We must act now to accelerate our investment in mining capacity here in the U.S. our critical mineral supply chains will become even more jeopardized than they already are.”

“I believe it is important to recognize the connection between trade and the ability to move goods, if we cannot get our products to the places that have a high demand for them, then all our hard work to produce them is null and void,” said Carolyn Olson, Vice President, Minnesota Farm Bureau Board of Directors.

“Unfortunately, the U.S. dairy competitors in Europe, New Zealand and Australia continue to benefit from up-to-date free trade agreements while the United States has failed to finalize new comprehensive trade deals in over a decade putting American exporters at a distinct disadvantage in growing foreign markets,” said Brad Vold, Owner/Operator of Dorrich Dairy. “As an American dairy producer, I need the U.S. government to pursue comprehensive free trade agreements.”

“Farmers should be able to market their products in diverse and competitive markets locally, regionally, domestically, and internationally,” said Gary Wertish, President of Minnesota Farmers Union. “Export markets can be important for farm incomes but only when strong, competitive domestic markets are available as well.”

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