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NPPC urges Senate leaders to schedule key ag confirmation votes

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) is calling on Senate leaders to end the delay of four nominations important to agriculture.

Dave Warner says NPPC sent a letter to Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer urging them to schedule confirmation votes for Greg Doud, Bill Northey, Stephen Vaden, and Andrew Wheeler.

“These four nominees have been kind of languishing for quite awhile.  I think the least amount of time is four months.  Some (delays) have been much longer than that.  These are important positions for agriculture and we need to get them filled.”

If confirmed, Doud would become chief ag negotiator at the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).  Warner calls that post vital to agriculture.

“We don’t have our own guy in these trade negotiations that are going on, like the renegotiations of NAFTA and the U.S. – Korea Free Trade Agreement.  It would be nice to have a voice for agriculture there.”

Northey’s appointment as USDA undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation has been held up by Texas Senator Ted Cruz over disagreements in renewable fuels policy.

Vaden is working at USDA while awaiting General Counsel confirmation at the ag department, and Wheeler would become second-in-command at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) once confirmed.