[Senate Hearing 117-91]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




                                                         S. Hrg. 117-91
 
                    NOMINATION OF JANIE SIMMS HIPP,
                   OF ARKANSAS, TO BE GENERAL COUNSEL
                    OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               before the

                       COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE,
                        NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                              MAY 27, 2021

                               __________

                       Printed for the use of the
           Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
           
           
           
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]           
           


                  Available on http://www.govinfo.gov/
                  
                  
                  
                  
                           ______                       


             U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 
45-948PDF           WASHINGTON : 2022 
 
 
                   
                  
                  
                  
                  
           COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY


                 DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan, Chairwoman
PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont            JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
SHERROD BROWN, Ohio                  MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky
AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota             JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota
MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado          JONI ERNST, Iowa
KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, New York      CINDY HYDE-SMITH, Mississippi
TINA SMITH, Minnesota                ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas
RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois          TOMMY TUBERVILLE, Alabama
CORY BOOKER, New Jersey              CHARLES GRASSLEY, Iowa
BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico            JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
RAPHAEL WARNOCK, Georgia             DEB FISCHER, Nebraska
                                     MIKE BRAUN, Indiana

               Joseph A. Shultz, Majority Staff Director
               Mary Beth Schultz, Majority Chief Counsel
                    Jessica L. Williams, Chief Clerk
            Martha Scott Poindexter, Minority Staff Director
                 Fred J. Clark, Minority Chief Counsel
                 
                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              

                         Thursday, May 27, 2021

                                                                   Page

Hearing:

Nomination of Janie Simms Hipp, of Arkansas, to be General 
  Counsel of The Department of Agriculture.......................     1

                              ----------                              

                    STATEMENTS PRESENTED BY SENATORS

Stabenow, Hon. Debbie, U.S. Senator from the State of Michigan...     1
Boozman, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from the State of Arkansas......     2

                               WITNESSES

Hipp, Janie Simms, of Arkansas, to be General Counsel of The 
  Department of Agriculture......................................     4
                              ----------                              

                                APPENDIX

Prepared Statements:
    Hipp, Janie Simms............................................    20

Document(s) Submitted for the Record:
Stabenow, Hon. Debbie:
    AIANTA, letter of support....................................    24
    Food and agriculture trade associations, letter of support...    26
    Clif Bar and Company, letter of support......................    27
    Farm Credit, letter of support...............................    28
    Fort Belknap Indian Community, letters of support............    29
    NACD, letter of support......................................    62
    NCTCA, letter of support.....................................    64
    SAFSF, letter of support.....................................    67
    Intertribal Agriculture Council, letter of support...........    69
Hipp, Janie Simms:
    Committee questionnaire, Office of Government Ethics 
      Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure 
      Report and 5-day letter filed by Janie Simms Hipp..........    75

Question and Answer:
Hipp, Janie Simms:
    Written response to questions from Hon. Debbie Stabenow......   120
    Written response to questions from Hon. John Boozman.........   122
    Written response to questions from Hon. Kirsten Gillibrand...   128
    Written response to questions from Hon. Richard Durbin.......   130
    Written response to questions from Hon. Raphael Warnock......   131
    Written response to questions from Hon. Roger Marshall, M.D..   132
    Written response to questions from Hon. Charles Grassley.....   132
    Written response to questions from Hon. John Thune...........   134


 NOMINATION OF JANIE SIMMS HIPP, OF ARKANSAS, TO BE GENERAL COUNSEL OF 
                     THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

                              ----------                              


                         THURSDAY, MAY 27, 2021

                                       U.S. Senate,
         Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:30 a.m., via 
Webex and in room 366, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. 
Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the Committee, presiding.
    Present or submitting a statement: Senators Stabenow, 
Brown, Klobuchar, Gillibrand, Smith, Booker, Lujan, Warnock, 
Boozman, Hoeven, Hyde-Smith, Marshall, Grassley, Thune, and 
Fischer.

STATEMENT OF HON. DEBBIE STABENOW, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE 
    OF MICHIGAN, CHAIRWOMAN, U.S. COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, 
                    NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY

    Chairwoman Stabenow. Good morning. I call today's hearing 
of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 
to order. We are here today to consider the nomination of Ms. 
Janie Simms Hipp to be General Counsel at the U.S. Department 
of Agriculture. In that role, Ms. Hipp's work will touch every 
function of the Department. That means she will have a hand in 
the implementation of the programs that make sure families have 
enough to eat, kids have healthy meals in schools, farmers are 
supported and have the tools they need to address the climate 
crisis, and folks in small towns and rural areas can access 
high-speed internet. These are issues I am passionate about, 
and I know Ms. Hipp is as well.
    She is no stranger to the important work she will take on, 
if confirmed. She has worked with farmers and ranchers for most 
of her career, experience that will be very valuable if she is 
confirmed as General Counsel. She is the first General Counsel 
nominee in more than 20 years to have a background this 
expansive in agricultural law. She even has a master of laws in 
agriculture and food law that she earned from the University of 
Arkansas. That is an institution I am sure we can all agree, 
but particularly our esteemed Ranking Member could agree offers 
an outstanding education.
    Ms. Hipp has since established herself as one of the 
preeminent minds in her field. She currently serves as CEO of 
the Native American Agriculture Fund, where she works with 
Native American farmers and ranchers to support their continued 
engagement in agriculture. Her breadth of experience would be 
very valuable as General Counsel.
    In the mid 1980's, Ms. Hipp worked in the Oklahoma Attorney 
General's Office where she had firsthand experience helping 
farmers during the national farm credit crisis. Having someone 
in leadership who has counseled producers through those 
stretches will be a priceless asset for the Department of 
Agriculture and the people they serve. She also understands how 
USDA functions and the broad range of issues it handles.
    While at the Department, she worked closely on research 
advancing innovation for producers as well as programs for 
beginning farmers and ranchers during her time at the National 
Institute of Food and Agriculture. While at the Risk Management 
Administration, she helped farmers understand and access 
Federal crop insurance and other risk management programs, as 
part of the farm safety net.
    Ms. Hipp has also taught agricultural law for years, 
addressing a wide range of issues affecting agriculture, 
natural resources, and rural communities.
    Finally--and we could go on and on, Mr. Ranking Member. 
This is a woman with a very impressive resume--finally, Ms. 
Hipp is a proud citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, and from her 
past experience as USDA's Director of the Office of Tribal 
Relations and as Founding Director of the University of 
Arkansas' Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative, her 
knowledge of Native American agriculture and Tribal issues will 
be invaluable. Her nearly four decades of legal experience, 
most of it in agricultural law, will give her essential 
insight, if confirmed as General Counsel.
    Ms. Hipp has a broad range of support from groups across 
agriculture and rural affairs, and I ask unanimous consent that 
such letters be entered into the record, without objection.

    [The letters can be found on pages 24-74 in the appendix.]

    Chairwoman Stabenow. Now I would like to turn to my friend, 
our distinguished Ranking Member, Senator Boozman, for his 
opening remarks.

 STATEMENT OF HON. SENATOR JOHN BOOZMAN, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE 
                       STATE OF ARKANSAS

    Senator Boozman. Thank you, Madam Chair, and good morning. 
Along with the Chairman, Chairwoman, I am pleased to welcome 
Janie Simms Hipp to the Committee as we consider her nomination 
to be General Counsel at the Department of Agriculture. Ms. 
Hipp, if confirmed as General Counsel, will be responsible for 
providing advice and counsel directly to the Secretary and 
Deputy Secretary.
    In addition to overseeing the Washington, DC.-based office, 
the General Counsel supervises 12 field offices within the 
Office of the General Council (OGC).
    Ms. Hipp currently serves as the CEO of the Native American 
Agricultural Fund, created as a result of the Keepseagle 
litigation settlement, with a charge to distribute the 
remaining settlement funds to eligible entities to assist, 
educate, and support Native American farmers and ranchers.
    Ms. Hipp has a vast array of agricultural law experience, 
spanning decades at USDA in several roles. She has a deep bond 
to Arkansas, earning an LLM in agriculture and food law from 
the University of Arkansas School of Law, and serving in 
various positions at the National Center for Agricultural Law 
Research and Information at the University of Arkansas School 
of Law. It is truly great to see a fellow Razorback serving our 
broad agricultural community with such dedication.
    It is important USDA has a General Counsel who can be 
relied upon by Congress and the agriculture community to 
provide sound, practical, and candid legal guidance to the 
Department. Aggies have many concerns these days, some of which 
are a direct result of action or inaction by the Department.
    For instance, I remain concerned the Administration may 
force the establishment of a bank through the CCC that would 
intervene in markets for environmental offsets, or pay farmers, 
ranchers, and forest owners for anything carbon. Congress has 
received neither details nor a legal basis for the 
establishment of a bank or this type of entity, whatever we are 
calling it at the current time, as the idea seems to constantly 
evolve and be based on shaky legal interpretation.
    I remain opposed to any effort to shoehorn the 
establishment and operation of a ``carbon bank'' into the CCC 
authority, and I ask the Department to communicate details 
about how such a bank would work and provide comprehensive 
legal justification for the establishment of a ``bank'' prior 
to any such action taking place. I expect OGC and the 
Department to follow the call to transparency on important 
issues by providing Congress and the public with the basis of 
its positions. Transparency is key to good a working 
relationship with Congress, and the lack of it shown so far by 
the Department is concerning, to say the least.
    I hope OGC can assist USDA in releasing nearly $2 billion 
in financial relief to contract poultry and livestock producers 
and expediting the regulatory approval for billions more in 
assistance to producers of agriculture commodities affected by 
the pandemic. Using resources from the bipartisan Coronavirus 
Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, better known as the 
CARES Act, and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, the 
Department has access to resources to help farmers across the 
country recover from COVID-19. It is vital this relief reaches 
those who need it. Ms. Hipp, if confirmed, I urge you to do all 
you can to assist in breaking the logjam, releasing the funds, 
and expediting the regulatory review process.
    Finally, I remain concerned for the future of the USDA's 
new swine inspection system. Due to a court ruling, USDA will 
need to reconsider this program and choose a path forward. 
Their decision will impact thousands of hog farmers, so I 
implore you to weigh this decision very carefully.
    Before closing, I would like to mention an issue that is 
really very important to a great number of members of this 
Committee. Several of you have written to me and the 
Chairwoman, asking the Committee to hold a hearing on livestock 
and cattle market issues. I believe this is an important topic 
that warrants review by the Committee, and I urge the Committee 
to plan, as soon as possible, to have a hearing.
    I think the livestock industry--and I was part of this 
industry for many years--is in a very, very difficult situation 
right now. We need to understand exactly what is going on in 
that regard and begin to offer solutions. With that I yield 
back.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much, Senator Boozman, 
and I agree. We need to work together. Many members of the 
Committee are concerned about what has been happening with 
supply chains in the livestock industry, and we need to work 
together with members of the Committee to understand and look 
for solutions.
    Ms. Hipp, before hearing your opening comments we have two 
things that we need to address. First, I need to administer the 
oath we give to all of our nominees, so please raise your right 
hand. I am not seeing here on the monitor, but I am assuming 
you are with us.
    Ms. Hipp. Yes, I am.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Good morning.
    Ms. Hipp. Good morning, Madam Chair.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. All right. Please raise your right 
hand. Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you are about 
to provide is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 
truth, so help you God?
    Ms. Hipp. I do.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you. Second, do you agree that, 
if confirmed, you will appear before any duly constituted 
committee of Congress if asked to appear?
    Ms. Hipp. I will.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Great. Thank you very much, and again, 
welcome. I look forward to learning more about your vision and 
priorities for the General Counsel's Office at the Department 
of Agriculture. Your testimony will be made a part of the 
record in its entirety, and you may proceed as you desire.

   STATEMENT OF JANIE SIMMS HIPP, OF ARKANSAS, TO BE GENERAL 
            COUNSEL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

    Ms. Hipp. Thank you so much, Madam Chair Stabenow, and 
Senator Boozman, my fellow Razorback, and members of the 
Committee. I am really honored to be with you today and I am 
grateful and deeply humbled by President Biden's nomination of 
me to serve as General Counsel for USDA. If confirmed, I look 
forward to providing legal advice to Secretary Vilsack, a 
leader I deeply respect and admire. There are over 200 
extremely talented lawyers at OGC, and if confirmed, I will 
join thousands of dedicated and passionate career USDA 
professionals across the U.S. and around the world. I look 
forward, if confirmed, to rejoining their ranks.
    I extend my love and appreciation to my husband, Mitch, 
whose limitless support enables me to do the work I do every 
day; my sons and their wives; my sister, all of my family and 
friends, and my work colleagues across the U.S. I also extend 
my thanks to the countless farmers, ranchers, and forest 
landowners I have had the pleasure of working alongside for the 
past 36 years.
    As was mentioned, I am a proud citizen of the Chickasaw 
Nation. My paternal grandmother was an original enrollee. I am 
deeply appreciative of my Tribe's leadership and Governor 
Anoatubby's vision and support for Chickasaw people. If 
confirmed, I will be the first Native woman selected to serve 
as General Counsel, and I know the importance of that honor.
    While I have worked with Tribes for over 20 years on food 
and agriculture issues, my work actually started long before 
then. I grew up in far southeast Oklahoma, small, rural, remote 
town of about 5,000 people. We were agriculture and forest 
dependent, and what a great place to grow up.
    I was raised by educators. Higher education was never an 
option in our house; it was expected.
    My grandfather ran a small tractor dealership--nothing 
fancy. I did the payroll every Saturday and my sister and I 
helped with the books every month. I grew up listening to 
farmers' stories as they came by for coffee.
    I worked my way through Oklahoma State and finished at OU, 
spent several years in State public service, and then attended 
Oklahoma City University Law School at night while working 
during the day. After a short stint in private practice, I 
moved to the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office during the 
height of the farm financial crisis of the 1980's. Oklahoma was 
hit hard. Our State's farmers and ranchers were in trouble, and 
one of the casualties was in my own family. My grandfather's 
tractor dealership was lost. Oklahoma had the highest rates of 
farmer and rancher suicides in the country, and foreclosure 
rates were through the roof.
    One day, the AG asked me to attend a meeting in February, 
in Minnesota, and I remember it being very cold, and while 
there I met an amazing group of lawyers taking action to 
support their own States' farmers and ranchers, advocating for 
stemming the tide of foreclosures and getting information into 
the hands of producers so their operations could be saved.
    These folks are friends to this day. I am forever grateful 
for their work on farmer advocacy and all that they have taught 
me. I cut my teeth standing alongside farmers and ranchers 
throughout this country, and through these experiences I come 
to deeply understand the differences that solid, legal 
resources can make in agriculture.
    Eventually, as Senator Boozman says, I found my way to the 
University of Arkansas to attend a new LLM in ag law programs, 
staying there to teach ag law and build my own body of work. 
While I consider Arkansas my permanent home, I have spent 
countless hours traveling throughout the U.S. and around the 
world as an ag lawyer. I held a teaching and extension 
appointment in Arkansas, but my work extended well beyond her 
borders. Over the years I have taught or discussed or written 
about almost every section in the farm bills dating back to the 
1980's.
    The Chairwoman has previously talked about how my work at 
USDA NIFA and after that with Secretary Vilsack, who appointed 
me as his Senior Advisor for Tribal Relations, and in that 
location within his office I worked across the entirety of 
USDA, across a wide variety of issues impacting Tribal 
governments, and then returned back to Arkansas and launched an 
initiative focusing on indigenous food and agriculture, but 
also then later working as CEO of the Native American Ag Fund.
    I have worked with small, midsized, large producers, 
processing plant owners, local food folks, urban farmers, new 
and beginning farmers, socially disadvantaged farmers and 
ranchers, national policy groups, foresters, farm credit--you 
name it. I have worked with them all. I have also worked 
alongside food distribution and anti-hunger advocates to keep 
people fed. I refer to myself as a mechanic under the hood and 
a practical problem-solver.
    Some of my most enjoyable moments are those spent with 
young folks who are passionate about food and agriculture, 
because I see in their eyes that we will all be okay with them 
as our new leaders. If confirmed, I am honored to work 
alongside Secretary Vilsack again and to fulfill our roles 
within USDA. I will work tirelessly to seek access and equity 
in the conduct of USDA's programs in search for meaningful and 
informed and practical solutions to the complex challenges we 
face.
    I will never forget where I grew up, and I will work 
alongside each of you in a transparent and collaborative 
manner. I will always keep our Nation's farmers and ranchers, 
no matter who they are, as my guiding light and my North Star.
    Thank you, and I look forward to your questions and our 
important work together. Thank you.

    [The prepared statement of Ms. Hipp can be found on page 20 
in the appendix.]

    Chairwoman Stabenow. Well, thank you so much, Ms. Hipp, and 
I just have to say, as someone who has been in the Senate now 
for 20 years, on this Committee for 20 years, I cannot think of 
someone who has come before us as a nominee that has had more 
experience or breadth of experience and depth of experience 
than you possess. I appreciate very much your willingness to 
serve our country again in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
    We are going to begin, for members' knowledge, of course, a 
round five-minute questions, and let me start first saying that 
given all of your extensive experience, what have you learned 
from your previous positions, and how do you think those 
experiences will help you as General Counsel at the USDA?
    Ms. Hipp. Madam Chairwoman, I was asked this the other day 
and I gave it a moment's thought and then I immediately knew 
what my answer was. I learned a long time ago, particularly in 
my LLM program work, that I did not go very far without a 
really great agricultural economist and a wonderful ag 
scientists at my elbow. I learned that because agricultural 
lawyers cannot solve all of the problems and the challenges and 
the opportunities that we face in agriculture. I learned a long 
time ago that I need very important experts at my elbows, and 
there are many of those throughout the agriculture sector.
    I think also one of the most important things that I can 
always do is to listen, and to listen to where people are 
coming from, what is important to them, what their issues are, 
and really absorb that and use that to inform us as we work 
within the Office of General Counsel, doing our jobs every day. 
Farmers need markets, they need clarity, they need security so 
that they can keep facing the challenges that they face every 
day to feed us, and I think that is probably the most important 
thing I have ever learned across my entire career.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you. Well given that, what are 
your priorities as General Counsel?
    Ms. Hipp. Well, the first priority is to get a handle 
exactly on where all of our cases stand and where all of our 
challenges are, where the regulations are that are pending 
before us, what issues are waiting for OGC offices to actually 
do our part of the equation, which is to interpret and to 
assist our clients throughout the Department. My priorities 
include, first of all, getting a handle on everything that we 
have in front of us.
    Also, I think it is really important for us to establish a 
regular mechanism so that we can communicate with the 
Committee. I think that is extremely important, and throughout 
my entire career in agricultural law I have never known a 
circumstance when it was not valuable for OGC lawyers to be 
regularly communicating with the Committee and their staff. 
That is important as well.
    I think getting a sense of what we have before us in the 
Office of General Counsel. We have such an incredible group of 
people who are so highly trained in that department, in OGC, 
and I think it is really important for us to also plan for the 
future and determine how we bring up new lawyers as we need to 
fill the positions that might be vacated by someone who is 
retiring.
    When I was at USDA before there were a lot of folks who, 
that is their home for 30 years or more, and we need their 
expertise in the next generation of legal advisors that come 
through the Department.
    In terms of OGC itself, and I interpreted your question to 
be that, those are my top priorities for the immediate future.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Well, thank you. Talk a little bit 
more about Department morale, because over the last few years 
staff morale has really dropped sharply, particularly in the 
Office of General Counsel. I am very concerned about this. In 
fact, in 2019 there was a survey that showed that the office 
ranked 414th out of 420 subagencies for employee engagement, 
and they particularly talked about concerns with the leadership 
of OGC.
    How would you address this? You talked a little bit about 
it, but how will you focus on improving morale of the excellent 
staff that are there?
    Ms. Hipp. Well, Chairwoman, one of the first things that I 
will do is I will sit down with not only the leadership of OGC 
as it stands right now but every single one of our OGC 
attorneys and staff. We need to listen to them. We need to find 
out what exactly is driving the lower morale. I will work 
diligently to address their needs and to boost that morale as 
much as I can.
    I have worked within big lawyers' offices before, I have 
worked in state attorneys general offices before, where you are 
surrounded by lawyers, and a lot of work gets done in those 
offices. Sometimes we just need to pause and sit with each 
other and determine how we can best support each other. I will 
do my best to infuse a new sense of mission and purpose and 
support within that office. I will honor those qualified and 
extremely talented professionals, and I will hold that as one 
of my top priorities, to improve the morale within OGC.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Well, thank you very much. Many 
questions I could ask you, given your broad experiences and the 
issues you will be involved in, but I want to adhere to my time 
being up so that we can keep the Committee on schedule. I am 
going to turn to Senator Boozman.
    Senator Boozman. Thank you, Madam Chair, and again, we are 
very grateful for your willingness to serve. You are a talented 
lady that has got so much to offer, and certainly make a lot 
more money in the private sector and this and that, but much of 
your career has been spent in public service, and we really do 
appreciate that.
    During your staff interview you discussed your past 
practice and speaking ``truth to power'' and your intention to 
continue that practice as General Counsel. Can we count on you 
to continue delivering measured legal advice to Secretary 
Vilsack and the Department regarding administration policies, 
and will you commit to being transparent by publishing legal 
opinions on administration policy proposals, including briefing 
us on those opinions?
    I will say that we really do appreciate the great work of 
the career staff at USDA. They have been invaluable in helping 
both sides of the aisle always and giving us good technical 
advice as we try and push things forward. Will you, again, as I 
described, give the advice that we would like and publishing 
legal opinions, et cetera?
    Ms. Hipp. Senator Boozman, I promise to you that I will. I 
believe in transparency. I believe in frank discussions. 
Sometimes folks misinterpret the law, and you need to actually 
explain exactly what the language says. Sometimes we can be a 
little bit too technical. I can be technical. As a lawyer I 
trained to be technical. Particularly having spent so much time 
in public government service as a lawyer, I can switch that on 
in a heartbeat.
    It is also really important, I have found, particularly 
when you are doing front-facing work with your stakeholders 
that you actually speak in normal English, and that is really, 
really important, I think, in terms of communicating what 
exactly the Department is doing. I promise to you that I will 
be transparent with you all, I will be transparent with our 
stakeholders, and we will be as fastidious as we possibly can 
be to reach the goals that you set forward, which is to have 
that front-facing ability for not only you all and your staff, 
the Department's clients itself, but also our stakeholders, to 
understand where OGC is coming from and how we are interpreting 
the laws before us.
    Senator Boozman. Very good. We appreciate that. Let me ask 
you about the National Agricultural Law Center, which you have 
been an integral part of. Truly, I think it is a treasure that 
congressional members and their staff rely upon to get updates 
on legal matters affecting agriculture. In January 2019, USDA 
and the Law Center entered into an MOU to provide a cooperative 
framework for the parties to develop and maintain an unpaid 
legal internship program that would facilitate the Law Center 
research fellows, gaining legal experience and guidance by 
USDA, OGC attorneys. All of this helped the fellows gain 
educational excellence and develop legal talent in agricultural 
law, which I think is a win for both the Law Center and USDA.
    By all accounts it was a successful program. It expired 
after two years, in January 2021. If confirmed, do you commit 
to supporting the National Ag Law Center at the University of 
Arkansas, during your tenure, and will you commit to executing 
a fresh MOU to allow this collaborative program, which was so 
successful, between this Law Center and USDA to continue to 
flourish?
    Ms. Hipp. Well now, Senator Boozman, you know I would be 
remiss if I did not want to do that. That is my alma mater, of 
course. Yes, I am happy to take a look at that, if I am 
confirmed. I will also share with you too that, you know, I was 
in that first four or five years of LLM ag law classes, and a 
lot of my law friends in Oklahoma even were scratching their 
heads and wondering what it was that I was doing. I knew I was 
going in the right direction because ag needs a lot of legal 
talent that is very specialized.
    Since the time that the LLM program has been stood up there 
have been other efforts around the country to actually focus 
our minds around some of the complexities that can assist 
farmers in other regions, right, to access legal explanations. 
That was one of the things we did the best was to explain the 
law to people.
    I think it really serves us well not only to look at the Ag 
Law Center and the LLM program in Arkansas but also expand our 
horizons a bit, because the last thing that I would want to do 
is to have a lot of OGC, wonderful, mature attorneys leave and 
not have a highly qualified, very specialized team to rise up 
to take their place. I think we have got a lot of opportunity 
for actually encouraging more intern programs like that.
    Senator Boozman. You are a good lawyer. Thank you, Madam 
Chair.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you, Senator Boozman. I am now 
going to call on Senator Klobuchar and then Senator Grassley 
will be next. Welcome, Senator Klobuchar.
    Senator Klobuchar. Well, thank you very much, Senator 
Stabenow, and thank you very much, Ms. Hipp. I heard you 
mention Minnesota at the beginning and how you had worked with 
farmers during the farm crisis. You did say it was cold--I am 
going to let that go. I will not hold that against you. Could 
you tell me a little bit about that work?
    Ms. Hipp. Well, first of all, Senator Klobuchar, I 
mentioned it was cold because it was seared into my mind 
because I did not have a proper coat, so I will never make that 
mistake again.
    That work was incredible. I actually was able to sit with 
other assistant attorneys general from around the country, and 
we were all deeply concerned about what was happening within 
our States. The foreclosure rates were out of control, and the 
suicide rates were high. We were grasping at what we could do, 
as assistant attorneys general, to actually stem the tide.
    What we found was that we were powerful working together, 
helping farmers and ranchers really understanding the 
complexities of restructuring their loans. This Committee 
actually passed out the Ag Credit Act of 1987. All of that 
happened during that time period, and we were all instrumental 
in getting the word out.
    I personally did work with multiple, 300- to 400-person 
events with farmers in Oklahoma. I know that work was going on 
in Minnesota. It was going on everywhere. I think we discount 
the importance of actually having that specialized focus for 
lawyers within the States, such as yours and such as mine, to 
actually be there as a support system to farmers and ranchers. 
What came out of that was a whole history of farm advocacy and 
farm work, explanatory measures for farmers and ranchers so 
they understand the laws and regulations more deeply, and 
really can adjust them to their business plan.
    Senator Klobuchar. Okay. Very good. Measuring the impact of 
conservation practices on greenhouse gas emissions was listed 
as a priority for USDA. Senator Thune and I have long worked on 
legislation to strengthen conservation data management and 
analysis. In your opinion, how can we get the most out of pilot 
projects that measure this, and will you commit to work with us 
to protect producer privacy while allowing for the delivery of 
technical assistance to farmers?
    Ms. Hipp. Senator Klobuchar, I will commit to you to focus 
on data privacy. I know it is terribly important to farmers and 
ranchers across the country. I have to admit, straight up, that 
I am an agricultural data nerd, and agricultural data is 
critical, not only for us to really understand food security 
across our country, biodefense, and all of those other, 
including conservation and climate issues. Farmers and ranchers 
need good data to enhance their own productivity and enhance 
their own work at the farm level. Gathering that data and 
making sure it is accessible and usable to people but also that 
we protect the data and that the data has privacy sitting 
around it, that is terribly important.
    One of my favorite agencies at the Department is NASS, so 
you can tell that I really love data and I like to know as much 
as I can.
    Senator Klobuchar. Okay. The RFS, something else. Maybe 
Senator Grassley will ask you about that. He and I have done a 
lot of work on it. As you know, the EPA implements the RFS in 
consultation with the Department of Energy and Agriculture. If 
confirmed, will you confirm that the Department of 
Agriculture's role in implementing the RFS is not overlooked or 
diminished? We obviously had problems over the last four years 
with that.
    Ms. Hipp. Senator Klobuchar, I promise you that I will be a 
big voice at interdepartmental tables. I think it is critical. 
I have learned it so many times in my own career and life. I 
have had opportunities to sit across the table with other 
departments of the Federal Government. Sometimes the voices of 
farmers and ranchers and agriculture get drowned out by other 
voices, but they have not heard my voice yet.
    Senator Klobuchar. Okay. I like that answer. Last, Senator 
Moran and I just introduced a bill to open up the market with 
Cuba, and this is a great opportunity. Obviously, 11 million 
people 90 miles off our shore. We keep in place the human 
rights provisions as well as the ability to make claims on 
land. This has been at a standstill for the last four years. It 
is a great opportunity for my State and many States.
    How does your experience working on trade adjustment 
assistance and risk management programs help inform your view 
of USDA's role in promoting exports, not just in Cuba but 
around the world?
    Ms. Hipp. Well, specifically to the Trade Adjustment 
Assistance Program that I was the national program leader of, 
that particular program was meant to actually assist farmers 
and ranchers and fishers when they were impacted, their 
operations were impacted by trade, trade wrinkles, or something 
that happened in the trade arena that took away that market for 
them.
    That program was quite effective. We did a lot of business 
and market training, and there were cash payments that you all 
authorized that went into the hands of the farmers and fishers 
that actually participated in the TAA program.
    I will tell you, that sort of technical assistance that 
sits up under the farmers, specifically, that helps them adjust 
and begin to quickly pivot and get into new markets, or to 
adjust their operations so they can stay in the markets that 
they are in, those things are really, really important, no 
matter who our trading partners are.
    Senator Klobuchar. Exactly. Okay. My time is up. Thank you. 
I look forward to working with you.
    Ms. Hipp. Thank you. I look forward to working with you 
too.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much. As we know, 
members are juggling multiple committees this morning. I 
believe that we have Senator Fischer with us, so we will turn 
to her. Senator Fischer.
    Senator Fischer. Well, thank you, Senator Stabenow, and 
thank you, Ms. Hipp, for being here today.
    Ms. Hipp, both the Department of Justice and the USDA have 
been looking at large meatpackers in recent years, due to the 
concern about the historic spread between cattle prices and 
boxed beef prices, and to see if anticompetitive activities are 
occurring. If confirmed, how do you envision the USDA and DOJ 
working together, both on the current investigation as well as 
the ongoing oversight of beef packers, and what do you think 
effective coordination would look like between the USDA and 
DOJ?
    Ms. Hipp. Senator Fischer, I think OGC, specifically, but 
not just OGC, other departmental offices within USDA, need to 
be very connected, if you will, with DOJ during this process. I 
have been hearing of these issues for as long as I have been an 
agricultural lawyer, and they seem to ebb and flow in terms of 
spikes of concern. I believe that I am seeing a bipartisan 
approach to this issue that has risen to a level I have not 
seen it before.
    I pledge to you all and the Committee and you that we will 
be a strong voice, and we will sit down with DOJ regularly, as 
we are prone to do anyway. This issue is very important. It can 
be extremely technical. We have got a lot of economic analysis 
and issues that sit up underneath it. It is a high issue of 
mine and concern.
    As you know, Tribes around the country, over half of our 
market value is in livestock, so it is really an important 
issue for me, personally, but it is also important for the 
Department and for the entire agricultural sector. I will be on 
it.
    Senator Fischer. I agree with you. We are right now seeing 
a huge spike in concern about this issue. I would also say that 
we are seeing bipartisan momentum. You heard Ranking Member 
Boozman, his comments at the beginning of this hear about a 
coming together, the need that we have a hearing on the 
livestock market reauthorization soon, because that will be an 
opportunity where we can come together as Senators to be able 
to address this. I appreciate your comments.
    Right now I am actually working on legislation that would 
address Federal and State enforcements efforts to address 
competition problems that we are seeing. I believe that 
improved tools and heightened partnership between our key 
Federal agencies--USDA and DOJ--on antitrust in agriculture are 
going to help to make sure that producers are not being harmed 
by this anticompetitive activity we are seeing. I thank you for 
that.
    Mexico has announced that they would ban GMO corn by 2024. 
Mexico takes a large percentage of our corn, both from Nebraska 
and across the country, and this ban would be devastating. 
Moreover, it is troubling to see Mexico adopting Europe's 
precautionary principle as the basis for rejecting import 
permits and delaying product approvals. These actions 
contravene the commitments we made in the USMCA.
    Could you comment on this and what you see as the OGC's 
role in addressing USMCA enforcement priorities, and what would 
be your understanding of the OGC's role in advising on 
international trade deals?
    Ms. Hipp. Well, Senator Fischer, as you know the Foreign Ag 
Service is a part of our agencies within the Department. We 
also have relationships with USTR, obviously, as well as any 
other entity within the Federal family.
    I think our role is to be fully engaged on these issues 
from the get-go, and to remain fully engaged as the Department, 
because we have to deal with the issues that spin off from our 
trading partners taking steps that impact our landscape. I will 
pledge to you that we will be aggressively involved and follow 
the lead of our leadership, Secretary Vilsack, and be 
concerned, and lend the appropriate backup within OGC to 
whatever we need to do to bring to the table to inform the 
conversation.
    Senator Fischer. Great. I think it is vital to address the 
enforcement priorities that were made in the USMCA, so thank 
you very much. Thank you, Chairwoman.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much. Senator Lujan, 
Ben Ray Lujan is, I believe, with us.
    Senator Lujan. Good morning, Chair Stabenow, and to all the 
Committee members. Thank you so much, Ms. Hipp, for being with 
us today as well. I very much appreciate your willingness to 
continue to serve the people of America.
    I know that I speak for many of my colleagues when I say 
the Federal response to PFAS contamination has been inadequate. 
The communities impacted by PFAS contamination is an issue that 
hits very close to home. It has harmed the livelihood of 
farmers in eastern New Mexico who saw the region's groundwater 
contaminated after years of firefighting drills at a nearby 
Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, New Mexico.
    That is how I came to know Art Schaap at Highland Dairy. 
The family farm is directly across the fence from Cannon Air 
Force Base and draws its water from the aquifer shared by the 
base and the dairy. Since we first learned of the PFAS 
contamination at the base, all of Highland's cows have been 
adulterated due to the drinking of the contaminated water, and 
as a result, all milk and beef sales were condemned in October 
2018. Currently, 4,000 cows are stranded on the dairy and 1,100 
have died onsite.
    Over the past two years, Highland Dairy participated in a 
study conducted by FSIS, which determined that the cows could 
not be rehabilitated. While the FSIS tests were ongoing, the 
USDA provided support to the dairy indemnity payment program 
known as DIP. Unfortunately, Mr. Schaap has since exceeded the 
arbitrary 18-month cap under which someone can receive 
assistance under the DIP program.
    The New Mexico [audio interruption] USDA the authority to 
purchase cows through the DIP program in last year's 
consolidated appropriation bill, but unfortunately USDA has 
still taken no action under this authority, and Highland Dairy 
is now in dire need of assistance and will cease operations.
    Now I, along with some of my colleagues of the New Mexico 
delegation, sent letters to USDA on April 16th on this issue, 
but we have yet to get any kind of response here. If you are 
confirmed, I sincerely hope you and your colleagues at the 
Department of Agriculture will prioritize this issue and that 
we can work together to be able to provide the support and 
relief required to the family.
    Will you commit to work with me on this issue and finding 
the way to ensure Highland Dairy and other ag-related 
businesses impacted by PFAS contamination are not forced to 
shutter?
    Ms. Hipp. Senator Lujan, I pledge to sit down with you and 
your staff and learn more about this issue. As you were 
explaining it, my mind was immediately going to several 
different agencies and program authorities that I was aware of. 
I just want to make sure that we are laying things all out on 
the table so that we can assist you and your constituents 
properly, and I pledge to you that as soon as I get confirmed 
that I would have this as a top priority, for sure.
    Senator Lujan. I appreciate that, Ms. Hipp. The Air Force 
did not do what they should have done, and we were told that 
these additional authorities were needed. Although the 
delegation disagreed with that assessment, we moved forward, 
and our colleagues supported us in securing the language. I 
would argue there is every tool that is required right now to 
get this done, but what we need is rule promulgation so that 
way we can make sure we are helping these family farms.
    The second question I have, and just a point I want to 
raise, is historically the Department of Agriculture has faced 
charges and been found liable in court of discriminatory 
practices against socially disadvantaged communities, and 
unfortunately farmers and ranchers in New Mexico have directly 
been impacted by these past discriminatory practices.
    First, do I have your commitment to work with myself and 
this committee to ensure that USDA is not only providing 
equitable services and outreach but also looking for 
opportunities to use existing authority to remedy and uplift 
communities that have been impacted by these harmful practices?
    Ms. Hipp. Yes, Senator Lujan, you have my pledge, as do all 
the other Committee members, to work on these issues. I have 
seen it myself, throughout the years, of structural issues that 
we need to really address and do our best to put our arms 
around and fix, once and for all. I have many ideas in that 
area, because I have spent so much work in that space myself. 
If I am confirmed, I am happy to not only work across the 
Department and with Secretary Vilsack, who is very passionate 
about this issue, and do whatever I can within OGC itself and 
with our team of lawyers to really unpack some of the 
structural problems that we know exist and really address them. 
I look forward to working with all of you on that, in a very 
transparent way.
    Senator Lujan. Thank you, Ms. Hipp, and I do appreciate Mr. 
Vilsack's attention to many of these areas. He has already 
worked to help some farmers in New Mexico, in Rio Rico County, 
a predominantly Hispanic community, that were really treated 
unfairly under the Trump administration.
    Then last, Chair Stabenow, I just want to recognize the 
work that Ms. Hipp has done in the Native American Agricultural 
Fund. I will submit a question to the record, but I definitely 
look forward to working with you when you are confirmed, and 
learning how Congress and the USDA can provide additional 
support and resources to these communities.
    Thank you so much, and I yield back my time.
    Ms. Hipp. Thank you.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much, and you are 
correct on her leadership in so many areas, including our last 
farm bill, working very, very closely with us on Tribal issues, 
and many of the successes in the 2018 Farm Bill directly 
related to her counsel and input. Thank you for raising that.
    Senator Marshall?
    Senator Marshall. Thank you, Madam Chair, and it is 
exciting to get to almost meet Ms. Simms Hipp. I thought, first 
of all, I would just give you an opportunity to talk about the 
advantages of Allis-Chalmers tractors.
    Ms. Hipp.
    [Laughter.] I knew you were going to say that, Senator. We 
had a nice chat the other day about colors of tractors.
    Senator Marshall. All right. Well, we are going to have to 
go to a tractor pull someday at the State fair in Kansas, and 
we will just settle this once and for all.
    Of course, there are many serious topics to discuss today, 
and one of them is just the talk around the Capitol here, is 
carbon a commodity? You know, in my opinion, you are not being 
paid to produce the carbon. You are being paid for the value of 
the service of sequestration.
    Do you have any type of a legal opinion? Is carbon a 
commodity?
    Ms. Hipp. Senator, at this point I am going to reserve my 
answer to get back to you on that. I would love to dig deeper 
into that issue. What I will say is that a lot of these 
questions come up in the context of utilization of the CCC for 
carbon sequestration purposes, and I think that the CCC has 
some very powerful authorities to actually sit up under and 
support our farmers and ranchers, and has been used for years 
and years in many ways to support farm bill programs. I look 
forward to digging deeper on this particular issue and getting 
back with you all on the Committee as we work through this 
together.
    Senator Marshall. Okay. Well, thank you, and we look 
forward to those discussions as well.
    I am not sure if we talked about the SALE Act, which we 
passed last December. You may recall my first job off the 
family farm was working at our local sale barn. I started there 
for minimum wage and worked my way up. Anyway, the SALE Act is 
a livestock dealer trust, and I am not sure if you have had a 
chance to even look at that, but I just want to make sure that 
you are committed to fulfilling the USDA's role in this, 
implementing guidance, and enforce the priority of unpaid 
livestock sellers.
    Ms. Hipp. Senator, we talked about this the other day, and 
I will followup and dig deeper into the SALE Act. I did share 
with you, when we visited, that I had previous experience with 
trusts of that nature that are created under Federal law, in 
other arenas, and they are such very powerful tools and very 
effective. I look forward to digging deeper and getting back 
with you and the Committee on this issue, and seeing what needs 
to be done to fully implement.
    Senator Marshall. Great. I want to just talk about the 
price divergence issues in the cattle market, and I understand 
you answered a similar question earlier, but I had to go vote 
in another committee. I am going to kind of repeat probably the 
same question you heard or something close to it.
    Over a year ago, we asked the USDA and DOJ to study this 
and come back and tell us, is there, frankly, any funny 
business going on in these markets, if there is any unlawful 
market behavior. I think the USDA gave us a partial answer but 
really not to the extent that I was satisfied with. I just have 
to tell you again, my phone is blowing up with this issue, that 
my friends and family members, the people I grew up with, 
families that are fifth, sixth, seventh generation cattle 
people, cow-calf folks, people that do backgrounding, people 
that have the small feed lots only having one buyer show up and 
say, ``Here is the price. Take it or leave it.''
    I am very concerned about this and just want to make sure 
that if you are confirmed you will commit to providing Congress 
with an immediate update onto the investigation and release the 
complete findings of the investigation for industry review as 
timely as possible.
    Ms. Hipp. Senator, I commit to you all that I will get on 
this as one of my very, very top priorities. My phone is 
blowing up as well, and I just want to assure you that this is 
one of the top priorities we will be working on if I am 
confirmed, and I will communicate with you all regularly about 
it.
    Senator Marshall. Great. You mentioned in your opening 
remarks living through the decade of inflation, and I remember 
that too, in the 1980's. I am not sure which is worse, $2 wheat 
or paying 12, 16 percent for your operation loan. I do not 
think many people understand that a farmer typically, at the 
start of the season, has an operation credit, and it really 
depends on what the short-term interest rates are. You know, is 
there any concern on your part about inflation and how it would 
impact agriculture?
    Ms. Hipp. Senator, this is one of the areas that I have 
spent a lot of my career in, all the way back to the 1980's. 
Farmers and ranchers are so sensitive to the credit markets, 
and I know they are concerned, and I know that they are 
concerned no matter what the situation is, because they have to 
have security, they have to have flexibility.
    I have discussed with many of my colleagues the importance 
of being in a place, across the entire capital market sector, 
that we become a bit more flexible. Farmers and ranchers need 
that flexibility and need that assurance that their capital is 
not going to evaporate, and it happens when there are 
fluctuations.
    I think this is a top priority issue for me, personally, 
and I hope to bring attention through the Office of General 
Counsel to these sorts of issues. They permeate the 
agricultural sector and they are terribly important.
    Senator Marshall. Well, thank you so much for your direct 
responses. Madam Chair, I have one more question, but I will 
circle back if we get a second round. Thank you.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much. Senator Hyde-
Smith.
    Senator Hyde-Smith. Thank you, Madam Chair. Ms. Hipp, thank 
you for appearing before the Committee, and I certainly enjoyed 
our visit on the phone earlier this week. One of the things 
that we talked about then, and I want to re-emphasize today, is 
I mentioned to you regarding the Emergency Assistance for 
Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program, the ELAP 
program.
    As I mentioned, farm-raised catfish producers are not 
eligible for the death losses due to bird predation under ELAP. 
Mississippi grows more catfish than any State in the Nation. We 
are No. 1 in catfish production, so this is really important to 
my State. ELAP is supposed to be for producers who were not 
covered under any other USDA disaster assistance program such 
as the Livestock Indemnity Program. Catfish producers are not 
covered under any other program.
    Here is a hypothetical example to help explain what catfish 
producers are experiencing, and have for a long time. A large 
flock of birds, cormorants, makes home on a producer's catfish 
operation for sometimes two weeks, usually two weeks. The 
cormorants, on average, eat about 1.5 pounds of fish per day. 
That is their diet, is fish, so they obviously come to these 
catfish farms. A reasonable price paid to producers is $1 per 
pound. One thousand cormorants eating a pound and a half of 
fish per day for 14 days amounts to 21,000 pounds of fish 
eaten. With a catfish price of about $1 per pound, that is 
$21,000 that they would lose just during that time, on one 
pond.
    To me that certainly sounds like a disaster, an emergency. 
The joint explanation statements accompanying the Fiscal Year 
and Fiscal Year omnibus appropriation bills direct USDA to 
update its ELAP regulation so that farm-raised fish producers 
are eligible for death losses due to this, because it is a 
serious loss.
    Can you elaborate on any legal reasons why USDA cannot, or 
should not, carry out this directive that comes from Congress?
    Ms. Hipp. Senator, I very much appreciate our visit the 
other day about this. We commiserated quite a bit about it, 
because I do live in Arkansas and we are familiar with this 
issue. I also shared with you my prior experience as National 
Program Leader for Risk Management and my work at RMA, so I am 
passingly familiar with the whole arena of crop insurance and 
disaster assistance and things of that nature.
    I will commit to you that I will have this on my top five 
list when I walk in the door, if confirmed, and I will get back 
with you on this. I need to unpack where we are with the 
regulations and see what next needs to be done.
    Senator Hyde-Smith. I certainly appreciate that, and I 
appreciate your commitment to the livestock producers as well, 
because as the rest of us, my phone is blowing up over that. It 
is just so unfair right now with the market. I certainly 
appreciate that and look forward to working with you.
    Ms. Hipp. I look forward to working with you too.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much. Now we will turn 
to Senator Hoeven.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you, Madam Chair, I appreciate it, 
and Ranking Member Boozman.
    Ms. Hipp, the first question I have is in regard to the 
Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). We are working with our 
Chairman on the whole carbon issue relative to farmers, and 
getting some compensation for carbon capture. One of the issues 
that has come up is whether or not that USDA could implement a 
carbon bank using the CCC funds without congressional approval. 
Do you believe that the CCC Charter Act gives the USDA 
authority to establish a carbon bank?
    Ms. Hipp. Senator Hoeven, first of all that is a really 
important question. I believe that the CCC has tremendous 
authorities, but I think that, you know, any time we move into 
an arena where we are considering new issues that could be 
addressed through the CCC, we need to work very closely with 
you all on those issues, and I pledge to you we will do that.
    Senator Hoeven. I will give it one more try. Do you think 
the Charter Act has that authority, or do you think that it 
does not and would require legislation for establishing a 
carbon bank?
    Ms. Hipp. I have to confess to you that I have not done the 
significant amount of legal research that I feel compelled to 
do to actually unpack the entirety of that question, but I 
promise to you that I will and I will get back to you and we 
can have a deeper discussion about it.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you. That goes to my next question 
and that is, if confirmed, will you commit to improve 
transparency from the OGC, including sharing legal 
justifications on any decision you make?
    Ms. Hipp. Yes, sir, I will.
    Senator Hoeven. One of our big concerns in the ag sector is 
livestock, lack of transparency in competition in the cattle 
market. We have seen the negative effects of low levels of 
sales and volatility it has created in the market. If 
confirmed, will you commit to working with the Ag Marketing 
Service to ensure rigorous enforcement of the Packers and 
Stockyards Act?
    Ms. Hipp. Yes, sir, I will.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you. Crop insurance. No. 1 risk 
management tool for farmers is crop insurance. If confirmed, 
will you ensure USDA abides by provisions in the farm bill and 
rejects any cuts to crop insurance, which we wrote specifically 
into the last two farm bills?
    Ms. Hipp. Sir, crop insurance is one of my family homes 
within USDA. It is so terribly important to all of our 
producers, and I will commit to you to strongly work with you 
all around crop insurance. If we do not have it, producers are 
left with little to work with. We have to have strong crop 
insurance.
    Senator Hoeven. Yes, right on. Thank you. Sugar is hugely 
important in our State--14,000 jobs, $1.8 billion annual 
economic impact. Nationally, 142,000 jobs, $20 billion a year. 
If confirmed, will you commit to administering sugar policy as 
prescribed by the 2018 Farm Bill?
    Ms. Hipp. Sir, I believe the Office of General Counsel's 
responsibilities are to take the law as written, to have 
reasonable interpretations of the law, and to drive through 
toward completion of our responsibilities as authorized by you 
all. I confirm to you that I will strongly support our 
continued work in that area to that legal standard.
    Senator Hoeven. That legal standard being----
    Ms. Hipp. Our conformance with the law.
    Senator Hoeven. Okay. Forest Service. Little Missouri 
Grassland, we have got a number of grasslands. Little Missouri 
National Grasslands is actually the largest--and is that in the 
country or in our State?--in the country. Anyway, so we have a 
number of grasslands. We work with our grazers--multiple use in 
the grasslands, including our grazers.
    If confirmed, will you ensure that the Forest Service 
fulfills their good neighbor obligation and follows applicable 
laws and regulations regarding local consultation. That is what 
is so important, and I know you have run into it. Anybody that 
has worked in ag has, and that is with the Federal Government 
it is very important that we consult with the people on the 
ground and work with the people on the ground. Will you commit 
to do that?
    Ms. Hipp. I will commit to do that. I have worked long and 
hard with the Forest Service in my prior responsibilities, and 
I believe they do a great job of doing consultation. It becomes 
really a challenge when you are in the middle of fire season. I 
will share with you that. They get stretched really thin. I 
really love our Forest Service folks, and I think consultation 
with local folks is critical.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you. I appreciate it very much.
    Ms. Hipp. Thank you, sir.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much. Having concluded 
the number of Senators that have questions this morning I want 
to thank you again, Ms. Hipp, for your knowledgeable answers to 
all of our questions, and again, you have a big job ahead of 
you, if you are confirmed as General Counsel. I am certain that 
your nearly four decades of experience in agricultural law 
makes you eminently qualified for this position. You have a 
clear dedication to our Nation's producers and to rural 
America. I have no doubt that you are uniquely equipped to meet 
the moment, and you have my full support.
    This concludes our hearing today. The record will remain 
open until tomorrow at 5 p.m. for members to submit additional 
questions or statements. With that the hearing is adjourned.
    Ms. Hipp. Thank you.

    [Whereupon, at 10:35 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.]

      
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