[Senate Hearing 117-378]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                        S. Hrg. 117-378
 
                  NOMINATION HEARING FOR THE HONORABLE
                    XOCHITL TORRES SMALL TO BE UNDER
                   SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE FOR RURAL
                     DEVELOPMENT AND THE HONORABLE
                      ROBERT F. BONNIE TO BE UNDER
                      SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE FOR
                    FARM PRODUCTION AND CONSERVATION

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

                                HEARING

                               before the

                       COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE,
                        NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                             July 29, 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 
 46-307 PDF          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
               Fitzhugh Elder IV, Minority Staff Director
                 Fred J. Clark, Minority Chief Counsel
                 
                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              

                        Thursday, July 29, 2021

                                                                   Page

Hearing:

Nomination Hearing for the Honorable Xochitl Torres Small to be 
  Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development and the 
  Honorable Robert F. Bonnie to be Under Secretary of Agriculture 
  for Farm Production and Conservation...........................     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

Small, Xochitl Torres, of New Mexico, to be Under Secretary for 
  Rural Development, United States Department of Agriculture.....     6
Bonnie, Robert F., of Virginia, to be Under Secretary for Farm 
  Production and Conservation, United States Department of 
  Agriculture....................................................     8
                              ----------                              

                                APPENDIX

Prepared Statements:
    Small, Xochitl Torres........................................    38
    Bonnie, Robert F.............................................    40

Document(s) Submitted for the Record:
Stabenow, Hon. Debbie:
    Henry Cuellar, Ph.D., letter of support......................    44
    Community Water Center, letter of support....................    45
    Earthjustice, letter of support..............................    47
    Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy, letter of support......    49
    Housing Assistance Council, letter of support................    51
    National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, letter of support.......    53
    NRECA, letter of support.....................................    55
    National Rural Housing Coalition, letter of support..........    56
    Rural Network, letter of support.............................    58
    United States Senators, letter of support....................    60
    American Forest and Paper Association, letter of support.....    62
    Family Farm Alliance, letter of support......................    63
    AWCP, letter of support......................................    65
    Forest Industry, letter of support...........................    67
    Industry, letter of support..................................    69
    NCBA, letter of support......................................    72
    National Corn Growers Association, letter of support.........    73
    The Fertilizer Institute, letter of support..................    75
    The Freshwater Trust, letter of support......................    77
Small, Xochitl Torres:
    Committee questionnaire, Office of Government Ethics 
      Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure 
      Report and 5-day letter filed by Hon. Xochitl Torres Small.    78
    Addendum to the Committee questionnaire filed by Hon. Xochitl 
      Torres Small   


Bonnie, Robert F.:
    Committee questionnaire, Office of Government Ethics 
      Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure 
      Report and 5-day letter filed by Hon. Robert F. Bonnie.....   113
    Attachment to the Committee questionnaire filed by Hon. Hon. 
      Robert F. Bonnie   



Question and Answer:
Small, Xochitl Torres:
    Written response to questions from Hon. Debbie Stabenow......   170
    Written response to questions from Hon. John Boozman.........   172
    Written response to questions from Hon. Amy Klobuchar........   175
    Written response to questions from Hon. Michael Bennet.......   175
    Written response to questions from Hon. Kirsten E. Gillibrand   176
    Written response to questions from Hon. Tina Smith...........   176
    Written response to questions from Hon. John Thune...........   179
Bonnie, Robert F.:
    Written response to questions from Hon. Debbie Stabenow......   180
    Written response to questions from Hon. John Boozman.........   183
    Written response to questions from Hon. Michael Bennet.......   185
    Written response to questions from Hon. Kirsten E. Gillibrand   187
    Written response to questions from Hon. John Hoeven..........   187
    Written response to questions from Hon. John Thune...........   188


 Nomination Hearing for The Honorable Xochitl Torres Small to be Under 
Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development and The Honorable Robert 
F. Bonnie to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm Production and 
                              Conservation

                              ----------                              


                        THURSDAY, JULY 29, 2021

                                       U.S. Senate,
         Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m., via 
Webex and in room G50, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. 
Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the Committee, presiding.
    Present or submitting a statement: Senators Stabenow, 
Brown, Klobuchar, Bennet, Gillibrand, Smith, Durbin, Booker, 
Lujan, Warnock, Boozman, Hoeven, Ernst, Marshall, Tuberville, 
Grassley, Thune, Fischer, and Braun.

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 this hearing of 
the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry to order.
    We are here to consider the nominations of Xochitl Torres 
Small for Under Secretary of Rural Development and Robert F. 
Bonnie for Under Secretary of Farm Production and Conservation 
at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. If confirmed, 
Congresswoman Torres Small and Mr. Bonnie will lead the USDA 
programs that interact with our producers, our small 
businesses, and rural families, where they live and work. That 
is a big responsibility, but one that I know they are both well 
qualified to tackle.
    Rural America is facing two significant challenges right 
now. The climate crisis and the extreme weather that comes with 
it is changing the way many farmers, ranchers, and foresters 
operate. At the same time, our rural communities are still 
working to recover fully from the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of 
these communities were already struggling before the pandemic.
    USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources 
Conservation Service, and Risk Management Agency under the Farm 
Production and Conservation mission area play an important role 
in helping farmers and ranchers and foresters manage their 
risk, protect their soil and water, and continue to produce the 
safest, most abundant food supply in the world. It is critical 
that this mission area has strong leadership. I appreciate that 
Robert Bonnie, President Biden's nominee for the Under 
Secretary post brings decades of experience in building 
partnerships and closely collaborating with farmers, ranchers, 
foresters, and others.
    I want to underscore that in our conversations Mr. Bonnie 
has stated his commitment to tackling the climate crisis and 
boosting farm income, at the same time with voluntary measures 
specifically led by this Committee's work on growing climate 
solutions. That approach has earned him the support of many of 
the Nation's most respected farm and food organizations, 
including the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National 
Pork Producers Council, the American Soybean Association, and 
the American Sugar Alliance.
    Also, USDA Rural Development provides rural communities and 
businesses and local governments that lift them up with the 
support and capital they need to succeed, and we all understand 
how important that is.
    As the granddaughter of immigrant farm workers and a native 
of rural New Mexico, Ms. Torres Small has spent her career 
finding ways to help vulnerable rural communities. As a 
Congresswoman, she prioritized improvements to high-speed 
internet and reliable water for her constituents, making it 
easier for children to learn and farmers to grow their produce.
    If confirmed as Under Secretary, Congresswoman Torres Small 
will be a leader for the USDA's work in small-town economies. I 
cannot stress enough how important this work is.
    I was pleased to lead the effort to put this position back 
into the 2018 Farm Bill. We did it on a bipartisan basis, after 
the former White House chose not to fill that position, because 
60 million rural Americans deserve representation at the USDA's 
highest levels.
    Thank you to Congresswoman Torres Small and Mr. Bonnie for 
joining us today. I really look forward to hearing your visions 
for the mission areas you will lead, if confirmed. I would note 
that you have both received letters of support from many, many 
organizations, and I would ask unanimous consent that these 
letters be entered into the record. Ordered, without objection.

    [The letters can be found on pages 44-77 in the appendix.]

    Chairwoman Stabenow. Now I want to turn to my friend and 
Ranking Member on the Committee, Senator Boozman, for his 
opening comments. Good morning.

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

    Senator Boozman. Thank you, Madam Chair, very much, and 
good morning also. Today we welcome former Congresswoman Torres 
Small, the administration's nominee for Under Secretary of 
Rural Development, and Robert Bonnie, nominated to lead the 
Farm Production and Conservation, or FPAC, mission area.
    Congresswoman Torres Small brings a wide range of 
experience to the table, from practicing law to working as a 
field rep for our former colleague and friend, Senator Tom 
Udall, and serving in the House of Representatives for New 
Mexico's Second District. She traveled the State, working 
directly with the people who live and work in rural 
communities. Her knowledge will prove valuable as the Under 
Secretary for Rural Development, as it oversees three agencies: 
the Rural Utility Service, the Rural Housing Service, and the 
Rural Business Cooperative Service. These agencies serve rural 
communities, providing opportunities for reliable electricity, 
safe drinking water, affordable housing, and sustainable 
economic development.
    Congratulations, Congresswoman, on your nomination. We 
appreciate your willingness to serve, and I look forward to 
hearing from you today.
    Mr. Bonnie currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Staff 
for Policy and Senior Advisor on Climate Change in the Office 
of Secretary Vilsack. Like the Secretary, Mr. Bonnie is no 
stranger to USDA, having previously served as Under Secretary 
for Natural Resources and Environment under President Obama.
    Mr. Bonnie's prior service and work in the private sector 
should be helpful if he is confirmed as FPAC Under Secretary, 
as the mission area includes the Farm Service Agency, the 
Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Risk Management 
Agency, in addition to overseeing the Farm Production and 
Conservation Business Center. These agencies are critical to 
the success of our farmers, ranchers, and private landowners, 
and play a key role when agriculture is hit hard in bad times. 
Commodity, disaster, and lending programs as well as crop 
insurance, conservation programs, and technical assistance are 
all critical to the FPAC mission areas.
    Mr. Bonnie, congratulations also on your nomination and I 
look forward to hearing from you.
    As we consider these two nominees we must look at the 
issues they confront. One positive development emerging from 
fighting the COVID-19 pandemic is that we all are appreciating 
the importance of our rural communities and the pivotal roles 
that they play. The pandemic has shown us the resilience of our 
communities but also shined a light on the needs in housing, 
infrastructure, and utility services, including, and so 
essential, broadband access. While broadband technology has 
allowed Americans to work, seek medical care, and keep their 
kids in school safely throughout the pandemic, it has also 
shown the acute importance of connectivity and how many still 
struggle to gain access to it, which is why we need to commit 
to expanding quality broadband access across rural America.
    COVID has not been the only concern on our minds. Over the 
last year and a half, members of this Committee know natural 
disasters have taken a toll. I know, first-hand, having seen it 
in Arkansas with the devastating floods that impacted southeast 
Arkansas and nearby States. The 2021 fire season is also 
underway. We have all experienced the smoke coming from the 
West, and well over half of the U.S. is experiencing drought.
    This is why the help and technical assistance of the 
Department's disaster programs is critical. I hope we can count 
on USDA and FPAC to provide timely support as our farmers, 
ranchers, and producers strive to get back on solid footing. 
When getting back on their feet and planning for the future, I 
know the landowners consider many options to empower them, to 
leverage their resources, create new income streams, and be 
good stewards of their lands, embracing climate-friendly 
practices that can yield beneficial financial aspects, all of 
that being in everyone's interest.
    They should be done within the bounds of the law. The 
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), administered by the Farm 
Service Agency, is a popular program among producers that 
allows them to leverage their land to bring certainty and 
predictability to their farm and financial planning. This is 
why I voiced concerns to USDA by overstepping authorities, your 
most recent CRP signup may be creating undue and avoidable 
problems for producers. I have also voiced my concern with 
administrative policy initiatives that may attempt to use the 
CCC in ways not prescribed by statute.
    We need to create more opportunities for our producers, not 
tangle them up in more court cases, which is why I look forward 
to working with Secretary Vilsack and Mr. Bonnie, if confirmed, 
to ensure the programs that USDA is working so hard to offer 
are administered to best serve producers within the bounds of 
the law. Working together, we can provide opportunities for 
agriculture. The Growing Climate Solutions Act is truly a good 
example of how bipartisanship can benefit all of us. In regular 
order, the Committee had a hearing, a markup, and reported out 
the act, which ultimately garnered the support of 92 Senators. 
I am encouraged that the House is looking similarly at the 
bill. Agriculture stands to benefit when we work together for 
our farmers and ranchers. I trust the nominees with us today 
will pursue a similar course as they work to advance the 
administration's priorities.
    Congresswoman Torres Small and Mr. Bonnie are proven public 
servants with a history of listening to the constituents and 
stakeholders that they serve. If confirmed, I encourage them to 
pursue the same level of engagement and listening with our 
farmers, ranchers, foresters, and rural communities. With that 
I yield back.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much, Senator Boozman, 
and let me also say it has been a pleasure working with you and 
continuing to work with you on Growing Climate Solutions as we 
work with our colleagues in the House to get this all the way 
across the finish line and to the President's desk for 
signature.
    I am going to introduce both of our nominees then ask you a 
couple of questions, and then we will turn to you for your 
opening comments.
    First, Robert Bonnie. Welcome to the Agriculture, 
Nutrition, and Forestry Committee. You are a repeat visitor to 
the Senate confirmation process. The Senate confirmed you in 
2013, by voice vote, to serve as Under Secretary of Natural 
Resources and Environment for the Obama Administration. Across 
the board, farm production and forestry groups widely recognize 
Mr. Bonnie as a hard-working, solutions-oriented public servant 
who has shown his dedication to serving our farmers, ranchers, 
and foresters.
    Mr. Bonnie is currently Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior 
Advisor for Climate at USDA. Before that, he worked on the 
Bipartisan Policy Center's Farm and Forest Carbon Solutions 
initiative on evidence-based energy and climate policies. At 
the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at 
Duke University he worked on conservation and environmental 
issues in rural America. As Vice President for Land 
Conservation for the Environmental Defense Fund he focused on 
incentives to reward farmers, ranchers, and foresters for their 
stewardship. Welcome back, Mr. Bonnie.
    I am now going to turn to our colleague, Senator Lujan, who 
I know is excited about introducing our nominee, and is 
certainly someone who has been not only a champion for rural 
development but for this particular nominee. We turn it over to 
you, Senator Lujan.
    Senator Lujan. Well thank you very much, Chair Stabenow and 
Ranking Member Boozman. It is really an honor to be here on 
behalf of our colleague, United States Senator Martin Heinrich, 
fellow New Mexicans, and, of course, myself to introduce our 
friend and former House colleague, Xochitl Torres Small. I also 
want to recognize her spouse who is here with us. I know family 
matters to Representative Xochitl Torres Small, and Nathan, it 
is an honor to see you today as well, and always working 
diligently on behalf of fellow New Mexicans.
    Now Xochitl Torres Small is the President's nominee to be 
Under Secretary for Rural Development at USDA. As a native New 
Mexican from the southwest region of the State, Representative 
Torres Small is a proud granddaughter of migrant farm workers 
and a former attorney, specializing in water and natural 
resources.
    In 2019, she came to the Congress, representing New 
Mexico's Second congressional District, where she arrived to 
bring home opportunities for New Mexicans and protect our rural 
way of life. Her passion and determination were an inspiration. 
She quickly earned the respect of our colleagues on both sides 
of the aisle, due to her drive to make real progress on issues 
facing rural America and willingness to work with anyone.
    Well, in Congress, Representative Torres Small kept a rural 
hospital from closing its doors, strengthened constituent 
access to health care, and raised the alarm on broadband 
disparities, serving on Majority Whip Clyburn's Rural Broadband 
Task Force and always an advocate for accessible, affordable 
internet. She also helped secure tens of millions of dollars 
for broadband in New Mexico through USDA's ReConnect program, 
which she will be proud to implement and strengthen, if 
confirmed.
    As a member of the House Agricultural Committee, Xochitl 
had the privilege to highlight New Mexico's thriving 
agricultural industry, including our world-famous New Mexico 
chile, and for those of you not familiar I look forward to 
sharing it with all of you. Once you try it once, it will be on 
every dish you prepare.
    She fought for fair trade for farmers and ranchers, and in 
the wake of the coronavirus pandemic drafted legislation to 
address the urgent issues facing America's agricultural economy 
and food supply. None of us would be where we are without the 
support of our families, so again, I want to take that moment 
to recognize your family, Xochitl, who I know is such a big 
part of your life in helping to shape you, teach you, and you 
still lift them up and talk about them every chance you get.
    Representative Torres Small has a proven track record of 
fighting for rural America, and the President's nomination will 
allow the entire country to benefit from her leadership and 
expertise. I enthusiastically support her nomination for Under 
Secretary for Rural Development and I hope all members of this 
Committee will join me in supporting this highly qualified 
nominee.
    Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much, Senator Lujan. 
Every time you talk about that chile it makes me hungry, so you 
are going to have to bring some to the Committee.
    I would like to ask Congresswoman Torres Small and Mr. 
Bonnie two questions, and if you would both rise for a moment.
    Do you swear and affirm that the testimony you are about to 
receive is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 
truth, so help you God?
    Ms. Torres Small. I do.
    Mr. Bonnie. 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. Torres Small. I do.
    Mr. Bonnie. I do.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much. I look forward to 
hearing more about your vision and your priorities. Your 
testimony will be made, of course, a part of the record in its 
entirety, and you may proceed. I will start first with Ms. 
Torres Small.

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE XOCHITL TORRES SMALL, OF NEW MEXICO, 
NOMINEE TO BE UNDER SECRETARY FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT, DEPARTMENT 
                         OF AGRICULTURE

    Ms. Torres Small. Thank you, Chairwoman Stabenow, Ranking 
Member Boozman and members of the Committee. Thank you, as 
well, to Senator Lujan for your mentorship. I am honored to be 
here today and humbled by President Biden's nomination and 
Secretary Vilsack's support of me to serve as Under Secretary 
for Rural Development.
    For the last two years, I served New Mexico's Second 
congressional District, which is geographically the fifth--
largest district in the Nation. That is a lot of dirt roads. It 
includes remote areas and diverse population, from acequias and 
land grant communities in Valencia County to ranchers and 
colonias along the U.S.-Mexico border and Mescalero Apache in 
the Sacramento Mountains. I had the opportunity to represent my 
home because my grandparents immigrated from Mexico to pick 
cotton in the Mesilla Valley. I grew up hearing stories about 
the opportunities my grandparents seized through hard work and 
vision, like when my nana noticed, as a teenager, that the men 
were making more money in the fields because they were handed 
the larger bags for picking cotton. Farmworkers were paid based 
on what they picked, and she realized she was losing time 
because she had to go back and forth to the truck more often to 
haul the smaller bags. She built up her strength and mustered 
her courage to ask for the larger bags.
    If I learned the power of an entrepreneurial spirit from my 
grandparents, I learned dedication to my community from my 
parents. With a mother who taught for over 30 years and a 
father who worked as a social worker and later a school bus 
driver, my parents have spent their lives paying forward the 
blessings they have received. I am forever grateful for their 
lived examples of service.
    Growing up in New Mexico fundamentally molded who I am: a 
sunny woman of her word who will always fight for the underdog. 
After learning how big the world is at Waterford Kamhlaba 
United World College of Southern Africa and studying 
international development at Georgetown, I chose to come home, 
to take on the inequities of poverty and hunger in the 
communities I knew best. Every day, I am grateful for that 
choice, in large part because it led me to find the love of my 
life, Nathan Small, who is with me today and whose dedication 
to service in New Mexico is a constant inspiration.
    I chose to work in water law because I knew the opportunity 
my grandparents achieved through working the land and the 
recognition, fostered by my mentor, Senator Tom Udall, that 
water is life, and climate change is threatening the heart of 
rural communities.
    When I became a United States Representative, the people I 
served shared the same determined defense of future 
opportunities in the places they loved. I heard from parents 
who were worried about whether their kids could make a good 
living in the towns they grew up in. I worked with daughters 
and sons of farmers, committed to penciling out their future 
working the land. I learned from leaders, like Senator Martin 
Heinrich and Senator Ben Ray Lujan, that if you want to grow 
opportunity, you have got to support innovation already 
happening on the ground.
    That is what I love about Rural Development. I still 
remember the name of the civil servant from the local Rural 
Development office who I met in 2009. It was the wake of the 
housing market crash, and I was working for Senator Udall as a 
field rep. I was trying to help rural communities get clean 
water and invest in new businesses, and Sandra gave me her cell 
phone number so we could act quickly when opportunity struck. 
The local office also worked closely with home-grown 
organizations like Tierra del Sol on farmworker and other 
affordable housing, and in the process, brought better 
infrastructure to New Mexico colonias. That is why I turned to 
Rural Development in the midst of COVID. Their work with tribes 
and local cooperatives opened opportunities for broadband to 
reach that last mile. The agency's unique rural mission and on-
the-ground commitment are vital to finally closing the digital 
divide.
    One of the most surprising things about working as a 
Representative was getting to know 434 other people who served 
vastly different districts across our country. I got to know 
the country through the people who so loved their homes they 
wanted to represent them. In the midst of a divided time, I 
regularly found hope in the moments we discovered common 
ground. If I get to do this job, I cannot wait to learn about 
and love every nook and cranny of rural America the way I love 
New Mexico.
    Thank you for your time today and I look forward to your 
questions.

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

    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you so much. Mr. Bonnie, 
welcome.

   STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE ROBERT F. BONNIE, OF VIRGINIA, 
     NOMINEE TO BE UNDER SECRETARY FOR FARM PRODUCTION AND 
            CONSERVATION, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

    Mr. Bonnie. Thank you, Chairwoman Stabenow, Ranking Member 
Boozman, and members of this Committee. Thank you for the 
opportunity to be with you today and for your consideration of 
my nomination. I want to thank my wife, Julie Gomena, and my 
daughter, Lilly Bonnie, for all their love and support. I want 
to thank my mother, Nina Bonnie, and my brother, Shelby, for 
their love and encouragement. I want to acknowledge my father, 
Ned Bonnie, who I know would be proud if he were with us today.
    I am honored to have been nominated by President Biden to 
serve as Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm Production and 
Conservation at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. I am 
honored to have the opportunity, if confirmed, to work again 
with Secretary Vilsack on the opportunities and challenges 
facing American agriculture.
    I have been around working lands my whole life. I grew up 
on a farm in Kentucky. While my father was a lawyer, we had a 
dairy when I was a young child and later a herd of shorthorn 
cattle. We grew corn, wheat, and hay and my mother oversaw a 
horse operation. Today, my wife and I own 285 acres in Loudoun 
County, Virginia, where she trains and boards horses for 
clients.
    I am a forester by training. My interest in forestry was 
kindled at an early age. I not only spent time in the woods at 
our farm in Kentucky but my family also owns property in South 
Carolina that has been managed for wildlife conservation for 
over 100 years. As part of that, I have been closely involved 
in forest management decisions and related issues for decades. 
The decisions we make on our property in South Carolina--which 
forest stands to thin or harvest, which stands to use 
prescribed fire, and which areas to restore or set aside--shape 
the property for decades to come. As a forester, you are 
trained to take the long view and to balance production and 
conservation.
    That is the perspective that I hope to bring to this job, 
if I am fortunate enough to be confirmed. Production and 
conservation are the flip side of the same coin. Agricultural 
production is vital to meet the food and fiber needs of a 
growing world, but that production relies on healthy soils, 
clean water, and a stable climate. Conservation is vital for 
productivity.
    Likewise, productivity is vital to conservation. 
Maintaining and enhancing the profitability of agriculture--
that is, keeping working lands working--is necessary to meet 
our conservation goals. Conserving our natural resources means 
keeping farmers, ranchers, and forest owners on the land. To do 
that, agriculture and forestry need to be productive and 
profitable. USDA can help maintain that profitability by 
providing a safety net that cushions agriculture from the 
challenges of markets and extreme weather and by promoting 
conservation practices that contribute to the long-term 
productivity of agriculture and forestry.
    I was honored to serve during the Obama Administration as 
Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment. In that 
role, I oversaw not only the U.S. Forest Service but also the 
Natural Resources Conservation Service which, if confirmed, I 
will be fortunate to work with again. If confirmed, I will come 
to this job with knowledge of USDA and a deep appreciation of 
the staff that work there. My current work as Deputy Chief of 
Staff has only reaffirmed my belief in the quality of the 
people that work at USDA.
    USDA has much important work to do. If confirmed, I look 
forward to working with my colleagues in the FPAC mission area 
to strengthen the safety net, particularly in response to 
drought, flooding, fire, and other extreme weather events. 
Likewise, agriculture and forestry have a vital role to play in 
addressing climate change through voluntary, incentive-based 
efforts that can create new income opportunities for producers 
and landowners. Equity is a vital consideration across all we 
do at USDA and I look forward to ensuring that all producers 
can access USDA programs.
    Again, Chairwoman Stabenow and Ranking Member Boozman, I 
want to thank the Committee for considering my nomination. If 
confirmed, I look forward to working with the employees at USDA 
and in partnership with U.S. agriculture to enhance the 
productivity and sustainability of America's farms, ranches, 
and forest lands.
    Thank you.

    [The prepared statement of Mr. Bonnie can be found on page 
40 in the appendix.]

    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much. We will now turn 
to questions from the Committee members and five-minute rounds 
per Senator.
    Mr. Bonnie, let me first followup on what you were talking 
about in terms of your previous experience, because you have a 
long resume of work experience in conservation that is really 
outstanding, and you are no stranger to this process. As you 
have indicated, you are nominated today for a position that is 
broader than your previous job.
    If confirmed, you are going to be responsible for farm 
production issues as well, and I wonder if you might speak a 
little bit more about your experiences, and, if confirmed, what 
would your priorities specifically be for farm production 
programs?
    Mr. Bonnie. As I said in my remarks, you know, part of my 
experience in working with my own family's property but also my 
experience in working over the years has been to recognize that 
production and conservation go together. On the production 
side, USDA plays an incredibly important role in providing a 
safety net that allows producers to reduce the risks of 
engaging in agriculture.
    As I think about priorities, if I am lucky enough to be 
confirmed for the FPAC mission area, preserving that safety 
net, enhancing that safety net in light of the types of 
challenges we are seeing now with drought, extreme weather 
events, and otherwise is incredibly important. That is the 
blocking and tackling of the FPAC mission area, and it is 
vitally important.
    Climate change is also vitally important. I have talked 
about that. The alignment between good agronomic practices, 
good forestry practices, and practices that benefit the climate 
I think is important, and to look for opportunities, voluntary 
opportunities to take advantage of that.
    I would also add equity is critically important, as I 
mentioned in my opening remarks. The last thing I would say is 
that I think sometimes we make conservation too difficult. It 
is vital that we make conservation easier for producers, and I 
think that is one area I would like to focus on as well.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much.
    Congresswoman Torres Small, the Under Secretary for Rural 
Development is one of the only Federal appointments that is 
solely focused on serving the nearly 60 million people who live 
in small towns, like where I grew up, and rural communities, 
all across the country. What do you see as the greatest 
opportunity in rural America, and how do you plan to raise the 
profile of small and rural communities' needs, not only at the 
Department but across the Federal Government?
    Ms. Torres Small. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, and I see so 
much opportunity in rural communities, in part because I have 
seen the opportunity that it has given my family, when my 
grandparents immigrated, and the opportunities in developing 
and growing and supporting for generations to come.
    As I was a Representative in Congress, I talked to more and 
more parents who were worried about the future of their 
communities, because of challenges with markets in farming or 
with changes in manufacturing, and trying to find new ways, new 
markets to use all of the different tools. I know, Chairwoman 
Stabenow, we have talked about the ways you can diversify those 
markets, from everything to biofuels to filling fiber in car 
seats, but using that entrepreneurial spirit to diversify 
markets and buildupon the local advantages of rural 
communities.
    That is why I love Rural Development. That is why I am so 
grateful to the Committee for reinstating the Under Secretary 
for Rural Development, who can be a constant champion, to wake 
up every single day thinking about how to support that local 
innovation.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thanks so much.
    Mr. Bonnie, you were talking about the safety net. It is so 
important. That is what we do is create risk management tools 
for farmers. That is really a fundamental piece of what the 
farm bill is all about, as you know. Crop insurance is the 
backbone of our farm safety net and a top priority for 
producers. I would just say that this successful public-private 
partnership ensures farmers have skin in the game while 
delivering timely compensation when disaster strikes, getting 
needed help to farmers, and frankly, in a quicker way and in a 
more effective way than we are able to do with ad hoc disaster 
programs.
    If confirmed, this will be the primary risk management tool 
for which you will have responsibility. Could you talk more 
about your vision for crop insurance, particularly as we 
witness increased risks for producers, with drought and floods 
and wildfires?
    Mr. Bonnie. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. Crop insurance, as 
you say, is absolutely vital. It is the most important safety 
tool right now for producers. I know you have interest in 
making sure that crop insurance is available to all producers, 
to specialty crops, to whole farm crop insurance. I think we 
want to continue to expand opportunities for making crop 
insurance available to more producers and more types of 
agriculture.
    I also think there are ways that we can improve data to 
make sure we do a better job of taking into account climate and 
extreme weather events, and those sorts of things. Just to 
underline the critical importance, and I look forward to 
working with all of you in ways that we can make sure it is a 
tool that is available to more producers.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you. I am going to squeeze in 
one other quick question to Congresswoman Torres Small and that 
is on broadband, rural broadband. We all know how important it 
is, and USDA has an important role. When you look at the 
strengths of the USDA in terms of rural broadband programs, how 
would you look at improving the coordination with USDA and 
other Federal agencies as we are moving forward, hopefully on a 
major investment, to connect everybody, including the farmers, 
and the end of the road?
    Ms. Torres Small. Rural Development has crucial strengths 
to bring to the table when it comes to closing that digital 
divide, from its unique mission in serving rural communities 
and specifically targeting rural areas, to its on-the-ground 
presence, like I mentioned, of the employees of Rural 
Development who already have the relationships with the 
utilities, and with the local governments, and with other 
community organizations and telecoms, all of them, to help 
build those solutions from the ground up.
    I am eager to advance and support and coordinate when it 
comes to broadband.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you so much. Senator Boozman.
    Senator Boozman. Thank you, Madam Chair. One of the 
questions that we like to ask our nominees, I think I can speak 
for the entire committee, is whether they commit to responding 
to staff inquiries in a timely fashion. Sadly--and it does not 
matter if it is this administration, past administrations; you 
all have been on the other end of this--sometimes we do not get 
our answers in a timely fashion, and sometimes they are just 
unresponsive.
    I guess the question is, do you both commit to providing 
our Committee with timely responses to our outreach and 
inquiries, whether that be official inquiries at the Member 
level or other outreach at the staff level?
    Mr. Bonnie. Yes, sir.
    Ms. Torres Small. Yes, Ranking Member Boozman.
    Senator Boozman. Very good. Thank you.
    Mr. Bonnie, I would like to followup on crop insurance. 
Prior to taking your role with the Biden administration you 
authored a report focused on agriculture in the Climate 21 
initiative that provided policy recommendations on climate 
change. One of the recommendations you included in that report 
was for RMA, quote, ``to prioritize the development of policy 
that will enable RMA and the FCIC to incentivize climate-smart 
agriculture practices through crop insurance rates and 
policies, which has the potential to influence management 
practices across tens of millions of acres,'' end quote.
    If confirmed as the Under Secretary, you will lead the RMA. 
I am concerned that the use of crop insurance to achieve policy 
goals regarding climate change could distort the intended 
purpose of this critical program, and that is, you know, the 
risk to actuarial soundness with the program, when you focus on 
other things. How will any proposed changes to the crop 
insurance program align with the mission of the program, and 
how would they ensure that the underlying integrity of the 
program is maintained through an actuarial soundness?
    Mr. Bonnie. Senator Boozman, thank you for the question, 
and I appreciate it very much. You know, what I would say about 
crop insurance, most important, that it is a public-private 
partnership. It is a partnership between USDA and the crop 
insurance providers. Anything we do has to maintain that 
partnership, and anything we do on this area, or more broadly 
on climate policy, has to have the support of producers and 
farmers. If it does not, it is not going to work as an 
incentive for climate change.
    Whatever we do on crop insurance, whether it is thinking 
about ways to use data to create new products that might 
incentivize certain practices or otherwise, has to both take 
advantage of that public-private partnership and work for 
producers on the ground. If it does not, it will not work. I 
think that is vitally important.
    The last thing I will say is just we have provided an 
incentive through some of our pandemic assistance for cover 
crop through crop insurance, and I think that is a signal of 
the type of things we are thinking about, incentive oriented. 
The uptake of that has been quite significant interest, and I 
think those types of approaches that work with the insurance 
industry are absolutely critical.
    Senator Boozman. Very good. Congresswoman, I want to 
followup on broadband. That is so important, you know, for 
rural America. During your time in the House you were very 
supportive of access to broadband in rural areas. As you know, 
later this year, RUS will roll out the third round of funding 
for the ReConnect Broadband pilot. The regulation implementing 
ReConnect provides the Secretary the authority to define and 
update both the minimum speeds for determining whether an area 
is considered served and the minimum speeds applicants must 
promise to provide on their networks.
    What definitions of broadband do you think make sense for 
the USDA broadband programs?
    Ms. Torres Small. I am so grateful that you are bringing up 
this question because it has been a subject of a lot of review. 
Just recently there was a report that identified some 
challenges in terms of the current speed and potential impacts. 
I certainly want to make sure, if I get the chance to do this 
job, that rural communities are not left in the slow lane when 
it comes to that definition. If I get to do this work I hope to 
get to work closely with you to identify those challenges and 
to make sure that rural communities are able to communicate and 
use broadband at a speed so that they can compete on a fair 
level.
    Senator Boozman. Okay. Very good. Very quickly, Mr. Bonnie, 
because I am running out of time and I do not want the Chair to 
get onto me. I am concerned that the Department has announced 
inflation-adjusted CRP soil rental rates. We talked a little 
bit about this, the minimum CRP grasslands rental rates that 
exceed the limits enacted in the 2018 Farm Bill.
    Prior to making these program changes, did you have 
guidance from USDA's Office of General Counsel that supports 
pursuing these policy changes administratively without express 
authority from Congress? Could you describe the guidance, and 
also would you commit to providing us with the USDA's written 
legal justifications for pursuing the actions?
    Mr. Bonnie. CRP is obviously a critical program, and I 
think you know the administration is very supportive of looking 
at ways to increase enrollment. We did have extensive 
conversations with our Office of General Counsel before this. 
We are confident in the legal standing, and I know our staff 
has had extensive conversations with your team about it, and 
working through. I am happy to continue that conversation, to, 
you know, let you know why we made the decision we did, and to 
continue to have that conversation with your team.
    Senator Boozman. Good. No, we appreciate that, and I think 
the danger is that for us we feel like it is pretty apparent 
that that is not the case. What we do not want to do is have 
producers sign up and then, with subsequent lawsuits, all of 
this, you know, being thrown up in the air.
    With that I yield back. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much. Important 
questions.
    Next I have on the list--and we have members that are with 
us virtually and members that are here in the Committee room--
but I have Senator Klobuchar, Senator Grassley, and Senator 
Smith next in line. Senator Klobuchar.
    Senator Klobuchar. All right. Well, thank you. 
Congratulations to both of you. I guess I will start with you, 
Ms. Torres Small, and I will reiterate the importance of 
broadband and USDA's work. I have worked directly with USDA for 
years on this. I am glad that this is included in the 
infrastructure plan, with more work to do.
    Rural housing is something I hope you are focused on and 
will be focused on. It is what I hear all the time in the rural 
areas of our State is they may actually have people to fill the 
jobs or they are trying to recruit people to fill jobs, or 
start small businesses, and they just do not have the housing. 
What role do you think you can play and what are your ideas 
when it comes to housing?
    Ms. Torres Small. I am so grateful that you talked about 
the relationship between economic development and opportunity 
in housing because it is one of the key issues that was always 
brought up when I was a rep in New Mexico. If a rural county 
came to me, one of their top three questions was about housing. 
If a Native American sovereign government came to me, one of 
their top three issues was housing.
    We saw it even in more stark relief in the midst of COVID, 
when you had multigenerational housing. A woman was waiting for 
her test results and we were talking and she was terrified 
because she was living with her husband and her kids and her 
grandparents and her grandkids, and the challenge of containing 
a pandemic in those situations.
    Rural Development has key resources to help make those 
accessible. It is especially important right now, as we are 
recovering, hopefully, from the pandemic and monitoring 
changes, to make sure that people are not evicted from 
affordable housing. That is another thing that, if I get to do 
this job, that I will be watching. Also investing, and working 
with private partnerships, working with numerous different 
programs to get more housing into rural communities.
    Senator Klobuchar. Thank you. Mr. Bonnie, I am going to 
just ask some fast but really important questions here. 
Drought, huge in my State right now. It is classified as being 
under a D2 severe drought according to the U.S. Drought 
Monitor. Seventy-four of Minnesota's 87 counties classified 
that way.
    I led a letter with our Minnesota delegation, Democrats and 
Republicans, to Secretary Vilsack on July 15th, requesting the 
authorization of emergency haying and grazing of CRP lands.
    If confirmed, will you work to provide relief for ranchers 
and farmers during extreme summer drought conditions?
    Mr. Bonnie. Absolutely.
    Senator Klobuchar. Okay.
    I have been hearing concerns from ranchers in northwest 
Minnesota about a lack of urgency from USDA on providing 
drought relief. One example is that wetland restoration acres 
under CRP are currently ineligible for emergency haying and 
grazing when the Livestock Forage Disaster Program is 
triggered. They have been previously eligible under FSA policy 
change, until there was a policy change early this year.
    Will you commit working with me to get some quick action to 
address this as well?
    Mr. Bonnie. Yes, of course, Senator.
    Senator Klobuchar. Okay. Thank you.
    Dairy. In June, Secretary Vilsack announced additional 
pandemic assistance for farmers and livestock producers. That 
announcement included funding for supplemental dairy margin 
coverage payments for small and medium dairy farmers and 
resources to address food insecurity.
    Will you work to quickly finalize and implement these 
programs to provide additional risk management assistance for 
dairy producers?
    Mr. Bonnie. Absolutely.
    Senator Klobuchar. Okay. Very good.
    Northwest Minnesota has over 50,000 acres of grass seed 
production enrolled in the Federal Crop Insurance Program. I am 
concerned that despite demonstrating to USDA how the pandemic 
impacted prices and disrupted supply chains, grass seed 
producers have not received any meaningful support from the 
Coronavirus Food Assistance Programs.
    Can you commit to reviewing the data grass seed producers 
have provided to USDA and work with me to deem grass seeds as 
eligible commodities for relief payments? I know you do not 
have a decision to make at this point, but will you commit to 
reviewing it?
    Mr. Bonnie. If confirmed, absolutely.
    Senator Klobuchar. Okay. Very good.
    Minnesota is the Nation's largest producer of sugar beets, 
and USDA's sugar program has been an effective cost-neutral way 
to help domestic growers, processors, and workers compete. 
Recently there has been increases in foreign imports above and 
beyond our World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments. 
Decisions related to sugar are coordinated between USDA's Trade 
and Foreign Agricultural Affairs and Farm Production and 
Conservation mission area.
    I hope that you are going to advocate for a seat at the 
table for any decisions made regarding the sugar program and 
work to ensure that the program does not exceed our import 
obligations under the WTO.
    Mr. Bonnie. If confirmed, I will, absolutely.
    Senator Klobuchar. Okay. Very good. I think that is it. I 
really appreciate it. I will do some more questions on the 
record. As you can see, with everything going on between new 
administration coming in, the drought, new policies, there is 
just a lot going on, and I am eager to get you in your place so 
we can get things done here. Thank you.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Well, thank you, Senator Klobuchar, 
for your efficiency in getting a lot of information on the 
record, and, Mr. Bonnie, for your responses.
    We will now turn to Senator Grassley.
    Senator Grassley. Ms. Torres Small, you probably would 
expect me to ask something about ethanol. Of the 263 million 
vehicles registered in the United States, 93 percent can use 
E15. There are more than 22 million flex fuel vehicles in the 
U.S., which are capable of using blends up to E85. However, we 
know that not all consumers have the option of filling up with 
more environmentally friendly fuels.
    Currently, the Rural Development runs the Higher Blends 
Infrastructure Incentive Program, which is a cost share program 
for gas stations to upgrade tanks and dispensers. Most recently 
the USDA announced $18.4 million for this program. That was 
announced in April of this year. It was announced, by the way, 
appropriately on Earth Day.
    For you in your new position, if confirmed, can you commit 
to continuing this program to make sure that more gas stations 
can upgrade E15 to E85?
    Ms. Torres Small. Thank you, Senator Grassley. I do.
    Senator Grassley. Thank you. Also for you, I know you have 
already discussed broadband but I have got one other question 
in that field. We all know that broadband is so important for 
many aspects of our life. The pandemic has highlighted the need 
of connectivity, particularly rural America.
    In Iowa, we have many rural communities that are still 
unserved--not just underserved, unserved. I appreciate the 
broadband programs through the Rural Utility Service and many 
Iowans have utilized these programs to connect Iowans. However, 
there are always ways to enhance these programs, such as 
addressing the long permitting delays and enhancing 
coordination with other Federal agencies and programs to 
minimize the potential duplication of work and to overbuild.
    Also, Senator Klobuchar and I have introduced the Assisting 
Broadband Connectivity Act to help make the Rural Utility 
Service broadband programs work even better to connect these 
underserved Americans.
    For you, would it be possible for you to commit to focusing 
on improving to deliver these programs to connect those in 
rural America who do not have broadband service?
    Ms. Torres Small. I do commit to focusing on improving 
those connections and I deeply appreciate your work in that 
area.
    Senator Grassley. Okay. Now to Mr. Bonnie. I often hear 
from farmers across Iowa about various farm programs, and I 
direct them to the local USDA office, as you would expect me to 
do. I know you have not been confirmed as Under Secretary but 
you have been working in the Office of Secretary Vilsack. I 
noticed that there has yet to be a State Executive Director 
appointed for Iowa, or any other State. Will you commit to 
immediately filling these important roles of State Executive 
Director and making sure that USDA field offices are adequately 
staffed?
    Mr. Bonnie. Senator, we will move as quickly as we can.
    Senator Grassley. Okay. Then my last question to you, and 
the last question for this panel. In May, the USDA announced a 
$10 million initiative to quantify the climate benefits of the 
CRP program. I have long been supportive of voluntary 
conservation programs. However, I hope that the Department 
remains mindful that many young, beginning farmers struggle to 
access farmland and often cannot compete with land-idling 
government payment programs for CRP. I think we took care of 
some of this in the 2018 Farm Bill, but these set-aside 
programs also send market signals to U.S. competitors to 
increase production and acreage.
    For example, in 2018, Reuters reported that as the world's 
largest soybean exporter, Brazil had plowed under more than 
half of the Cerrado, a vital storehouse for carbon dioxide, 
which has been disappearing at the rate four times faster than 
even the Amazon rain forest.
    For you, when quantifying the climate benefits of the land-
idling program like CRP, which as $10 million, I think, is 
intended to do, will this initiative consider the carbon 
emissions that occur as other countries increase production to 
seize U.S. market share?
    Mr. Bonnie. Our plan with the Soil Carbon Network it not 
just to start with CRP but actually to look at U.S. working 
lands as well, to be able to document the carbon storage there.
    On your broader point about CRP, it is vitally important--
so obviously a critically important program for a lot of 
reasons. It is vitally important that we get the right lands in 
the program. We do not want to take highly productive lands 
into the program. We want to target to the most environmentally 
sensitive programs. I think that is a place where there should 
be quite a lot of agreement, and I would look forward to 
working with you and others on that.
    Senator Grassley. Okay. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much. Next up I will 
turn to Senator Smith, and then it will be Senator Fischer and 
Senator Lujan. Senator Smith.
    Senator Smith. Thank you so much, Madam Chair and Ranking 
Member. It is great to be with you, and I am so grateful to Ms. 
Small and Mr. Bonnie for your willingness to serve our country 
and for being with us today.
    I would like to start with a question around how the USDA 
can be more responsive to farmers of color as we think about 
the work we have ahead of us over the next years.
    Minnesota has a diverse farming community. Hmong farmers, 
Native farmers, Latino farmers, and Black farmers all play an 
integral role in our agriculture economy, as well as in our 
small business community. However, I have heard over and over 
again how the USDA just does not do enough to support and 
connect with farmers of color and communities of color, broadly 
speaking.
    I raised this issue with Senator Vilsack at his hearing, 
and I have asked what he thinks the USDA can do, both 
internally and externally, to remove some of the barriers that 
farmers of color face when trying to access credit, for 
example, or other financing and lending.
    Let me ask, Ms. Small and then Mr. Bonnie, we can 
acknowledge that the USDA has historically had a blind spot 
when it comes to communities of color. What do you think that 
the USDA should be doing to see this, to address it, and to 
make it a better partner with farmers of colors and business 
owners of color?
    Ms. Torres Small. Thank you, Senator Smith, for that 
important question. We know the cumulative impact that 
institutional barriers can have. In high school I had a Spanish 
teacher who I loved because she was strict and she was tough 
and she cared. In the third year that I was with her, you could 
really tell there was something personal going on, and I did 
not know what was happening but it was really impacting her. It 
was not until I came back as a representative for Senator Udall 
when I found out that Ms. Garcia's husband was one of the lead 
plaintiffs in the Hispanic farmers lawsuit, and he was 
struggling to keep his farm because of the challenges he had to 
accessing capital. That challenge has an impact on the 
communities, and a cumulative impact.
    In Rural Development, if I get the chance to do that work, 
there are crucial opportunities to be able to address some of 
those cumulative impacts and to invest in communities and 
support that rebuilding.
    Senator Smith. Thank you. Mr. Bonnie?
    Mr. Bonnie. Senator Smith, this is a vitally important 
issue for the Biden administration, for Secretary Vilsack, and 
for all of us at USDA. One of the things we have announced is 
creation of an equity commission to peel back the layers of the 
onion, to make sure we look at all aspects of USDA's programs, 
to ensure that we are making them available to all producers.
    Another piece that I think is important is ensuring that 
our hiring continues to reflect the diversity of America. It is 
important for our own staff. It is also important of how we 
think about the State committees and county committees, to make 
sure that all of agriculture can participate.
    Then given USDA's history on this, it is vitally important 
that we partner with HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, 
Tribal colleges, and others, to be able to improve our outreach 
into these communities. That is another place that I think is 
really, really important, is to develop those partnership and 
build greater trust in these communities.
    Senator Smith. Thank you very much. I know that this is an 
issue of real importance to many of my colleagues on this 
Committee, and we have collectively proposed some legislation 
that I think would make a really big different. I am 
appreciative of both of you agreeing that the USDA needs to pay 
attention to this, and that there is a real opportunity to 
address these systemic barriers that need to be addressed, so 
thank you.
    I am going to just quickly ask a question about climate. 
You know, I know in Minnesota that you do not need to tell 
Minnesota farmers that climate change is real. They are seeing 
it right now, this week, today in their fields, where we have 
almost 75 percent of the State is experiencing serious drought 
conditions. I think there is a real opportunity for USDA to be 
a leader on this, along with agriculture in Minnesota, and 
around the country.
    Mr. Bonnie, let me just ask you briefly, with just a few 
seconds. How do you plan to use the tools available to you, as 
Under Secretary, to meet the climate goals that have been put 
forth by the Biden administration?
    Mr. Bonnie. I think there are enormous opportunities to 
utilize USDA programs to encourage, to finance the adoption of 
climate-smart agricultural practices, to create new markets, 
new opportunities for producers, both in agriculture and 
forestry, and we will obviously look at ways to do that.
    There are other producers where issues related to 
resilience may be more important, maintaining productivity. We 
want to make sure we have a full range of tools. We will look 
at ways that we can invest in research and development, new 
data.
    I would just say that the principle here is that whatever 
we do on climate has to work for producers. It has to work for 
working lands, and that is going to be critically important. 
The conversation we have with agriculture and forestry going 
forward is critical.
    Senator Smith. Thank you so much. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you. We will now turn to Senator 
Fischer.
    Senator Fischer. Thank you, Madam Chairman, and thank you 
to both of our nominees for being here today.
    Mr. Bonnie, as we discussed last week, I believe Nebraska's 
farmers and ranchers are the original conservationists, 
managing lands to be both productive while also maximizing 
environmental benefits. I believe that in many cases voluntary, 
locally driven conservation efforts that manage our lands 
provide better environmental benefits than simply idling lands 
for the purpose of preservation.
    I continue to hear from Nebraskans about the 
administration's 30x30 Initiative and concern about a lack of 
details from the administration about how conservation will be 
defined. There is also a fear that the effort will include 
mandates. For example, just earlier this week the Interior 
Secretary Haaland stated, and using her words, that ``the 30x30 
Initiative will be in large part voluntary.'' People believe 
that that leaves open the door to mandates, to say that ``in 
large part'' it will be voluntary.
    Can you commit to me that USDA will ensure that private 
property rights are fully protected and that any conservation 
efforts associated with the administration's 30x30 initiative 
would be 100 percent voluntary?
    Mr. Bonnie. From USDA's standpoint, it is vital that 30x30, 
the American the Beautiful campaign, build on a history of 
voluntary conservation, of locally led conservation. If you 
look at the report that the administration put out earlier this 
year, principles like honoring private property rights, locally 
led conservation, incentive-based conservation, recognizing the 
role that working lands play are going to be absolutely vital.
    USDA will look to opportunities like we have done in the 
past. I think of things like the Sage Grouse Initiative, where 
we worked in partnership with States and ranchers, our efforts 
in the South on Longleaf Pine, working with partnership with 
landowners, States, industry, and others. That is the type of 
work that USDA will do under 30x30. It will be voluntary, it 
will be incentive-based, and it will be locally led.
    Senator Fischer. You see no reason for private property 
owners, for stakeholders, for State governments who rely on 
revenue from agriculture to States like mine, provide the 
mainstay for State budgets? Do you think there should be any 
concern out there? Can you say it is going to be 100 percent 
voluntary, or just using existing programs to incentivize?
    Mr. Bonnie. Yes. I mean, our insistence on locally led 
conservation, on voluntary incentives, absolutely.
    I have worked on these issues for a long time, and in my 
professional life my family has endangered species on their 
property. I am well aware of the challenges that landowners 
face.
    If you look at what is working in conservation, it is 
locally led, it is incentive based, and it is about 
partnerships. For USDA, that is what our work on this will be.
    Senator Fischer. Thank you. If confirmed, you will oversee 
a large amount of farmer data that is collected by the FSA, 
NRCS, and the RMA. As you know, each year farmers submit crop 
reports to USDA twice, to both Farm Service Agency and to the 
Risk management Agency. Ten years ago, USDA began streamlining 
this process through an initiative known as the Acreage Crop 
Reporting Streamlining Initiative, or the ACRSI.
    Nebraska FSA took a lead by conducting pilots for this 
initiative in 2018, but the initiative has not yet been 
deployed widely, due to a lack of software. In Fiscal Year 
2021, in that omnibus that we passed, Congress directed USDA to 
allocate the necessary resources to identify software options 
so that the technology is going to be adopted. Can you commit 
to working to advance ACRSI so that farmers can benefit from 
that streamlined crop reporting?
    Mr. Bonnie. Yes. This will be a priority.
    Senator Fischer. Thank you.
    Ms. Small, I would now like to shift to broadband, and with 
so many Americans still unserved we need to make sure that we 
get the most out of every dollar that is going to be spent 
through the Federal broadband programs. I am concerned that 
billions of dollars in funding are being spent to expand 
broadband services but the American public still does not have 
a clear sense of where all of that is being spent.
    How do you think USDA can improve that transparency and 
also have accountability for what I consider very, very 
valuable funding?
    Ms. Torres Small. It is such an important effort to make 
sure that the funding that Congress is appropriating gets out 
quickly to reach communities on the ground and to make sure 
that it is done responsibly as well. I love the way you asked 
about how USDA can help in that role, because I firmly believe 
that Rural Development has a fundamental role in that, because 
Rural Development has the ability to validate things on the 
ground, based on its community partnerships, to identify what 
is being done. They already have that experience working with 
so many of the players. Because Rural Development's broadband 
programs, they only use those maps as part of the consideration 
process. They have been able to identify other ways to identify 
the need.
    As the United States works to get better mapping and better 
identify where those needs are, Rural Development can have a 
key role in using other ways to identify needs and make sure 
that it is measuring the impact that those crucial investments 
are having.
    Senator Fischer. Thank you very much. Thank you, Madam 
Chair.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Senator Lujan.
    Senator Lujan. Thank you, Chair Stabenow. Ms. Torres Small, 
you know first-hand the importance of affordability and 
connectivity for rural America. During your time in the House 
you committed a big part of your time in this particular area. 
The 2018 Farm Bill created a new grant program for rural 
broadband deployment. It recognized programs that existed 
already like the Community Connect Broadband Program, the 
Technology needs of Precision Agriculture, developing a Rural 
Broadband Integration Working Group, all important programs 
that many of the members that are on this Committee, the senior 
members, worked on to deploy.
    If confirmed to this position, what would you do as Under 
Secretary to connect rural families to affordable, reliable, 
high-speed broadband?
    Ms. Torres Small. It is crucial, as you know. In the midst 
of COVID, I think everyone saw the challenges that folks were 
facing. I specifically remember a mom who brought out a 
sunshade and got her kids, four kids, underneath the sunshade 
in the parking lot of their school administration building so 
their kids could do their homework. The question is how do we 
make sure that she does not have to do that in the future.
    I think the big opportunity that Rural Development has is 
the incredible investment in resources, and making sure that 
that gets delivered responsibly. You identified all of the 
programs that Rural Development has. Making sure that there is 
ease in identifying which programs are the best fit and 
potentially breaking down some of those silos to make them work 
together well. Bringing Rural Development's unique mission area 
to the table in all of the programs they are invested in across 
America will be crucial.
    Senator Lujan. I appreciate. Mr. Bonnie, New Mexico, like 
many Western States, are facing extreme drought conditions that 
are having detrimental effects on our State's farmers and 
ranchers. I just want to echo my colleague's statement that 
having a State FSA Executive Director position in place will be 
vital to ensuring that resources are available to get out the 
door quickly, not just the State Executive Director but also 
the board members. We need to make sure that these are 
prioritized and they are moving. We are in a drought, people 
need help, and these farmers and ranchers are waiting.
    Once confirmed, do I have your commitment to work with this 
Committee to make sure USDA is doing everything in their power 
to help farmers and ranchers be able to weather these 
increasing extreme weather conditions?
    Mr. Bonnie. You have my commitment, sir.
    Senator Lujan. Mr. Bonnie, one of the reasons that a State 
FSA Director and having a board matters, in 2018, I began 
working with the previous Secretary, Mr. Perdue, after I 
learned of farmers who were unfairly discriminated against 
regarding payments they were owed through the Noninsured Crop 
Disaster Assistance Program. I appreciated that Secretary 
Vilsack recognized this injustice when those farmers won two 
appeals. The State and county office ignored that those farmers 
won these appeals, and continued with this discriminatory 
practice, targeting these farmers.
    To add insult to insult to injury--we have these things 
called the acequias back home, Madam Chair. I often describe 
them as like Roman aqueducts. They are older than the Federal 
Government. These were carved by our ancestors, typically three 
feet wide, three feet deep, that move water from the mountains 
or from rivers into land. They provide all the nourishment we 
need.
    I am fortunate that we have one of those acequias where I 
live, and my brother and I are responsible for cleaning it 
annually by hand every year. He reminds me I am not as good 
with a shovel as him, but I think that my mom is the judge of 
that and I do okay.
    Nonetheless, to add insult to injury, the State office went 
on to say that if these farmers irrigate with these acequias, 
which are not filled with water from a well--if Mother Nature 
does not deliver, if the Good Lord does not deliver a little 
bit of precipitation, they run dry. They then went on to say 
that if these farmers use those acequias they are ineligible 
for this Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program, 
predominantly Hispanic and Native American families. It is 
wrong.
    To make it worse, after Secretary Vilsack went in and 
fortunately they paused this program, they are doing a review 
of the State FSA office in New Mexico, it was clear that those 
payments that were being held should have been sent. From the 
office here, with Secretary Vilsack they were sent. They are 
still being held up at the local office. These families need 
help.
    This is just another example of the immense responsibility 
of where we will have to work together, Mr. Bonnie. I look 
forward to voting for your confirmation. Ms. Torres Small, I 
look forward to supporting your nomination. We all know 
families out there need help, and there are a lot of nuanced 
challenges that farmers and ranchers are facing, in different 
parts of the country. It is important that we take time to 
understand those challenges, identify those injustices, and 
provide the support they need.
    Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much. Thank for raising 
a really important issue.
    Senator Marshall, and then we will hear from Senator 
Bennet.
    Senator Marshall. All right. Thank you, Madam Chair, and if 
I could just have a quick moment of privilege I want to accept 
the challenge from the Senator from the great State of New 
Mexico for the first annual Senate Ag Committee Chili Cook-off. 
I just want to warn you I will be bringing the secret Marshall 
deer chili recipe, and I think it would be a great tradition to 
do later this fall.
    Senator Lujan. If the gentleman would yield, if you put New 
Mexico chile in there you are guaranteed to win.
    Senator Marshall. Well, no, no. You have got to make the 
chili, I am going to make some chili, and we will let the staff 
enjoy.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Okay. The competition is on.
    Senator Marshall. It is, indeed. Again, thank you, Madam 
Chair, and I appreciate you holding this hearing, and welcome 
again to our nominees. We had wonderful discussions on the 
phone earlier this week.
    My first question for Mr. Bonnie, the Commodity Credit 
Corporation (CCC) is certainly a very important entity to my 
folks back home. How would you describe its primary mission, 
its primary purpose, in your views?
    Mr. Bonnie. It is to support commodity production in 
agriculture and to help stabilize agriculture in the wake of, 
you know, extreme weather, all that type of stuff.
    Senator Marshall. You know, speaking of commodities, I am 
going to read this definition: A commodity is a raw material or 
primary agriculture product that can be bought and sold, such 
as copper, coffee, or wheat, or milo. Do you feel that carbon 
is a commodity?
    Mr. Bonnie. Carbon certainly has value, and we see that in 
things like the Growing Climate Solutions Act and other pieces 
of legislation. I think your question is about is it a 
commodity in the context of the Commodity Credit Corporation, 
and I do not think it is. I do not think it needs to be, if you 
want to think about how to use the CCC to advance climate-smart 
agriculture and forestry.
    Whatever you do in the CCC has to be about commodity 
production, agricultural commodities, and thinking about how 
you take advantage of that, and create opportunities for 
producers that may grow those commodities using climate-smart 
agriculture and forestry is the potential link with the CCC. It 
is those opportunities and new markets that I think are 
consistent with the CCC.
    Senator Marshall. Do you envision in any way, based upon 
that answer, using the CCC funds to create a carbon bank then?
    Mr. Bonnie. I think we would look at the CCC as a potential 
way to create partnership with agriculture, to look at ways 
that we can advance climate-smart agriculture in ways that will 
increase and improve commodity production and will create more 
value for agriculture on working lands.
    Senator Marshall. Those answers sound a little bit 
contradictory to me in the sense that you are describing paying 
for a carbon service, really the service of storing carbon, so 
I just do not see how you could in any way equate the two by 
using moneys from the CCC. I just want to make sure that we are 
on the same page here, that you agree the purpose of the CCC, 
the priorities, should be the ARC programs, the PLCs, and I am 
just really concerned about running that bank dry.
    Mr. Bonnie. Of course, and I would just say, this is true 
across all climate policy. If we create challenges for 
agriculture or things do not work for agriculture, that is not 
just a problem for farmers. It is problem for the climate as 
well. We have to do things that are going to have agriculture 
support. Anything we would do with the CCC we would put in 
front of people, let them look at it, and make sure that we do 
is consistent with agriculture and agriculture's needs.
    That is going to be true of everything we do on climate. As 
I said before, if it does not work for producers it is not 
going to work for the climate.
    Senator Marshall. You know, I always had the saying that 
farmers and ranchers are the greatest conservationists in the 
world. I remember my grandfather building terraces for soil 
conservation. Would you agree, in general, that farmers and 
ranchers are just incredible conservationists?
    Mr. Bonnie. Yes. We have an enormous stewardship ethic in 
this country, and the test for us on whether it is thinking 
about wildlife conservation or climate, how do we take 
advantage of that? How do we create incentives for producers to 
be able to voluntarily participate? That is true of everything 
we do.
    Senator Marshall. Thank you. Last question, probably, to 
Ms. Torres Small. The question that I get asked all the time is 
how does rural America survive? What is your vision to help 
rural America survive? What would be the priorities, the 
pillars of helping rural America survive?
    Ms. Torres Small. I remember those questions too, and what 
would always inspire me and give me hope for rural America is 
the local innovation, the things that people are doing on the 
ground, the ideas to expand markets, to turn every byproduct 
into a new market, to invest in the natural advantages in a 
region. That is where Rural Development can have such power and 
strength is in supporting and investing in those innovative 
solutions so that in every rural community there are great 
opportunities for jobs, and support for farmers, and support 
for manufacturing, or tourism. Identifying those industry 
opportunities and growing them.
    Senator Marshall. Thank you. I will just add, the greatest 
indicator for survival of rural America is the price of wheat, 
and the price of corn, the price of beef, and the input costs 
as well. I hope we just do not lose sight of that, that those 
are all value-added propositions. We need high-speed internet. 
We need good hospitals. We need a local pharmacy. We need 
community banks. All those pieces--good schools--to help that 
rural community survive. Eventually, in my home State, the 
price of wheat, as agriculture goes, so goes rural America.
    Thank you, Madam Chair. I yield back.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much. I will now turn 
to Senator Booker.
    Senator Booker. Thank you so much, Chairman Stabenow and 
Ranking Member Boozman. I really appreciate you both, and I 
want to congratulate the witnesses and nominees.
    Ms. Torres Small, there are tens of thousands of rural 
families currently living in homes that do not have functioning 
wastewater systems, meaning that they are not connected to a 
sewer system and they do not have functioning septic systems. 
This often, unfortunately--and I have visited a lot of these 
communities--leads to families literally having straight pipes 
coming out of their homes into their backyards. It creates 
conditions that led to children testing positive for neglected 
tropical diseases like hookworm, that many doctors do not even 
think still exists in the United States.
    In the Black Belt in Alabama, I visited some folks who, it 
was just awful to see kids out in the backyard playing with all 
these conditions.
    In the last Farm Bill, Congress expanded an existing Rural 
Development Grant Program to authorize funding to address this 
issue, but we need to do a lot more, and we need to have a 
sense of urgency in doing it. I would like to know that 
addressing poverty is really something that you have shown that 
is really important to you. If you are confirmed, will you make 
providing assistance to these low-income rural families and 
rural communities a priority?
    Ms. Torres Small. Absolutely, Senator Booker. Thank you so 
much for raising a crucial issue, whether it is colonias or 
Native American sovereign governments, or the Black Belt. 
Having access to good, clean water and plumbing are matters of 
public health as well as individual survival.
    Senator Booker. Thank you so much. Mr. Bonnie, FSA lending 
programs have existed in their current form since the 1990's, 
and I believe that the next farm bill we need to make major 
revisions to these FSA programs so that they better serve 
African American farmers, indigenous farmers, and others whom 
they just have not served well, nearly as well as they should. 
I believe we should also update these lending programs to make 
sure they are tailored to foster adoption of climate-smart ag 
practices.
    Do you agree that this is needed, and if you are confirmed, 
will this be a priority for you?
    Mr. Bonnie. Senator, thank you for the question. If 
confirmed, absolutely, this is a very important priority. With 
respect to FSA programs, I think one of the things we are 
moving out on is the Equity Commission, that I think will give 
us greater insight into all the things we can do 
administratively to make sure our programs are available to all 
farmers. It is vitally important. Of course, you know the 
history of USDA. There is far more we need to do in this space, 
and we look forward to working with you and the Committee as we 
go into the next farm bill, to make sure we get that right.
    Senator Booker. Mr. Bonnie, I appreciate that, and I also 
believe that we need to invest tens of billions of dollars of 
new funding into already existing voluntary USDA working land 
conservation programs that are really targeted to fund a lot of 
the soil health practices that NRCS has identified as 
beneficial from a climate change perspective. I talked to our 
Chairwoman about this. These funds are so oversubscribed by 
farmers. Farmers want to be great stewards of the land. They 
want to make these investments.
    I believe that these investments would not only 
significantly reduce emissions and sequester a lot of carbon 
but they would also make our farms and our rural communities 
more resilient, reduce flooding, protect drinking water, 
promote biodiversity, and again, empower our farmers.
    Can you talk about how oversubscribed these observation 
programs currently are and if you would support this type of 
large-scale, targeted investment in soil health using existing 
voluntary conservation programs?
    Mr. Bonnie. There is no question that there are significant 
opportunities to invest in climate-smart agriculture and 
forestry through our existing programs and to look at ways to 
improve soil health through reduced emissions and otherwise. We 
are going to need to make sure that we have got the folks at 
NRCS to be able to implement these programs, so that would be 
very important.
    If confirmed, one of the things, you know, we will look 
into is make sure we can deliver these programs adequately. I 
think that is going to be important. I think the investment 
here that you and the Chairwoman have spearheaded and talked 
about in the conservations going on now up here are really, 
really important, and I look forward to working with you all on 
the implementation of existing programs and if there are 
additional dollars as well.
    Senator Booker. Mr. Bonnie, real quick, the monocropping 
system that we are so dependent upon, that has had unintended 
consequences, overuse of glyphosates that are now poisoning our 
rivers and our streams and our groundwater, have proved very 
fragile during things like COVID. Is this something we need to 
start finding ways to invest so that we can create more 
sustainable systems as well as more empowered rural areas?
    Mr. Bonnie. I think we need to focus on the outcomes we 
want and to focus on outcomes in terms of clean water and 
greenhouse gas emissions reductions or other things. I worry a 
little bit about USDA getting overly prescriptive, and so I 
want us to focus on what are the public benefits, the 
environmental benefits we want out of these programs, and how 
do we work with producers to make that happen.
    Senator Booker. I hope to talk to you more about that, Mr. 
Bonnie, because right now we are being very prescriptive. We 
are incentivizing these behaviors. We are incentivizing the 
overuse of these chemicals. I believe in not picking winners 
and losers, letting farmers lead the way, but we are, in a 
sense, through the Department of Agriculture, supporting a 
system that is unsustainable and is actually hurting 
independent family farmers. I look forward to discussing this 
with you.
    Thank you, Chairwoman. I realize I am little over my time.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Well, thank you very much. I will now 
turn to Senator Tuberville and then Senator Gillibrand.
    Senator Tuberville. Thank you very much, Ms. Small, Mr. 
Bonnie. Thank you for being here today. Both of these positions 
will have a huge impact in my State of Alabama, and will either 
help or hurt all our farmers there. We are looking forward to 
the possibility of working with you.
    I am not going to beat a dead horse about internet and 
broadband. I think all of you know the importance of that, and 
it is a shame our country, to this point, the developed country 
that we have, our rural areas are still suffering, and we need 
help. I know you know that.
    Ms. Small, my office has worked with folks in Alabama 
related to USDA is Business and Industry Loan Guarantee 
Program, better known as B&I loans. This program helps our 
rural communities to aid with economic development projects. 
With now having a more streamlined process with Rural 
Development loan programs, I am hopeful more interest can lead 
to more efficient project completions, going from grand idea to 
grand opening faster.
    Ms. Small, can you talk about your own experiences working 
in rural areas expanding businesses?
    Ms. Torres Small. The B&I Loan Guarantee Program is 
crucial, and it really is the flagship of the Business and 
Cooperative Services within Rural Development. It is something 
that I got to experience a little bit as a field representative 
on the ground, working for Senator Udall, when there was a 
local business idea, whether it was a coffee shop or whether it 
was a Digester, trying to find ways to get support. The B&I 
Loan Guarantee Program was a great starting place to look at 
options.
    It also brought in local community banks, which I thought 
was great, to find ways to build that business plan and local 
investment.
    Senator Tuberville. Thank you. Mr. Bonnie, I have heard 
from several of my friends across the South that you are a 
pretty good turkey hunter. I look forward to getting you to 
Alabama and giving you a few pointers, being a turkey hunter 
myself.
    Mr. Bonnie. Senator, I wish someone would tell the turkeys 
that. It was a little rough this spring.
    Senator Tuberville. Those of us that turkey hunt know the 
answer to that question. Yes, sir, I believe that.
    Mr. Bonnie, the Farm Service Agency will be one of the top 
areas under your purview. Alabama farmers and others across the 
Nation directly rely on their local county FSA offices to 
properly engage with various USDA programs for their 
operations. In past years, there have been talks to try to 
consolidate local FSA offices within each State. Also, Alabama 
has suffered from lack of full staffing and appropriate 
resources in local FSA offices.
    When and if confirmed, what is your plan to help Alabama 
farmers in this situation?
    Mr. Bonnie. Well, those FSA offices are vitally important, 
Senator, as you point out, and there is work that we need to do 
in terms of continuing to hire and fill spots both in FSA and 
RCS.
    As you know right now, our offices are only partially open, 
and so I think the first order of business, assuming we can 
move forward safely, is to make sure we get on the path to 
opening them up fully this fall. I will say that I think our 
FSA offices have done incredibly well over the last year, 
responding during a pandemic, and keeping the workflow going, 
but there is more work to do there, as your question points 
out.
    Senator Tuberville. Thank you very much.
    Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much. We will now turn 
to Senator Brown and then Senator Ernst and Senator Warnock.
    Senator Brown. Thank you, Madam Chair. I really appreciate 
this. Ms. Torres Small and Mr. Bonnie, it is good to see you 
both. I wish I could be there in person. I am jumping back and 
forth, chairing the Banking and Housing Committee. I enjoyed 
our conversations this week and appreciate your willingness to 
serve the American people.
    These jobs are two of the most public-facing, if you will, 
jobs at USDA. I look forward to hosting each of you separately 
in Ohio, to meet farmers and small business owners and others 
invested in making my State an even better place to live. Thank 
you for your offer to do that, and I will take you up on it.
    Mr. Bonnie, let us start with you. Your comments on the 
importance of a farm safety net ensuring our farmers have the 
risk mitigation tools they need to succeed are welcome. In the 
2018 Farm Bill, I authored an amendment that allows State 
conservationists to pay 90 percent of the cost of high priority 
equipped practices up from 75 percent. Many States declined to 
do so. What do we do to encourage States to take advantage of 
that?
    Mr. Bonnie. Senator, I have to say it is not an issue that 
I am really familiar with, but opportunity to provide increased 
incentives for high-priority practices I think are welcome and 
would welcome the opportunity to think with you and your staff 
on where we could apply that. I know the Western Lake Erie 
Basin is very important to you, and maybe that is a place that 
we could think about implementing that.
    Senator Brown. Thanks. Your comments in our personal 
conversation last week, or earlier this week, whenever it was, 
about marginal farmland, planting grasses and trees among the 
best ways to address the climate crisis and so much else, as 
you expanded on. I worked with Senators Grassley and Ernst in 
some of the initiatives in the 2018 Farm Bill. How do we use 
incentive payments to encourage more farmers to enroll in CRP 
initiatives that retire marginal acreage? How do we leverage 
the private sector to help share the cost of some of these 
agreements?
    Mr. Bonnie. I think on the CRP front, as I said earlier, it 
is vitally important to think about targeting to make sure we 
get the right lands into the program. I think for thinking 
about some of the continuous practices, buffers or other types 
of things, where we can put practices, the right practices on 
the most important acres is a place where I think we can get a 
lot of bang for the buck.
    There may be opportunities to partner with the private 
sector. There is growing interest in climate-smart agriculture. 
There may be opportunities in that or in other ways to think 
about bringing in private investment into agriculture as well.
    Senator Brown. Thank you, Mr. Bonnie.
    Ms. Torres Small, I look with excitement at your nomination 
in part because in our conversation listening to you talk about 
the sort of intimacy you have with your old congressional 
district and your State generally, and what that means, 
especially in affordable housing and access to health care in 
rural America.
    RCAP does an excellent job helping with water 
infrastructure. Could you talk on that for a moment? What more 
do we do to help communities succeed and get access to these 
programs?
    Ms. Torres Small. Absolutely. As we talk about water as a 
fundamental building block for life, it is crucial that Rural 
Development continue to engage in communities and identify 
those needs where they are most. RCAP does an incredible job, 
and I think the work that Rural Development does when it comes 
to technical assistance is really important in making sure we 
are reaching the most underserved communities, and folks really 
on the brink in terms of public health because of a lack of 
access to drinking water, good clean water, or a lack of access 
to good wastewater.
    My dad, actually, even growing up in the Mesilla Valley, 
still remembers where the outhouse was when he was growing up 
in the house he still lives in.
    This is how important it is to make sure that no one is 
left behind, and I look forward to getting to work with you in 
housing as well as water issues for Rural Development.
    Senator Brown. Thank you, Ms. Torres Small. I look forward 
to voting in support of both of you. I know Chair Stabenow 
wants to move these nominations as quickly as possible getting 
both of you in place to do these jobs.
    Madam Chair, thanks very much for the time.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Well, thanks very much, Senator Brown. 
We will now turn to Senator Ernst.
    Senator Ernst. Great. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, and it 
is great to have our witnesses in front of us today, and 
Congresswoman Torres Small, thank you so much for being with 
us. We had a great conversation the other day as I was 
traveling through rural Iowa, and I appreciated you sharing the 
fact that you come from the rural part of your State as well. I 
appreciate you sharing the story about your nana today with the 
cotton sacks, because I think it does highlight women in 
agriculture, not just as laborers but then now in today's 
modern era, more of those farm owners and operators. Thank you 
for sharing that.
    I would like to start the questions today, Mr. Bonnie, with 
you, please, and I am sure that you have heard about the 
hardships that our livestock producers have been experiencing 
over the last several years. My home State of Iowa is the 
country's largest producer of pork. Not the bad kind of pork, 
the actual animal. Swine. Thousands of farmers have been 
patiently waiting the announcement of USDA's financial 
assistance that was provided in December through the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, to make payments to 
contract growers of livestock and poultry to cover revenue 
losses.
    I am concerned that the Department's announcement on June 
15th that described the intent to finalize this program within 
the next 60 days made no mention of assistance being provided 
to contract growers of swine. Rather, it focused solely on 
poultry growers. Can you explain, and do you know, will swine 
contract growers be eligible for emergency assistance directed 
by Congress in this Consolidated Appropriations Act, 
administered by the FSA?
    Mr. Bonnie. Yes, so Senator, thank you for the question. As 
we have taken a look at all the pandemic assistance, our focus 
has been on filling those gaps that may not have gotten as much 
resources as before. I think in terms of the contract growers, 
I think we think the real focus there and the need and some of 
the challenges we saw in the formula that would allocate those 
dollars is on the poultry side.
    My understanding is that the pork producers will be 
eligible. I am not sure how much they are going to be able to 
take advantage of it, because of the way it is moving forward. 
We have provided assistance for livestock indemnity and some 
other areas that I think are eligible to pork, but that is my 
sense now.
    Senator Ernst. Well, I appreciate that. We do have a lot of 
poultry production in Iowa as well, so that is welcome news, 
but we do want to make sure that our swine growers are included 
in that.
    Congresswoman, next to you, I know that we have talked a 
lot about broadband today, and you can tell how important it is 
to the rural areas. I would like to focus on maybe a little 
different avenue.
    USDA has had a long and successful history of really 
working with various programs to connect Americans to broadband 
in rural areas. However, I am hearing from a number of 
providers that ReConnect awards, they may actually sit there 
for a number of months, and in some cases well over a year 
while they are waiting for clearance when it comes to 
environmental or historical preservation requirements. I know 
that those reviews are very important. We discussed this. It is 
very frustrating. In many of these cases, the network is being 
placed in areas where other construction of some kind has 
already happened.
    How can you plan to address these lengthy delays and maybe 
accelerate some of the deployment through the Rural Utilities 
Service (RUS) programs?
    Ms. Torres Small. Thank you, Senator Ernst. We have talked 
about just the variety of broadband programs that are available 
through Rural Development, and RUS specifically, and there a 
lot of lessons learned that come from that, in addition, with 
ReConnect. Rural Development has actually been working on 
broadband since I was in high school, so there are a lot of 
lessons learned and a lot of work to be done.
    When you bring up the environmental review challenges I am 
so grateful that you are focused on this issue because it is 
something that, if I get to do this job, I will be steadfast 
and focused on as well, in terms of getting that money out the 
door and in the ground in terms of fiber, or finding other ways 
to reach homes, and finding ways to target resources to address 
those challenges, to support the staff that has been trying to 
coordinate with the multiple entities in the midst of COVID, 
and to find ways to expedite certain situations.
    Senator Ernst. Wonderful. I thank you, Madam Chair, very 
much. I look forward to supporting our nominees. Thank you.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you so much. Senator Warnock.
    Senator Warnock. Thank you, Madam Chair, and 
congratulations to you both on your nominations.
    In my travels across rural Georgia, during my campaign and 
my first few months in the Senate, I have heard from farmers 
who are saddled with debt, or who have historically struggled 
to access assistance through USDA's Farm Service Agency, 
particularly from small-scale farmers, marginalized farmers, 
and farmers with limited resources.
    These systemic issues were evident with USDA's previous 
COVID-19 relief efforts. We saw the ways in which the systemic 
and age-old discrimination shows up in more recent times, 
because of the formulas, and as a result failed to reach many 
of the small-scale farmers. I was glad to see Secretary Vilsack 
reopen programs signed up with dedicated funding for improved 
outreach to underserved farmers.
    The USDA must do more to address underlying issues at the 
Department of Agriculture and better support our small-scale 
farmers, the ones I have been seeing all throughout Georgia, 
who are suffering even more as a result of the pandemic.
    Mr. Bonnie, if you are confirmed, FSA will fall under your 
jurisdiction. Do you believe that previous USDA relief efforts 
such as the Market Facilitation Program or the Coronavirus Food 
Assistance Program adequately met the needs of small-scale and 
limited-resource farmers? Yes or no.
    Mr. Bonnie. Senator, thank you for the question. You know, 
as you know we have tried to do far more, as you pointed out, 
to make sure we get assistance to those farmers that have not 
gotten it, and we still need to do more.
    Senator Warnock. Why do you believe these efforts failed to 
provide meaningful relief for small-scale farmers, and what can 
we do to improve?
    Mr. Bonnie. One of the things that Secretary Vilsack talks 
about is sort of the cumulative impacts over decades of the 
challenges we have created because of both how the programs are 
structured and the fact that folks were excluded from those 
programs. We need to take a deep look at that and look at all 
aspects of program delivery.
    I think because--and I alluded to this earlier--I think 
because there is still distrust in many of those communities, 
and understandably so, that there is far more work we are going 
to need to do with partners, to build partnership, to build 
trust with those producers, and ensure that our programs, both 
in their design but also in their implementation, are available 
to those producers.
    Senator Warnock. That is a great point. Design is 
important. The design of the program, implementation, the human 
face, the folks that people encounter when they walk through 
the door of FSA. We have heard time and time again that people 
literally do not feel welcome when walking in the door of the 
FSA, throughout the various local areas.
    If confirmed, will you commit to reviewing, rigorously 
reviewing staffing within your mission area to ensure that your 
work force is representative and responsive to the farming 
communities that they are tasked to serve?
    Mr. Bonnie. You have my commitment, if confirmed.
    Senator Warnock. Thank you so much. I think that there is 
work here for the USDA. There is also work here for the 
Congress to do, which is why I am proud to support legislation 
like the Relief for America's Small Farmers Act, which would 
boost all of our Nation's small farmers through debt relief and 
uplift their operations.
    Mr. Bonnie, how would targeted financial and technical 
assistance, provided by Congress, combined with improved 
service from FSA, benefit small-scale farmers in Georgia?
    Mr. Bonnie. Vitally important, again, the delivery of 
programs but also, again, given the history of the additional 
resources that are needed for outreach, to make sure folks 
understand programs is critically important here, and I think 
has to be, as we think about the Equity Commission, those sort 
of issues that, again, not entirely about design but about 
implementation and outreach have to be a critical part of what 
we look at.
    Senator Warnock. Thank you. Congresswoman, one issue I 
consistently hear about when speaking with folks in rural 
Georgia is broadband. People are disconnected and the 
implications for their health care, for education, for the 
marketplace, distance learning, is difficult to overstate.
    If confirmed, I know you have been in touch with my office 
regarding this broadband issue, can you say more about how you 
will work with me and others to prioritize broadband deployment 
and affordability, particularly in our rural areas?
    Ms. Torres Small. Well, when you talk about broadband 
deployment, I think one of the crucial issues is identifying 
some of the areas in the most need. We have talked a little bit 
in this hearing about the challenges with the maps that are 
sometimes relied upon for allocating resources. I know that 
Georgia has invested a lot of time in identifying other data to 
support where to deploy resources for broadband.
    If I am confirmed, I would love to work with you on that, 
learning more about how that was done, and Rural Development is 
just a key, crucial partner for every broadband discussion 
because of relationships on the ground, because of the staff, 
the 47 offices throughout the country who have relationships 
with people in the communities to identify how to best fill 
those needs.
    Senator Warnock. Thank you so much. It is a critical issue. 
We are talking infrastructure this week. I am glad to have 
joined Senator Tina Smith in requesting no less than $60 
billion in funding for rural broadband, community 
infrastructure, business development. Thank you all for your 
service.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much, Senator, and 
thank you for your leadership on the efforts around small-scale 
farms and minority farmers.
    Senator Warnock. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. It is very, very important work.
    I believe Senator Hoeven is with us. Senator Hoeven was 
here in the Committee room. I believe he is now, though, 
joining us virtually.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you, Madam Chairman. I appreciate it 
very much. My first questions are for Congresswoman Torres 
Small. Thank you for coming to visit with me.
    One of the things we talked about was precision 
agriculture, and so I would just like to again ask you about 
the Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) Program, and your 
willingness to not only support it but also to come out and see 
what we are doing with the Grand Farm project in North Dakota, 
which is all about precision agriculture.
    Ms. Torres Small. Senator Hoeven, thank you so much. I 
really enjoyed talking with you and learning just more about 
how RISE can adapt to so many different opportunities and 
innovation on the ground across the country. I am excited to 
see potential ways that can be done with precision agriculture 
in Fargo. I have never visited Fargo, so I am looking forward 
to it and really appreciate the invitation, if confirmed.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you. My other question for you is 
regarding carbon capture. One of the things we are working on 
in North Dakota is to crack the code with carbon capture for 
coal-fired electric facilities. The Rural Utility Service has 
loan guarantees and grant programs that help do that. I would 
ask, are you willing to work with us on Carbon Capture 
Utilization and Storage (CCUS), through the RUS program?
    Ms. Torres Small. If confirmed, I am excited to work with 
you and learn more about these opportunities. I really 
appreciate the opportunities through the USE IT Act to identify 
where CCUS can be a crucial part of addressing climate change. 
The Biden administration recently released a report of some of 
that information. There are opportunities, and I look forward 
to working with you on it, if I get the chance to do this job.
    Senator Hoeven. Again, thank you, Congresswoman. I look 
forward to working with you, and thanks for coming in and 
visiting with me. I appreciate it.
    Mr. Bonnie, several questions for you. First is we are just 
suffering tremendous drought in our State this year, along with 
much of the country as well. I am working on disaster 
assistance for drought as well as for some of the severe excess 
moisture problems in other parts of the country.
    One of the things you and I visited with is getting help 
through USDA, and both the FSA Administrator, Zach Ducheneaux, 
and RMA Acting Administrator, Richard Flournoy, have been out 
to North Dakota. They have seen the challenges. One of the 
things we are trying to do is to leverage the livestock forage 
program with more assistance through the Emergency Livestock 
Assistance Program (ELAP).
    Are you willing to work with FSA Director Ducheneaux to see 
if we can get more help for our cattle ranchers through ELAP 
during this terrible drought?
    Mr. Bonnie. Absolutely, and we had a conversation with some 
folks in the Department after our conversation, and my sense is 
there are some opportunities there. I look forward to working 
with you on them.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you. What changes be made to improve 
the effectiveness of those programs on a long-term basis, both 
the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) and ELAP, for these 
kinds of situations?
    Mr. Bonnie. Senator, as we look at the look at the drought 
now I think we need a longer conversation with this Committee 
about a range of programs around drought. If you look in the 
Klamath Basin right now, those producers need help immediately, 
to help them fallow fields, or fallow cropland, because they do 
not have water to plant crops.
    We are finding gaps like that this summer in response to 
the drought, the gaps that you talked about with water hauling 
or hay hauling up in North Dakota--critically important--and 
issues related to wildfires in the West and the impact on 
agriculture there. I do think there are a range of issues that 
we need to have a conversation with the Committee about to 
ensure we have got the right tools in the toolbox, and we would 
very much welcome that.
    Senator Hoeven. Yes, and we look forward to working with 
you on that. I talked to Senator Tester about working with me 
on a bipartisan basis, really to address the livestock program 
so that we have something along the lines of what WHIP+, which 
we have on the farm side. We need something on the cattle side, 
or the livestock side, that is more permanent. We look forward 
to working with you on that.
    The other thing, the last question I have, as far as carbon 
capture, will you make sure that you both consult with Congress 
in regard to anything that is done in terms of how the carbon 
capture programs are structured for our ag producers, so that 
they are farmer friendly. Make sure that they are farmer 
friendly. It is both the consultation with Congress and making 
sure that those programs are farmer friendly.
    Mr. Bonnie. Yes, we need to make sure we do a good job of 
obviously consulting with all of you. It is vitally important 
that we talk to producers in both agriculture and forestry. You 
may not have been here to hear me before, but if they do not 
work for producers and landowners they are not going to work 
for the climate, and making sure we get that right is going to 
be a very high priority.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you very much. Thank you, Madam 
Chairman.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Well, thank you very much. I believe 
that we have heard from all of Senators wishing to ask 
questions. So----
    Senator Thune. Madam Chair?
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Excuse me. I am sorry. Senator Thune 
just logged on, so welcome, Senator Thune. You just made it.
    Senator Thune. Just made the cut. Thank you, Madam Chair, 
and thanks for holding the hearing today to consider Mr. 
Bonnie's nomination to serve as Under Secretary of Farm 
Production and Conservation and Congresswoman Torres Small's 
nomination to serve as Under Secretary of Rural Development. 
Thank you both for making your appearance before the Committee 
today and for your willingness to serve in these positions.
    Mr. Bonnie, as you know, the Farm Production and 
Conservation mission area of USDA plays a critical role in 
administering programs that are essential to producers' safety 
net, which is extremely important during adverse weather 
conditions like the drought, which producers in my State are 
currently facing.
    This Committee will soon begin working to craft the next 
farm bill, and we will rely on the Department to provide timely 
technical assistance as we draft legislation. If confirmed, 
will you commit to providing timely technical assistance to 
members of this Committee?
    Mr. Bonnie. Yes, I will.
    Senator Thune. Thank you. What do you envision USDA's 
involvement will be in developing the next farm bill, and under 
your leadership would the Department take an active, visible 
role or provide a technical supporting role to development work 
led by Congress?
    Mr. Bonnie. I am sure, Senator, that I will my cues from 
the Community on this. We will, of course, provide technical 
assistance and other insight as we can. Whether or not the 
administration puts forward proposals or otherwise, I do not 
know yet, and we will leave that to the boss.
    Senator Thune. All right. Congresswoman Torres Small, 
closing the digital divide and expanding access to broadband 
services to rural areas has long been a priority of mine. 
USDA's ReConnect program plays an important role in bringing 
reliable connectivity to more rural areas, but it is critical 
we focus on getting service to truly unserved areas.
    If confirmed, do you support the current ReConnect program 
rules that require at least 90 percent of households in a 
proposed area to be unserved in order to be eligible for a 
ReConnect award?
    Ms. Torres Small. Senator Thune, I deeply appreciate your 
work on broadband, through your co-chair of the Broadband 
Caucus, and I recognize how important it is to get to truly 
underserved communities. It certainly was my experience working 
in New Mexico to reach sometimes very tough terrain and folks 
in remote areas.
    I look forward to working with you to identify the specific 
requirements for underserved within ReConnect, and looking at 
the impact that that has in terms of truly reaching underserved 
areas.
    Senator Thune. With respect, though, to that, I appreciate 
that answer but my question had to do with the current law, 
which we actually put into the ReConnect program rules, or I 
should say in the rules but in the statute, that require at 
least 90 percent of households in a proposed area to be 
unserved in order to be eligible for ReConnect award. I guess 
the question is, do you support that particular threshold?
    Ms. Torres Small. If confirmed, it is my job to follow the 
law, and I certainly appreciate the instructions that are in 
the statute to make sure that ReConnect is reaching the people 
it is intended to.
    Senator Thune. All right. That is probably as good of an 
answer as I am going to get today.
    Well, I will just say that I think it would be a step 
backward to change that threshold to a lower percentage, such 
as 50 percent, which has been advocated by some.
    Mr. Bonnie, the Conservation Reserve Program plays a 
critical role in supporting producers, conservation and 
wildlife habitat, and sequestering carbon in South Dakota and 
throughout the Nation. I am concerned that we are significantly 
behind on CRP enrollment. Recent USDA statistics have CRP 
enrollment at less than 21 million acres, which is more than 
four million acres below Fiscal Year 2021 cap of 25 million 
acres, which we established in the 2018 Farm Bill. Also 
important to note that millions of CRP acres are set to expire 
in September of this year.
    If confirmed, will you commit to prioritizing the 
implementation of CRP and other conservation programs in 
accordance with the statute, and what actions would you take to 
reach the CRP acreage cap set in the 2018 Farm Bill, while 
making sure that the program fairly compensates producers and 
protects soil, water, and wildlife?
    Mr. Bonnie. Senator, CRP is a vital program, one that you 
have been a leader on for a long, long time. As you know, the 
administration is working to enhance the incentives so that we 
can get more producers enrolled.
    I think in addition to that, and I alluded to this earlier, 
I think looking at ways that we can use the continuous program, 
that we can look at targeted enrollments as well as general 
signups to enroll more acres will be absolutely critical. It is 
a vitally important program and I look forward to working with 
you and others as we move forward, if I am confirmed.
    Senator Thune. Okay. Thank you. Madam Chair, I have got 
some other questions but I am out of time, so I can submit some 
of these for the record.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Absolutely. Thanks very much.
    Well, thanks again, Congresswoman Torres Small and Mr. 
Bonnie, for being here today. We really appreciate you being 
here and your answers. In my view, the Farm Production and 
Conservation as well as Rural Development mission areas that 
you will oversee are USDA's first line of customer service, for 
our ag producers and our rural communities. As we witnessed 
here today, both of you have strong credentials and will be 
advocates for our farmers and ranchers, foresters, small 
businesses, rural communities, all those that we on this 
Committee care so deeply about.
    I strongly support your nominations and look forward to 
moving them forward as quickly as possible.
    That concludes today's hearing. The record will remain open 
until tomorrow at 5 p.m. for members to submit additional 
questions and statements. The hearing is adjourned.

    [Whereupon, at 11:57 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.]

      
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                         QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

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