[Senate Hearing 119-59]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 119-59
NOMINATIONS OF LUKE LINDBERG TO BE UNDER
SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE FOR TRADE AND
FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS AND DEVON
WESTHILL TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF
AGRICULTURE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE,
NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
April 29, 2025
__________
Printed for the use of the
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available on http://www.govinfo.gov/
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
60-200 PDF WASHINGTON : 2025
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY
JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas, Chairman
MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado
JONI ERNST, Iowa TINA SMITH, Minnesota
CINDY HYDE-SMITH, Mississippi RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois
ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas CORY BOOKER, New Jersey
TOMMY TUBERVILLE, Alabama BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico
JAMES C. JUSTICE, West Virginia RAPHAEL WARNOCK, Georgia
CHARLES GRASSLEY, Iowa PETER WELCH, Vermont
JOHN THUNE, South Dakota JOHN FETTERMAN, Pennsylvania
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska ADAM SCHIFF, California
JERRY MORAN, Kansas ELISSA SLOTKIN, Michigan
Fitzhugh Elder IV, Majority Staff Director
Jessica L. Williams, Chief Clerk
Lauren Santabar, Minority Staff Director
Chu-Yuan Hwang, Minority Chief Counsel
C O N T E N T S
----------
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Page
Hearing:
Nominations of Luke Lindberg to be Under Secretary of Agriculture
for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, and Devon Westhill
to be Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Civil Rights...... 1
----------
STATEMENTS PRESENTED BY SENATORS
Boozman, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from the State of Arkansas...... 1
Klobuchar, Hon. Amy, U.S. Senator from the State of Minnesota.... 3
WITNESSES
Lindberg, Luke, of South Dakota, to be Under Secretary of
Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agriculture Affairs.......... 6
Westhill, Devon, of Florida, to be Assistant Secretary of
Agriculture for Civil Rights................................... 8
----------
APPENDIX
Prepared Statements:
Lindberg, Luke............................................... 32
Westhill, Devon.............................................. 35
Document(s) Submitted for the Record:
Boozman, Hon. John:
Agriculture Companies in support of Luke Lindberg, letter of
support.................................................... 38
National Cattlemen's Beef Association in support of Luke
Lindberg, letter of support................................ 44
State Organizations in support of Luke Lindberg, letter of
support.................................................... 46
South Dakota Governor in support of Luke Lindberg, Larry
Rhoden, letter of support.................................. 48
Klobuchar, Hon. Amy:
Ambassador Jamieson Greer, United States Trade Representative
letter..................................................... 50
Warnock, Hon. Raphael:
National Public Radio document............................... 54
Lindberg, Luke:
Committee questionnaire, Office of Government Ethics
Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure
Report and 5-day letter filed by Luke Lindberg............. 75
Westhill, Devon:
Committee questionnaire, Office of Government Ethics
Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure
Report and 5-day letter filed by Devon Westhill............ 109
Question and Answer:
Lindberg, Luke:
Written response to questions from Hon. Amy Klobuchar........ 148
Written response to questions from Hon. Cindy Hyde-Smith..... 149
Written response to questions from Hon. Jerry Moran.......... 150
Written response to questions from Hon. Michael Bennet....... 151
Written response to questions from Hon. Tina Smith........... 153
Written response to questions from Hon. Richard Durbin....... 153
Written response to questions from Hon. Cory Booker.......... 156
Written response to questions from Hon. Raphael Warnock...... 157
Written response to questions from Hon. Peter Welch.......... 159
Written response to questions from Hon. John Fetterman....... 160
Written response to questions from Hon. Adam Schiff.......... 161
Westhill, Devon:
Written response to questions from Hon. Amy Klobuchar........ 162
Written response to questions from Hon. Michael Bennet....... 164
Written response to questions from Hon. Tina Smith........... 166
Written response to questions from Hon. Cory Booker.......... 167
Written response to questions from Hon. Raphael Warnock...... 172
Written response to questions from Hon. Peter Welch.......... 175
Written response to questions from Hon. John Fetterman....... 176
Written response to questions from Hon. Adam Schiff.......... 177
NOMINATIONS OF LUKE LINDBERG TO BE UNDER SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE FOR
TRADE AND FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS AND DEVON WESTHILL TO BE
ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
----------
TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2025
U.S. Senate
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 3 p.m., in Room
216, Hart Senate Office Building, Hon. John Boozman, Chairman
of the Committee, presiding.
Present: Senators Boozman [presiding], Hoeven, Hyde-Smith,
Marshall, Tuberville, Justice, Fischer, Klobuchar, Bennet,
Smith, Warnock, Welch, Schiff, and Slotkin.
STATEMENT OF HON. BOOZMAN, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF
ARKANSAS, CHAIRMAN, U.S. COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION,
AND FORESTRY
Chairman Boozman. Good afternoon and welcome. It is my
privilege to call this hearing to order. Today we will consider
the nominations of Mr. Luke Lindberg to be Under Secretary for
Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, and Mr. Devon Westhill
to be Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of
Agriculture for Civil Rights.
We welcome both of you to the Committee and congratulate
you on your nominations. Thank you so much for your willingness
to serve.
The challenges that farmers continue to face, which have
been consistently communicated to this Committee in the farm
bill hearings we have held so far this Congress, show why it is
so important that Secretary Rollins have her team in place.
The costs for fuel, seed, and fertilizer remain high, as do
interest rates, and farmers everywhere are losing money on
every acre they cultivate, all the while in desperate need of
an updated farm bill safety net and risk management tools.
Secretary Rollins has done a great job supporting our
farmers through these challenges and the two nominees before us
today will be important members of her team.
Starting with Mr. Lindberg, the Under Secretary for Trade
and Foreign Agricultural Affairs is tasked with expanding
access for U.S. agricultural products into foreign markets and
promoting U.S. food and agricultural exports. Considering that
the U.S. agricultural trade deficit is projected to reach a
record $49 billion this year, and both tariff and non-tariff
trade barriers continue to inhibit U.S. agriculture from
reaching key markets and opening new markets, this position is
truly critical.
Mr. Lindberg will be tasked with representing USDA in trade
negotiations, including collaborating with USTR (U.S. Trade
Representative), the Department of Commerce, the Department of
State, and the White House.
Farmers and ranchers rely on this position to elevate the
significance of agricultural trade issues in broader trade
discussions, and that will be especially true given the current
uncertain trade environment.
The Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural
Affairs also plays an important role in administering USDA's
international food assistance programs.
Mr. Lindberg will be responsible for coordinating commodity
procurement among various agencies within USDA. This work helps
expand markets for U.S. producers, and Mr. Lindberg will be
responsible for working with the White House to ensure the good
work of the longstanding programs such as Food for Peace can
continue.
I am confident that Mr. Lindberg's prior government
service, private sector expertise, and his deep trade
background will serve him well in this role.
While Mr. Lindberg will have important work to lead, so too
will Mr. Westhill. As I have said before, I believe producers
want an improved relationship with USDA. They want to know USDA
is a partner and will provide them the tools they need.
Mr. Westhill will be in charge of enforcing civil rights
law within USDA, as well as processing unemployment opportunity
complaints. While this role is not often in the spotlight, it
truly is essential.
Mr. Westhill will be tasked with ensuring all USDA
employees are treated with respect, that their civil rights are
protected, and they are not fearful of retaliation.
He will also work with the 29 agencies and eight mission
areas within USDA to ensure that the programs meant to serve
our farmers, ranchers, and rural communities are carried out in
a way that is consistent with civil rights law and department
protocol, and address complaints in a timely and thoughtful
manner.
Having previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Civil Rights, he knows the office inside and out and will be
able to hit the ground running, and I am confident he is the
right man for the job.
I am confident both Mr. Lindberg and Mr. Westhill have the
necessary expertise and experience and will thrive in these
roles. I look forward to hearing their testimonies and answers
to our questions.
Senator Klobuchar.
STATEMENT OF HON. KLOBUCHAR, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF
MINNESOTA
Senator Klobuchar. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr.
Chair. Happy to be the warm up act for Senator Rounds.
I want to thank you for holding a hearing for these
important nominations for these USDA positions. I want thank
Mr. Lindberg and Mr. Westhill for being with us today. I am
pleased to see your families are here today, including Mr.
Lindberg's wife Brittany, and his children, John Mark and Lucy.
I see that Lucy already is matching the political smarts of her
family by dressing to match her grandma, as well as Mr.
Westhill's wife Michelle, his children, Madeline and Benjamin.
I have to say, Madeline, you may be the most stylish looking
child that has ever come before this Committee. Thank you.
Mr. Lindberg, you have been nominated to serve as the Under
Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agriculture Affairs, which as
we know, oversees USDA trade policy. Based on our meeting, I
believe you are well qualified for this role, given the work
you have done in state, and have a real understanding of the
importance of trade for American farmers.
You are coming to this position at a critical time. If
confirmed, you will need to be a strong advocate for farmers
and ranchers and for expanding markets in the face of what I
consider--not speaking for everyone up here--but chaotic trade
policy. Farming is the riskiest business there is. As we meet
today, farmers in my state and across the country are eager to
get into the fields to plant this year's crop. I saw this
firsthand when I met with the Johnsons in Faribault County
recently. They have to make business decisions right now to try
to provide certainty. Can they break even? They have got input
costs. They have got weather events. They have got an
international market that is now completely uncertain because
of these tariffs.
They need markets to sell their product. Twenty percent of
what American farmers and ranchers produce goes outside of our
country. There are so many customers now and potential
customers. We have had three out of the last four years were
record years for agriculture exports. My state is fourth in the
Nation for agriculture exports, so I know a little bit about
this. This reckless tariff policy right now is putting farmers'
livelihoods in jeopardy, and we continue, I know we all do, to
hear about the negative impacts.
What really bothers me about this is some of the big guys,
the big companies--you know, Tim Cook can get into the White
House, great, save the phones--but the soybean farmer in a
little county in Minnesota does not have that phone number. He
cannot get into that meeting on Wall Street with the Treasury
Secretary. I am just afraid that these smaller farmers and
ranchers are going to be roadkill if this is not resolved as
soon as possible.
The top three countries targeted for tariffs--Mexico,
Canada, and China--are also our top three agriculture export
markets, and account for half of all U.S. agriculture exports.
We are already seeing retaliation, and our farmers have said
they want aid, not trade. I do appreciate, again, you, Mr.
Lindberg, in our discussions about the need to make sure that
we have export markets, because there are so many opportunities
out there, and we need to get this settled as soon as possible.
We are also considering your nomination, Mr. Westhill. This
is a critically important position where you will be tasked
with ensuring that every farmer and every USDA employee is
treated with the respect and fairness that they deserve.
Historically, the USDA has not always done so, both for the
farmers it serves and the federal workers dedicating their
careers to public service. Despite progress made in recent
years, we know there is more work to be done, and this is
particularly important as we have seen some of the actions from
this Administration.
I appreciated our conversation very much, and as you know I
expressed concerns, some of which you will hear today, about
some of the ongoing issues with civil rights. I do look forward
to hearing from you today. I welcome you and your family to
this Committee room.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Chairman Boozman. Thank you, Senator Klobuchar.
Today we are joined by our colleague from South Dakota,
Senator Rounds, who will introduce our nominee, Mr. Luke
Lindberg. Thank you for being here, Senator Rounds. It is
always great to have you around the Committee. You are
certainly a tireless advocate for the farm community and for
rural America. With that, go ahead and proceed.
Senator Rounds. Mr. Chairman, first of all thank you,
Chairman Boozman, Ranking Member Klobuchar, and distinguished
Members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry. It is my honor to introduce Mr. Luke Lindberg as the
nominee for Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and
Foreign Agricultural Affairs.
Luke is imminently qualified for this role after dedicating
his career to expanding markets for producers. He is joined by
his wife Brittany, and several other family members. South
Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden is also in attendance to support
his nomination.
Luke originally hails from Vermont. He later earned a
Master of Business Administration, a Master of Public Policy,
and a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Politics from the
University of Maryland.
After meeting his wife Brittany while working in
Washington, DC, Luke made the wise decision to make South
Dakota his home. As a proud South Dakotan, Luke enjoys
participating in all of the activities that make our state
great, including hunting and outdoor recreation. I can attest
to the fact that he is enjoying shooting an occasional rooster
in the fields, as well.
Luke previously served as the Chief of Staff and Chief
Strategy Officer at the Export-Import Bank of the United
States. As a top EXIM official, he was responsible for
overseeing daily agency functions and executing key
initiatives. This includes efforts to expand new markets for
American liquified natural gas, or LNG, and securing America's
supply of critical minerals and rare earths. In recognition of
his leadership at EXIM, Luke earned the Distinguished Service
Award.
Shortly after settling into his home, Luke realized South
Dakota was one of the few states without a trade association.
He quickly moved to establish South Dakota Trade. This
organization works to expand markets through trade missions and
export education. As President and CEO of South Dakota Trade,
Luke conducted five trade missions in a two-year period. During
this time, he traveled to several nations to promote South
Dakota agricultural products. These trips helped foster
important relationships between our producers and foreign
buyers. As American producers contend with trade deficits, it
is clear we need leaders who understand complex agricultural
markets.
Throughout his career, Luke has consistently stood up for
farmers and ranchers. He was a strong pick by President Trump
and will do an outstanding job as Under Secretary for Trade and
Foreign Agricultural Affairs. I urge you to support this very
highly qualified nominee.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member.
Senator Klobuchar. I also see, peeking behind you there,
Senator Rounds, is the Governor of South Dakota. Is that
correct?
Senator Rounds. Governor Larry Rhoden. Yes.
Senator Klobuchar. Very good.
Senator Rounds. We are very, very pleased to have him here.
Senator Klobuchar. We welcome him, as well. Thank you for
being here. I know my Midwest Governors.
Chairman Boozman. We are on a roll, Senator Klobuchar. You
know, last Committee hearing we had Babydog. Now we have got
the Governor of South Dakota. It is great.
Thank you, Mike, so much.
Devon Westhill is nominated to be Assistant Secretary of
Agriculture for Civil Rights. He is currently President and
General Counsel for the Center for Equal Opportunity, and led
the Civil Rights Office at the Department of Agriculture during
the first Trump Administration. He worked at the Department of
Labor as Deputy Secretary of the Office of Public Liaison. Mr.
Westhill is a Navy veteran and a graduate of the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Florida.
With that let's go ahead and take the oath. Thank you all
again for being here. Thank you for your willingness to serve.
If you will come forward we will administer the oath, and then
we will have the testimonies.
Please stand and raise your right hand.
Do you swear or affirm that the statements you are about to
provide is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth, so help you God?
Mr. Lindberg. I do.
Mr. Westhill. I do.
Chairman Boozman. Do you agree that if confirmed you will
respond to the request to appear and testify before any duly
constituted Committee of the Senate?
Mr. Lindberg. I do.
Mr. Westhill. I do.
Chairman Boozman. Good. Thank you. You can be seated.
Mr. Lindberg, you are up.
STATEMENT OF LUKE LINDBERG, OF SOUTH DAKOTA, TO BE UNDER
SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE FOR TRADE AND FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL
AFFAIRS
Mr. Lindberg. Chairman Boozman, Ranking Member Klobuchar,
and distinguished Members of this Committee, I am humbled to
come before you today as President Donald J. Trump's nominee
for Under Secretary of Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs
at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. I would also like to
thank Secretary Rollins and the great team at USDA, including
hopefully my future colleague, Mr. Devon Westhill, my wife and
children, John and Lucy, who are here, as well, with me today.
My wife Brittany, has served this great country as a
supportive family member for most of her life, and her
willingness to embark upon this next phase of civic engagement,
alongside me, is inspiring and really epitomizes the Godly
woman she has become. Thank you, Brittany, for being here.
Should you confirm me for this position, this will not be
the first time I have served as an American Diplomat. In
President Trump's first administration, I served as Chief of
Staff at the Export-Import Bank of the United States where I
led key initiatives on the great power competition with China,
liquified natural gas exports, and securing America's supply of
critical minerals and rare earths. I also led EXIM's
involvement in the execution of the historic and ground-
breaking Abraham Accords, a series of bilateral agreements
normalizing relations between countries in the Middle East.
Over the past several years, I have served as President and
CEO of South Dakota Trade, the top diplomatic posting in my
home state, which is second in the Nation in per capita
agricultural exports. In this position, I led trade missions to
Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, and Israel, generating millions in sales
for South Dakota farmers and ranchers, and in so doing held
bilateral meetings with President Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel,
Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim of Taiwan, and Mexico's then-
Minster of Agriculture and Rural Development Victor Villalobos.
Throughout my career, I have conducted business on six
continents and led teams of hundreds of staff overseas.
My journey, which has taken me across the world and back
again, several times over, started like many of you, in a small
town far from Washington, DC. I have a very distinct memory of
standing in front of our brick, town hall in Norwich, Vermont--
which I believe Senator Welch has been to--waving a campaign
sign for my mother, who was running for Town Treasurer and who
is here with us today. That was a special day for me, first
because Mom won her election, and second in that it was the day
I realized that democratic, freedom-loving nations are only
sustainable if people are willing to serve.
My college pastor, Matt Nichols, who is also here with us
today, and who prayed over my family before this hearing,
helped me to identify a ``life verse'' that aligned with this
calling to public service. Proverbs 31, verse 8 says ``Speak up
for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of
all who are destitute.'' I can think of no greater calling than
to speak up on behalf of rural Americans at this moment in
time.
Many of my friends and neighbors, many of whom are here
today, have asked what I hope to accomplish should I be
confirmed to this role. My answer is quite simple. President
Trump said it best when he nominated me: ``Luke will make sure
American farmers and ranchers get the smart trade deals that
they deserve.''
America's agricultural trade deficit, which is the worst in
American history, is driven by a number of factors, but
principally by the lack of an America First Trade Agenda that
prioritizes market access for our farmers and ranchers. For too
long, we have let other countries access our market and have
not negotiated reciprocal access to theirs.
Recently, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative
solicited public comment on unfair trade practices forced upon
our great American producers by other nations. I took the time
to read every single submission that comments on agriculture.
In so doing, I was reminded that 75 percent of the seafood,
over half of the fruit, and 35 percent of the vegetables we
consume in America are imported. Our ethanol producers are no
longer competitive in Brazil because of Brazilian import
tariffs. Our hog farmers cannot export pork to Brazil, India,
Nigeria, Jamaica, Namibia, or Thailand. Mexico has enjoyed a
557 percent increase in specialty crop imports into the United
States in just the last decade. Canada has rigged the USMCA
agreement terms against our dairy and wheat farmers. The
European Union is responsible for roughly half of our overall
trade deficit, $23.6 billion, and yet it routinely shuts out
our products at the altar of non-scientific based claims.
There is really too much to say about China in this set of
opening remarks, but a stark comment that stuck out to me came
from representatives of American corn farmers who said that
``U.S. corn growers cannot rely on China as an export market.''
However, in the midst of all of the feedback, one story
that lives in my memory is that of a family from Georgia, who
captain a shrimp boat. The husband and wife commented that they
have noticed a 70 percent reduction in shrimp trawlers due to a
flood of imports from foreign nations that process their shrimp
in unsanitary conditions we would never allow in the U.S.
The Honorable Henry Kissinger once said, ``America has no
permanent enemies or friends, only interests.''
America's agricultural trade deficit is not impacting just
one region, one political constituency, or one segment of the
agricultural economy. We all are impacted, and we all must work
together to fix it together.
In addition to helping farmers and ranchers navigate short-
term changes aimed at more fair trade deals, I stand ready to
explore new export markets and also hold our existing export
markets accountable to the deals they made with our family
farms.
America has not lost our competitive edge in producing
food, fuel and fiber. We have merely abdicated our leadership
role in feeding the world by allowing others to rig the system
against us.
I humbly ask for your support for my nomination and for
your ongoing partnership should you confirm me for this role.
Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Lindberg can be found on
page 32 in the appendix.]
Chairman Boozman. Thank you, Mr. Lindberg.
Mr. Westhill, you are recognized.
STATEMENT OF DEVON WESTHILL, OF FLORIDA, TO BE ASSISTANT
SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
Mr. Westhill. Chairman Boozman, Ranking Member Klobuchar,
and distinguished Members of the Committee, it is the honor of
my life to get the opportunity to testify before you here
today, and I want to thank President Trump for that. This is
the second time he has entrusted me with the honor and duty to
head the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
(OASCR) at USDA--call it OASCR. If I am fortunate enough to be
confirmed, I would cherish the opportunity to work alongside
Secretary Rollins and the numerous wonderful people with whom I
served in President Trump's first term, including career
officials, and many tremendous new colleagues like Luke here.
That would not be possible without the support of my little
family who have stuck beside me all these years, and who are
here with me today. Allow me to introduce them please. First is
sweet baby girl, Madeline Sophia, who as it turns out is one of
the most fashionable, if not the most fashionable ever to
appear before this Committee. I have said since her day one she
is super smart, super funny, and very advanced for her age. I
have been proven right on that many times in her eight years.
Next is my son, Benjamin. He is our scholar athlete, number
seven, Big Ben, quarterback and linebacker on the Jax Beach
Sharks, and the most amazing person in the whole wide world.
That is objectively speaking, is my wife here with me, the
beautiful, wonderful, lovely Michelle Westhill. Thank you all
for being here.
It is such an honor for me to be here because I have spent
my entire career dedicated to the public interest via nonprofit
leadership and government service. This is the fourth time I
have volunteered to serve my country. The first was as a
teenager in the United States Navy, the second was at the U.S.
Department of Labor, and the third was within the very office
to which I am nominated to lead again. My principal aim in all
these endeavors was to be a small part of our shared project to
form a more perfect union. Specific to the role for which I am
interviewing today, that means ensuring civil rights
protection, equal opportunity, and equal justice under the law
for everyone.
That mission is very personal to me. I was born a poor
black child and raised in the South alongside my two siblings
by our single mother. It was hardscrabble. Being born into
tough circumstances is not at all unusual, of course. In fact,
it is, for the vast majority of mankind, what we have
experienced. For my siblings and me, we had two things that
made all the difference in our lives compared to untold numbers
of others. We had an extraordinary mother who loved us, who
wanted the best for us, and who set an outstanding example for
us, and we were Americans.
Like my heroes Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington
who went before me, I have observed that in America the mere
connection with race, color, or ethnicity, or one's starting
point in life will not permanently carry an individual forward
unless he has individual worth, nor finally hold an individual
back if he possesses intrinsic, individual merit. So long as we
do not allow our grievances to overshadow our opportunities,
the sky is the limit in this country. I am living proof of
that. That is the true history of America and the crux of the
American Dream. We must keep it that way. I have been a voice
for this perspective for a long time, and hope to continue to
be.
If I am confirmed, I want to pick up where I left off in
focusing OASCR on its core duties: communicating from the top
to the bottom that civil rights will be vigorously enforced at
USDA; being laser focused on improving our core complaint
processing work; and ensuring the development and deployment of
effective proactive prevention measures.
We were very successful in the first term in this regard.
For example, we improved the timeliness of EEO complaint
investigations from 61 percent to 100 percent within three
months of my arrival. We grew a model EEO Program pursuant to
EEOC requirements from 61 percent to 85 percent within six
months of my arrival. Prior to my departure, we developed and
implemented new department-wide civil rights, anti-harassment,
and reasonable accommodation policies.
Should the Senate confirm me as Assistant Secretary for
Civil Rights at USDA, you may be surprised to learn, it will be
only the first time since the Obama Administration that a
Senate-confirmed leader will have headed that office. That, of
course, is no way to maintain a statutorily mandated Federal
Government office, nor is it fair to the 100,000 employees and
millions of customers who want to do business with USDA on
equal footing. I mention this merely to point out the gravity
of the moment for civil rights at USDA. If that long span of
vacancy in Senate-confirmed leadership is broken by my
confirmation, I commit to you to carry out the responsibilities
of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at USDA with the
utmost integrity.
Once again, I am beyond honored to get the opportunity to
testify before you today. I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Westhill can be found on
page 35 in the appendix.]
Chairman Boozman. Well, thank you both for your testimony.
We will begin now a round of questions. Each Member will have
five minutes. Before I ask my questions I would like to add
letters of support from various farm groups for Mr. Lindberg
and Mr. Westhill's nominations into the record. Without
objection, so ordered.
[The letters can be found on pages 38-49 in the appendix.]
Chairman Boozman. Mr. Lindberg, this year the U.S.
agriculture trade deficit, as you mentioned, is projected to
reach a record ^$49 billion. If confirmed, how will you work to
ensure that the broader tariff negotiations being driven by
USTR prioritize greater market access for U.S. agriculture
exports?
Mr. Lindberg. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I appreciate the
time we spent together discussing these various issues.
If you ask many of my colleagues at South Dakota Trade or
other people I have worked with in the past, you will often
hear them say that I believe exporting is a team sport, and we
must work together to accomplish the exact tasks that you are
discussing today.
For me, getting back to surplus would be my number one
priority in this capacity. I believe that on day one I would
walk into my office, draw the number ^$49 billion on the white
board, and begin to invite farm groups in from all across the
farm economy to figure out where the countries, where the
markets, what are the products, and what are those dollar
values that get us back to surplus.
Then I want to be an advocate in the interagency process to
make sure that the folks at USTR, the folks at Commerce, the
folks at Treasury all know and understand what those priority
markets are, what those priority products are for our
agriculture community members and then we go out and start to
win the day, go on the offense.
Chairman Boozman. Really, in follow up to that, if
confirmed, you will oversee the premier trade programs, the
Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development Program,
which again are so vital to our producers. Can you describe
your experience with MAP and FMD and how you view their role in
helping build, expand, and maintain markets for the U.S.?
Mr. Lindberg. Happy to do so. Yes, sir. In my role as
President and CEO of South Dakota Trade we have, as mentioned
previously, led a number of trade missions overseas, in
partnership with a group, the Food Export Midwest Program,
which uses those funding programs, MAP and FMD, to support our
agricultural producers overseas. On every one of those trade
missions, also engaged the Foreign Agricultural Service staff
in-country to set up meetings for us, to help guide our
agendas, to get Governor Rhoden and other folks in the room
with the right counterparts for bilateral discussions to help
advance our agriculture community's needs in those specific
markets.
I would look forward to working with many of the staff in
those programs that I have worked with in the past to execute
on their mission.
Chairman Boozman. Very good. Mr. Westhill, based on your
insights gleaned from previous experience in this role at USDA,
what recommendations do you have to ensure that all USDA
employees are treated with respect, that their civil rights are
protected, and if violations occur, that individuals are not
fearful of retaliation?
Mr. Westhill. Senator, thank you for the question, and
first of all I refer back to my opening statement. What we have
to do is ensure, at OASCR, the Office of the Assistant
Secretary for Civil Rights, that its core complaint processing
work is going well.
Unfortunately, when I arrived at that office in the last
term we inherited quite a backlog of EEO complaints. What I
want to make sure--and we rectified that, as I mentioned--what
I want to make sure is that if I encountered that sort of
backlog again that it is dispensed with very quickly, once
again, within three months or faster. We have a history of
being successful with that. We would want to do that again.
I think the proof is in the pudding when it comes to that.
Individuals at USDA will understand that their civil rights are
going to be enforced, that the leadership is committed to that.
I think at the end of the day what we want to do is ensure that
folks understand their rights and responsibilities, as well.
Those proactive prevention techniques that I mentioned--
training and so forth--ensure that those are in place, as well.
Chairman Boozman. Very good. Senator Klobuchar.
Senator Klobuchar. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I guess
I will start with you, Mr. Westhill, just to finish up here. At
its founding, President Lincoln referred to USDA as ``the
people's department.'' As Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights,
if confirmed, you would be responsible for ensuring USDA and
its agencies comply with all civil rights laws. If confirmed,
what is your plan to ensure compliance with civil rights laws,
especially with respect to farm programs, and will you work to
rebuild the relationship with farmers who have been involved
with civil rights issues and have long distrusted the
Department?
Mr. Westhill. Senator, thank you for the question. I will
start with sort of the latter part of the question. I am
absolutely committed to building relationships with all
customers and employees at USDA. Any who want to do business
with USDA should be able to do that on equal footing, and you
have my commitment there.
When it comes to enforcing civil rights and ensuring folks
understand their rights and responsibilities around those
things, I do not think it is rocket science. It is a pretty
clear playbook. One, communicate from the top to the bottom
that civil rights will be vigorously enforced, that it is a
priority. Second, ensure that folks understand their rights and
responsibilities. You know, it is important to have a robust,
proactive prevention technique plan. Then finally, to hold
folks accountable, to really show that you are enforcing those
civil rights. When opportunities come to investigate very
deeply any issues that come to light, that you are doing those
things and that everyone at USDA, the employees and the
customers, understand that you are taking those things
seriously.
Senator Klobuchar. The 2018 Farm Bill requires the USDA, in
law, to conduct civil rights impact analysis with respect to
USDA employment, programs, activities. If confirmed, will you
commit to analyzing adverse or disproportionate impact with
respect to proposed program changes or reorganizations at USDA,
including conducting a civil rights impact analysis?
Mr. Westhill. I think it is critical to ensure that any
major programs at USDA are evaluated for civil rights issues,
and I am committed to ensuring that we do that at USDA, as I
did in this role in the first term.
Senator Klobuchar. Thank you. Mr. Lindberg, what
opportunities do you see for market expansion in other
countries for American agriculture products?
Mr. Lindberg. Senator, thanks again for the question, and
thank you for spending some time with me prior to this. I
appreciated our conversation leading up to this hearing today.
I believe there is a number of markets that American
agriculture producers should be taking advantage of, that are
currently not at full capacity. India would be my top priority
for a market that we should be doing better in--1.4 billion
consumers in India. I am excited to hear this morning that
Secretary Bessent is making progress on a trade deal with
India.
One of the markets that concerns me the most is the $23.6
billion trade deficit we have with the European Union, and the
basket of goods that we produce and the basket of goods they
produce is too eerily similar, and the trade deficit is too
wide, that we should have more market access for our producers
in the European Union. Two examples.
Senator Klobuchar. Thank you, and hopefully we can do trade
agreements with other countries. I think you all know I was a
fan of the USMCA. There is still work that has to be done on
dairy and other improvements. To me that is the way we should
be going instead of where we are.
By the way, I was also pleased with the change in India on
frozen turkey during the last administration. I understand that
is still in place.
I recently led 18 of our colleagues in pressing the U.S.
Trade Representative on the impacts that the President's tariff
agenda will have on farmers, seeking clarity, and I would like
to ask that the letter be entered in the record.
Chairman Boozman. Without objection.
[The letter can be found on page 50 in the appendix.]
Senator Klobuchar. I think you know, Mr. Lindberg, there
are many--this is a Minnesota euphemism--strong personalities
surrounding the President and giving advice on trade. How will
you advocate for American farmers and be a voice for preserving
and expanding new export markets?
Mr. Lindberg. Thank you, Senator, and I did read the letter
you submitted to Ambassador Greer, and I look forward to
working with the Ambassador. When I was Chief of Staff at the
Export-Import Bank, Ambassador Greer was Chief of Staff at USTR
in the first Trump Administration. I have similarly several
colleagues in the Commerce Department incoming, as well as in
the Treasury Department, which are the three lead organizations
right now on trade negotiations. I look forward to working
closely with each of them to ensure that our farmers' voices
are well represented in those discussions.
Senator Klobuchar. I appreciated our discussion on export
promotion programs, and I know you talked to the Chairman about
that. Will you also commit to ensuring that RAP, the Regional
Agriculture Promotion Program, remains in place for export
market development?
Mr. Lindberg. I will absolutely commit to the fact that we
need to have programs that help reduce our trade deficit, and
the export promotion programs help us do that.
Senator Klobuchar. Thank you. How can USDA work to make
domestic specialty crop growers more competitive when facing
cheaper imports? I think we all know, maybe these should not
even be called specialty crops, it is like potatoes, tomatoes,
things we eat might be a better way to describe it. Could you
just answer about the cheaper imports, what is going on, on
that front?
Mr. Lindberg. Sure. Our specialty crop producers absolutely
should be exporting more in their own way. Secretary Rollins
recently announced that the technical expertise that the
Foreign Agriculture Service offers to our specialty crop
producers and the foreign markets they sell into, making sure
that there are no non-tariff barriers on those exports markets
is something that I look forward to working on.
Senator Klobuchar. Thank you.
Mr. Lindberg. Thank you.
Chairman Boozman. Senator Hyde-Smith.
Senator Hyde-Smith. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you
to both of you for being here today with your families. It is
certainly an exciting day for everyone, and I am excited about
your leadership and look forward to that.
Mr. Lindberg, Mississippi leads the Nation in catfish
production, yet our producers face a lot of unfair competition,
unfair subsidized low-cost and sometimes unsafe imported
catfish, particularly from Vietnam. Growers in Mississippi and
across the South raise high-quality, sustainably-grown, farm-
raised catfish, and they follow very strict environmental,
labor, and health standards.
How will you work with the U.S. Trade Representative and
the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service to ensure strict
enforcement of inspection standards to prevent unsafe imports
from harming consumers and domestic catfish producers?
Mr. Lindberg. Thank you, Senator. I appreciate this, and we
discussed this in your office, and I very much look forward to
working with you and your staff to ensure that our domestic
catfish producers do get the market here in America that they
deserve.
Certainly somebody will have to explain to me someday how
the United States of America, with two oceans on each side of
us, and the mighty Mississippi, and the Great Lakes and all of
these things, and yet we are importing 75 percent of our
seafood that we consume. I will absolutely work across my
agency, at USDA, should I be confirmed for this role, to ensure
that exactly what you are saying, as well as with our
interagency partners, to make sure our catfish producers have
the ability to sell here domestically.
Senator Hyde-Smith. Thank you. Mr. Westhill, Congress, in
2023, provided $3.7 billion in relief to support producers who
had experienced economic losses due to natural disasters.
Unfortunately, the Biden Administration changed the Emergency
Relief Program without input from Congress and with disregard
for congressional intent. As a result, some of the hardest-hit
producers were left behind while they also wrestled with
historically high inflation, input costs, and also the low
commodity prices.
Will you commit to ensuring fair and equal access to USDA
programs for all farmers, regardless of operation size and
background?
Mr. Westhill. Thank you, Senator, for the question. I think
it is important for me to say that I have to ensure that I
skate within my lane. My job, if I am fortunate enough to be
confirmed, is to ensure that everyone who wants to do business
with USDA, any of the customers, in any of the areas across a
very big department, are able to do that without any arbitrary
barriers on any basis that is covered under civil rights laws.
I commit to ensuring that individuals will be free from
discrimination in participating in any USDA programs.
Senator Hyde-Smith. Thank you. Back to Mr. Lindberg, the
livestock and poultry producers in Mississippi and around the
country have taken huge financial hits from animal diseases,
like high-path avian influenza. Some countries, like China, use
these disease outbreaks as an excuse for unjustified trade
barriers that are not science based. We saw this in BSE in
early 2000, when it took 13 years for China to buy our beef
again. It is something that I worked on as the Mississippi
Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce during that time; that
was just their excuse--you had an outbreak.
What steps will you take to ensure that international trade
restrictions imposed on U.S. products are science-based and
lifted promptly when conditions warrant?
Mr. Lindberg. Thank you, Senator, for the question. I 100
percent believe that tariff barriers are one aspect of trade
policy that countries use against our farmers and ranchers.
There are a lot of non-tariff barriers, and one of the ones you
are discussing today is vitally important to them, to have that
market access and be able to get beyond that.
As the Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural
Affairs I will lead the Codex Office, which is our effort to
work with the agencies around the world, or different countries
around the world, to make sure we have a set of agricultural
standards that meet the needs of our farmers and ranchers. That
would be one avenue that I would work through to make sure that
exactly the case you are listing here today was fixed, and
through that avenue make sure that we set the appropriate
standards that benefit our farmers and ranchers.
I am also a fierce advocate. I want to show up in those
countries and knock the door down and say to them, it is time
to open up, and it is time to move forward, and this is no
longer acceptable under President Trump and the America First
Trade Agenda. I look forward to doing that and getting on an
airplane and being there to actually make sure that those get
implemented in a timely manner.
Senator Hyde-Smith. I look forward to that, as well. Thank
you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Boozman. Senator Welch.
Senator Welch. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Delighted
to be here.
Mr. Lindberg, I really enjoyed our visit in the office,
and, of course, quite proud of you and your family connection
to Vermont, and Norwich, Vermont, where I live, welcome.
I want to acknowledge your experience is really quite
perfect for the job for which you are being considered, so I
want to acknowledge my respect for the work you have done and
what you bring to this.
This is where it gets really tough for me. My view on these
tariffs is that they are catastrophic for the farmers, and that
is based on roundtable discussions I have had with many Vermont
farmers. We import a lot of our fertilizer from Canada, in many
cases our grain. The dilemma I have is the dilemma you will
face. You can be the best negotiator possible, but if there are
administration policies that make an uphill climb, an up-
mountain climb, how are you going to deal with that? You have
no control over the tariff policies, but those are hammering
our farmers in Vermont right now, and I suspect all across the
country.
How do you deal with that?
Mr. Lindberg. Yes, thank you, Senator, and I appreciated
again our time together.
I believe that President Trump has demonstrated an ability
to sign and execute new trade agreements. In his first time he
signed significant bipartisan trade agreements, including
USMCA, and 50 total agreements that supported over one million
jobs.
My faith is in the fact that we are going to get better
deals for farmers, and that is what he has tasked me to do. I
think through those deals there will be a boon to our farming
economy.
Senator Welch. All right. I understand you do not have any
say or influence over the tariff policy. You just have to deal
with the hand you are given. I do, as I expressed to you
privately, and say publicly, I think these tariffs are going to
make your job much more difficult, and the day-to-day economics
of our farmers much more difficult.
Second, the USDA, Vermont farmers love it. It really has a
great reputation. It is a lean-and-mean machine, and we are
seeing cuts in the number of staff. I object to that, and they
do not seem to have any rhyme or reason. The foreign assistance
folks are also getting cut.
How are you going to contend with doing a very demanding
job, a very important job, with these significant staff cuts
that appear to be taking place within USDA?
Mr. Lindberg. Yes. Senator, since I have not been in the
building yet I cannot comment on administration policy related
to staff plans, and I have not seen anything public about cuts
at this time to the Foreign Agricultural Service or the
organizations I will oversee in this capacity.
What I will say is that my experience working with the
Foreign Agricultural Service staff and the Codex staff in my
past capacities is that they do provide a very valuable service
and have done, generally speaking, a very excellent job
globally to represent our farmers and ranchers, and I look
forward to working with them in this capacity.
Senator Welch. Well, you have a very hard job, assuming you
are confirmed for it, and it appears that some of these forces
are going to make it more difficult. I wish you the best of
luck.
Mr. Westhill, equal opportunity, you are totally committed
to it. You are an incredible example of what can be done, where
you work hard and overcome whatever obstacles face you. Also,
obviously, you have some sensitivity that the deck is stacked,
in some ways, much more significantly for some people than
others. Correct?
Mr. Westhill. Senator, certainly people are disadvantaged.
There is no doubt about that.
Senator Welch. Right. There is a real administration
opposition to DEI, and from a distance it appears, oftentimes,
that means if the white person did not get the job there is
suspect about whether there has been preferential treatment.
That has been an action that has been taken by this
Administration.
What is your observation about the Administration action so
far about DEI, on university campuses, going after law firms,
going after private entities, that really, in my view, should
not be subject to the willful action of the Executive.
Mr. Westhill. Senator, thank you very much for the
question. I am not familiar with the specific example that you
cited in terms of the white person getting the job.
Senator Welch. Skadden, Arps. Paul, Weiss. I mean, these
are law firms where the Administration is saying that they do
not like their hiring practices.
Mr. Westhill. Sir, what I have noticed, from the outside,
what I have observed is that the President has put together
what I think is a very bold agenda for civil right advancement.
Anything that goes against the advancement of civil rights as
it exists and in the law will not be tolerated. The executive
orders, for example, that I have read--once again, not seeing
what the implementation is like inside the Administration yet--
if I am fortunate enough to be confirmed I will be able to
evaluate that. It looks to me like anything that is
discriminatory, the President said that is going to be
prohibited. That is exactly what civil rights laws are meant to
do.
Senator Welch. Thank you very much. I yield back.
Chairman Boozman. Senator Hoeven.
Senator Hoeven. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to welcome
both of you, and Mr. Lindberg, I understand you have ties,
based on the esteemed Senator from Vermont making references to
your ties in the New England area of the country. Really, now
we consider you a Dakotan. We are very pleased to not only see
you here and your wonderful family--and I want to welcome all
of your families--and also the Governor and First Lady. Thank
you for being here. Great to see all of you. Mr. Westhill, as
well, your family. Great to see them here, as well.
My first question is for you, Mr. Lindberg. Undoubtedly,
you are a South Dakota State Jackrabbits fan, and, of course,
that is a very big rival to the North Dakota State Bison. If
you are confirmed for this position, are you going to be able
to set that rivalry aside and be fair to the North Dakota
farmers and ranchers, as well as all of our other great
ranchers and farmers across this country?
Mr. Lindberg. I will.
Senator Hoeven. Very good. All right. The other questions
are going to be easier. No doubt about it.
Mr. Lindberg. Go Yotes.
Senator Hoeven. Oh, really? The Coyotes?
Mr. Lindberg. All my Jacks fans at home, Go Jacks. Go
Yotes.
Senator Hoeven. All right. I gotcha. Well, we have got a
good school too at both the University and North Dakota State.
We are great rivals, and, of course, if the South Dakota teams
win, I always root for them as they go on to the national
playoffs.
Okay. First question is the CCC. The Commodity Credit
Corporation is an incredibly important tool that we need and we
use for our farmers and ranchers, in a lot of different
instances, one of which was the MFP back during the first Trump
Administration, when we were taking on China in regard to
tariffs and other trade issues.
Do you feel it is an important tool and that we continue to
keep it as an important tool for agriculture?
Mr. Lindberg. I do.
Senator Hoeven. The next one is Sugar Program is a huge
industry in our state. Our Ranking Member just left, but also
Senator Smith is on this Committee. That is probably north of a
$3 billion industry, family based farms in North Dakota,
Minnesota, probably not as much in South Dakota. Incredibly
important businesses in agriculture sector for our state.
The Sugar Program is incredibly important, and it is
absolutely aligned with what President Trump is trying to do,
and make sure that we do not have unfair trade practices, we do
not have dumping into this country that wipe out our domestic
industry.
Do you support the Sugar Program, and that it is enforced
strictly?
Mr. Lindberg. I do.
Senator Hoeven. Okay. As far as trade, and you may have
said some of these in your opening remarks. I apologize I was
not able to be here. We all want a level playing field, right?
We share the goals and objectives of the Trump Administration
in terms of getting better terms for our producers, for our
exporters, as well as helping our economy here at home.
Talk about how you are going to help us work through the
short-term disruption to get to the long-term goals that we all
share.
Mr. Lindberg. Yes. Thank you, Senator. I appreciate that.
What I believe is that as Secretary Bessent mentioned this
morning, there are trade deals on the horizon in the short run
here, and that we will see new market access generated through
President Trump's negotiations. I look forward to the boon that
will come to our family farms when we get those trade deals
signed in the not too distant future.
The President has also made very clear, through a post he
put out on social media, that he will have the farmers' and
ranchers' backs should there be a need for that, at that time.
I believe that that will not be necessary at this moment, but
certainly I will follow the President's direction, and should
that be needed in the future we will be there to support them.
Senator Hoeven. Okay. Have you had substantial dialog with
the USTR already, and talked to Jamieson Greer about how you
can work to effectuate better terms for our producers?
Mr. Lindberg. I do not think that would be appropriate for
me at this stage to have those substantive discussions.
Ambassador Greer and I served as Chief of Staff. He was at USTR
and I was at EXIM in the first Trump Administration. We built a
relationship through that. I look forward to having regular
communications with Ambassador Greer and his team.
Senator Hoeven. Yes. He is a very impressive guy. His
approach is spot-on, absolutely solid. He has got a great
staff. I think working together you guys can do a great deal.
My final question is in regard to the farm bill. In the
opinion of myself, and I think others on this Committee, we
have to have affordable crop insurance, and we have to update
ARC and PLC reference prices and have a viable counter cyclical
safety net. Though I know you are going to be discussing trade
agreements, along with MAP and the FMD program, do you share
agreement with that approach on behalf of our farmers and
ranchers?
Mr. Lindberg. I certainly would love to utilize the MAP and
FMD program to open up vast new market opportunities for our
farmers and ranchers.
Senator Hoeven. All right. Out of respect for my time, Mr.
Westhill, I will save my questions.
Chairman Boozman. Senator Slotkin.
Senator Slotkin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Welcome to both
of you. I want to pick up on something that Senator Hoeven was
talking about, and that is acknowledging that there is real
short-term pain that will be directed at our farmers due to the
tariff policy. I think what is happening now is we are saying
the quiet part out loud. You are repeating what President Trump
said and what Secretary Rollins alluded to, which is we will
help pay for farmers to get them through this short-term pain.
Just to review the bidding, as someone who lives on our
family soybean farm, it now grows soybeans and corn, under the
first Trump Administration the President did what seemed, I
think, like a normal activity. He put 15 percent tariffs on
Chinese goods, a bunch of Chinese batteries, pork, a bunch of
things.
That we can control. It is the retaliation we cannot
control. China retaliated. The put huge retaliatory tariffs,
particularly aimed at soybean farmers. We had $27 billion of
agricultural losses, and our soybean farmers lost 15 percent
market share. We never got it back. China buys their soybeans
from Brazil and from Argentina. We never got it back. How did
the Trump Administration cover down on those losses, because
the farmers, as you can imagine, were losing their minds? We
paid them, with taxpayer dollars, paid for by this Committee,
to the tune of $23 billion in what people would call government
checks, welfare checks. Farmers hate taking welfare. They just
want to compete.
I do not think there is a question on the desire,
particularly against China, to go after them and their unfair
trading practices. It is that we cannot control where the trade
war goes.
Can you acknowledge that that is the accurate description
of what happened for soybean farmers in the last administration
from that trade war?
Mr. Lindberg. Senator, thank you for the question, and I
appreciate the fact that you are a family farmer. That is
wonderful. Thank you for giving me a chance to comment on it.
If you look at the trade data from our Phase One trade
negotiations with China in the first Trump Administration, the
agricultural exports when tariffs were implemented by President
Trump did have a drop in the subsequent year after the tariffs
were implemented.
If you look at the trade data the year after the China
Phase One deal was signed between the U.S. and China,
agricultural exports went up to 39 percent higher than pre-
tariff levels. Before the tariffs started, after the tariffs
went into place, we saw a dip. We saw market facilitation
payments happen. Then the year after that occurred, a 39
percent increase on what was pre-tariff levels for agricultural
exports to China.
Senator Slotkin. Then why were we cutting checks to farmers
from this Committee, literally, taxpayer dollars. Not something
to sneeze at. Why were we having to subsidize our farmers who
just wanted to compete in this field? Honestly. The stats sound
great, and I would be thrilled, right. I am a CIA officer. No
one wants to push back on China more than me. The truth is we
paid, from this Committee, checks to farmers to get them
through, and then completely lost that market share.
I think we need to acknowledge. I had a big farm kind of
town hall in Frankenmuth, Michigan, on Friday. These are folks
who are not Democrats. That is for sure. They are stressed out
about the potential retaliation. You combine that with the
immigration issues, right. They have legal, vetted immigrants
who are not showing up to work because they are scared. Our
farmers have just a high level of uncertainty right now, and I
just ask you to again--we do not want to subsidize with
basically welfare checks, our farmers, because of trade policy.
Please, please, stand in the breach on that.
Another topic, I want to add to the chorus on the unfair
trade practices that lots of countries use with us. I want to
put it on your radar that I want you to go into battle with the
country of Turkey on tart cherries. We would love you to do
blueberries, asparagus, potatoes. Go to battle. Go launch. I
want to know what you will specifically do, particularly for
the specialty crop folks on this end of the dais, to make sure
that even some of the smaller countries that we do trade with
are going to get some hammers.
Mr. Lindberg. Yes. I believe in an all-of-the-above trade
approach. The America First Trade Agenda, I believe, calls for
that. We need to do big deals, little deals, medium deals, and
all kinds of deals to make sure that we get that market access.
Not only will I again be working with my interagency
colleagues to make sure that we are advocating for our farmers
and ranchers in these trade discussions we are having today.
The Foreign Agricultural Service does an excellent job of
maintaining a list of non-tariff barriers that our farmers are
facing around the world, and I will absolutely address those
every time I get the chance overseas, to meet with my
counterparts in other countries and break those down.
Senator Slotkin. Great. Please go to Turkey. Thank you. I
yield back.
Chairman Boozman. Senator Tuberville.
Senator Tuberville. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Gentlemen,
thanks for being here. Five-alarm fire. We are in trouble.
Agriculture Department and us, we have a big, big chore in
front of us. We are losing farmers every day. We lost 150,000
farms in the last four years. Our trade deficit has gotten
awful. It is not acceptable. The Biden Administration sat on
their hands for four years and did not do one trade deal, and
it looked like they tried to put our farmers out of business on
purpose. My God, I could not believe it. I sat here watching
it.
We have got to do something. I get calls every week, ``We
are going out of business.'' Worse the farmers have ever been.
We cannot do business as usual. Something has got to be done.
If we do not do that, we are going to lose them. It is going to
be over. We are going to be buying every bit of the food that
we eat out of this country. We saw what happened during COVID.
It was a disaster when we could not get drugs because China was
the only one making drugs.
I will get off my soapbox here and thank both of you for
what you are going to try to do.
Mr. Lindberg, cotton has weakened due to the surge of low-
value textile imports of synthetic fibers, all from Southeast
Asia. They come through an $800 de minimis loophole, and it is
killing us. President Trump has been working to close this
loophole.
Can you talk a little bit about that?
Mr. Lindberg. Senator, thank you, again, and I appreciate
you spending some time with me in your office to discuss these
issues prior to this. I enjoyed our conversation.
Absolutely, President Trump is taken seriously, based on
the news reports I have seen, the de minimis exemption, which
has been a tragedy for not only our cotton farmers but also for
manufacturers and a lot of other industries across America. I
will absolutely work alongside, and look forward to working
alongside our interagency colleagues to make sure that those de
minimis exemptions and things are held accountable and are
following the law of the land.
Our former Governor is now at the Department of Homeland
Security, and I am looking forward to working with her team at
Customs and Border Protection, as well, is one agency I had not
mentioned yet. Thank you.
Senator Tuberville. Well, you know, it sounds like a little
thing, but all those little things add up for our farmers.
Mr. Lindberg. They do.
Senator Tuberville. We have got to get better commodity
prices. If we do not, I mean, it is going to be over with for
United States farmers.
Mr. Westhill, how do you plan to approach and manage the
USDA career staffers in the Civil Rights Department that do not
support President Trump's agenda?
Mr. Westhill. Senator, I really appreciate the question,
and I will say, look, I think the career staffers that I worked
with in the first term were, many of them, consummate
professionals. In fact, one of them is here today, supporting
my nomination, as one of my guests. He served as the Chief of
Staff the entire time that I served in the first term.
I think the important thing to do is to put out a clear
vision for what your plan is. I think the vast majority of the
individuals who are in that office want to actually enforce
civil rights. That is why they went into that office. At the
end of the day, it is a civil rights office, not a DEI office.
I think that the vast majority of those individuals will get
behind President Trump's agenda, which is to advance civil
rights.
Senator Tuberville. Team USA. I mean, the only way we can
make it. We cannot do it by pulling each other apart.
Mr. Lindberg, the Biden Administration put U.S. cattle
producers at a competitive disadvantage and endangered the
American public by allowing imports of beef from Paraguay. It
is ridiculous. Paraguay cattle producers do not have the same
food safety standards as the U.S. Can you speak to USDA's plans
to ensure sufficient due diligence is done in these
inspections?
Mr. Lindberg. Sir, thank you for the question. For me, in
my role at USDA, as the Under Secretary for Foreign
Agricultural Affairs and Trade, that will be an effort by my
colleagues. I look forward to working with my colleagues and
making sure that they have timely market analysis and market
intelligence on those exact issues.
Senator Tuberville. Thank you. Also, our peanut growers in
my state, which is huge, and across the country have been at a
competitive disadvantage in the marketplace due to non-tariff
trade barriers on peanuts from aflatoxin in the European Union.
I asked Mr. Vaden this when he came through a few weeks ago,
and I will ask you too. Would you commit to ensuring USDA and
USTR work together on Trump's agenda to reduce trade barriers
and prioritize market access for all of our farmers?
Mr. Lindberg. I look forward to doing exactly that.
Senator Tuberville. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Boozman. Senator Smith.
Senator Smith. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I appreciate
this hearing. I want to just start actually by making a couple
of comments about nutrition programs and food programs, SNAP
and WIC, and school meals, and especially food banks, because I
know we are awaiting to see what the Republican budgets will
look like coming out of the House, and I am quite concerned
about what I am hearing about this.
I just want to draw my colleagues' attention to a couple of
things I had an opportunity to do in Minnesota last week, which
is to visit food shelves in Fairmont, Minnesota, Heaven's
Table, and also Pequot Lakes, Minnesota, the Lakes Area Food
Shelf. These are places where the community really comes
together to make sure that people can put food on the table.
What we, of course, see when we go to see these food banks are
working families, seniors, often people who are working but
their incomes are not high enough to be able to afford
groceries all month long, people living with disabilities.
These are the folks that are relying on these food banks.
We have seen, interestingly, in Minnesota, and I bet,
colleagues, it is the same around the country, since January,
food shelves have seen a significant increase in new families,
often people coming through the door for the very first time.
Of course, this is a problem in all different kinds of
communities, colleagues, and it is particularly a problem in
rural communities. In this country, 9 out of 10 counties with
the highest food insecurity rates are rural. In Minnesota, the
counties that are seeing the biggest increase in visits to food
shelves are also rural. For example, Nobles County--my
colleagues from South Dakota will recognize Nobles County, as
will Senator Klobuchar--in the far southwestern corner of
Minnesota, has seen an increase in food shelf visits of nearly
195 percent over the last year.
I draw attention to this, colleagues, because right now
what is happening is USDA is cutting the funds that are helping
food shelves meet their needs. The Emergency Food Assistance
Program has been frozen and cut, and this has had a dire impact
on the ability of food shelves in Minnesota and around the
country to help people. I really want to put a point on this as
we think about the big issues before us in the upcoming budget,
and the reconciliation budget, in particular.
Now, Mr. Lindberg, thank you for being here. Mr. Westhill,
thank you for being here. Mr. Lindberg, I want use the time I
have left to ask you about what we can do to create and
preserve export markets. I really appreciated my colleague,
Senator Klobuchar's, opening statements about how Minnesota
farmers and producers are kind of whip-sawed, really struggling
with a lot of the chaos around trade and tariffs. There is no
doubt in Minnesota farm country that the first Trump
Administration--you know, Minnesotans were hit hard with these
retaliatory tariffs, and in fact, in many places farmers have
yet to recover the lost market share from what happened in
those years.
I appreciated, in your testimony, you said that you were
ready to work with your counterparts across the Administration
to explore new markets, and I want to understand what that
might look like.
Here is an example. I have been strongly supportive of
reopening the Colombian market to American poultry products,
including turkeys produced in Minnesota. We are the number one
turkey producer. This is a long and arduous process to get
these new agreements put into place. Then, of course, President
Trump comes in. He announces a 25 percent tariff on Colombia,
and then he pulls that back, and then this month it was maybe
all items from Colombia would receive a 10 percent tariff. This
is the environment that we come into as we try to figure out
how to go forward.
My question for you is, how will you plan to work, how will
you go about this, as you are trying to build relationships and
new potential trading partners while, at the same time,
existing trade agreements are getting torn up, sometimes over
issues that have nothing related to trade itself? Like how do
you do the hard work of making agreements in that kind of
environment?
Mr. Lindberg. Thank you, Senator, for the opportunity to
comment on that. Certainly I appreciate what is going on in
southwestern Minnesota. I can see that corner of your state
from my house, actually, not far down the road.
My objective is absolutely to work with the interagency
partners that I will engage with across the Treasury, Commerce,
USTR functions. I think the Foreign Agricultural Service plays
a vital role in those discussions. We have market intelligence
that we provide back to feed into those discussions, and I
would look forward to providing that.
Again, I think one of the strengths I bring to the table
for this role specifically is not only have I worked with
Secretary Rollins at the America First Policy Institute for the
last three years, I have also engaged with many of my
counterparts who are already confirmed for senior-level roles
at those other organizations and agencies that I will be
working with.
To me it is a bringing together of like-minded folks to
make sure that our farmers and ranchers opinions are well
represented at those tables.
Senator Smith. Thank you for that. I know I am out of time,
Mr. Chair. I just want to make a point that it is difficult to
reach agreements when there is so much inconsistency in the
policy. Those agreements are reached because there is a sense
of trust and a sense of continuity in whether those agreements
are going to be abided by or not. I think that makes it
particularly difficult for anybody to try to reach new trade
deals in this environment.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Chairman Boozman. Thank you. Senator Justice.
Senator Justice. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member. I
guess if I could just talk to all of you, you know, I would say
to Mr. Lindberg, to Mr. Westhill, to your families, thank you
so much for being here in every way. Governor, it is a real
honor to have you, because you have come a long way, and you
have come a long way in support. All of you--all of you that
are sitting out here are basically wondering, well really, what
is going to happen? What is going to happen? These two
individuals, I mean, it could not be more diverse if you really
think about it, from civil rights to trade. It is a long, long
ways apart, isn't it?
Really, what it really boils down to it, you are Team
Agriculture today. Because Tuberville, you know, is a great
friend and a great coach, and I have been a coach a long time
too, and I can tell you, without any doubt, it is all about
team.
Now, the bottom line of the whole thing is just this, and
just this alone. Today, especially in our fields today, farmers
are out there. They are busting their butts. The most
productive engine in all the land could ever be. They are
worried. They are worried to death because from the standpoint
of our trade deals, I mean, we would all be just frivolous if
we were to sit back and say, ``Yes, it's going pretty good.''
Well, it is not going pretty good. That is all there is to it.
Absolutely, with all in me, I would just tell all of us, on
both sides of the aisle, all of us on now Team Ag, without any
question, we have got to do something. You have got to do
something right now. Really, if you are coming to the table and
it is going to be just beating today, and the same-old, same-
old, and absolutely able to say, you know, ``I am an Under
Secretary,'' or ``I am a--,'' you know, whatever it may be, and
really what you have at your fingertips is just this.
We are losing this battle. Our farmers and our ranchers are
in real trouble, real trouble. You see, my family has a family
farm, and we grew it to a great big farm. With all that being
said, I know what is going on. I really do know. I can
positively tell you that our farm families, our ranch families
are hurting, and they are really worried, because absolutely
with all that in them, they see their products and they see, we
have got to absolutely market our products. We do have to have
our commodity prices higher, or we have got to have our input
costs go way, way, way down.
You know, with all that being said, I have got just a
couple of really quick questions. The question that I have more
than anything is just this. You know, to you, Mr. Lindberg, you
know, can you speak to what the first steps you might take to
help President Trump's trade agenda to ensure that farmers and
ranchers, as well, are not caught in the middle of the
crossfire while he fights to some way, somehow, even out-trade?
I mean, everybody is so hung up on, you know, are the tariffs
good, are the tariffs bad, and everything. He is trying to
right America to where we are absolutely building something in
America, and absolutely right trade to where other countries
are not taking advantage of us all the time.
Please answer.
Mr. Lindberg. Senator, thank you for the question, and for
our time together before this, that we spoke, and I look
forward to working with you and exactly solving this problem.
From my perspective, President Trump has already begun the
process of righting this wrong and righting this ship. You said
you were a coach previously. I believe you cannot win the game
unless you have a strategy to win the game. The way in which I
think we win this game is by inviting our farm groups in, as I
mentioned to the Chairman's initial question to me, and
figuring out what are those markets where we are deficient?
What are those opportunities where we can get more sales? What
are the exact commodities, and what are the dollar values we
can expect if we have a game plan in place? Then it is our job
to go knock those trade barriers down and get those market
access opportunities. Then it is the businesses'
responsibilities, the farmers, the associations, all the groups
that support our folks, to get out there and win the day
alongside us.
For me it is taking a strategic and very targeted approach,
getting a game plan together, and then executing on it. I
commit to doing that with you.
Senator Justice. The only other thing I have is, Mr.
Westhill, I have got a great question here and everything. I am
out of time. I can tell you just this. You know, I congratulate
your son on his athletics. The only thing that we have to
differ with and everything is you went to the University of
North Carolina, and my daughter played basketball for Clemson
for a little while. Other than that we are in great shape.
The only thing I would add is just that everybody here
should know, and I think I am correct about this, years and
years ago they said to farmers, what is the value in a box of
corn flakes if corn were $3 a bushel? What is the value of the
corn in that box? I think it was a third of a penny. You know,
our farmers and ranchers need us, and they need us all right
now. We should not forget that.
Thank you so much.
Chairman Boozman. Thank you. Senator Schiff.
Senator Schiff. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Lindberg, as
you know I come from California, and we are very much in the
specialty crop business, really proud of the whole agricultural
industry in California, and to be the number one agriculture
producing state, as I remind my colleagues.
We traditionally, by virtue of having such a heavy
concentration in specialty crops, have not participated as much
in the work of the USDA in the sense of being a recipient of
support from the Department. There are a number of programs
that are hugely important to us--the Market Access Program, the
Technical Assistance for Specialty Crop Program, the Regional
Agricultural Promotional Program, and the Assisting Specialty
Crop Exports.
I would like to get your thoughts on those programs,
whether you see their value, whether we can count on you to be
a champion for those efforts.
Mr. Lindberg. Senator, thank you for the question, and my
wife's uncle is actually a fruit farmer in the great State of
California, a long-time specialty crop producer there. I have
spoken with him many times about the importance of these exact
programs with respect to helping create those markets for our
specialty crops overseas. I absolutely commit to working with
our export promotion programs to make sure our fruit farmers
and other specialty crop producers have those chances to export
their products.
Senator Schiff. I would say also that a lot of the research
that is done by USDA helps the specialty crop farms in dealing
with different pests, diseases, et cetera, that really threaten
the livelihood of what they produce. The layoff of some of
these important personnel is of grave concern. We would also
ask you to push back against the firing of these important
scientists and researchers who are doing work that can save us
billions in agricultural output.
Mr. Westhill, I wanted to ask you about the USDA's history
and the present, and in terms of the history, obviously the
Department has an incredible history, a very important
institution in our society, going back to the days of Lincoln.
Yet it also has a record of some pervasive discrimination.
What is your commitment to making sure that the USDA serves
a diverse group of farmers. In California we not only have an
extraordinarily diverse set of crops, we have an
extraordinarily diverse set of farmers. I want to make sure
that farm programs are accessible to all the farmers, and not
only is there no discrimination but there are affirmative
efforts made to make sure that farmers are aware of these
programs and that there is the outreach so that all can
participate. I would like to get your thoughts on combating the
historic discrimination within the Department and also making
sure that we are reaching a diverse group of farmers in the
country.
Mr. Westhill. Senator, thank you for the question. I really
appreciate it. I appreciate your interest in civil rights at
USDA and its history. There is a long history of discrimination
at USDA. I have read the book on it. I have talked to your
colleagues about those issues.
I did not see those issues when I served in the role as
Deputy Assistant Secretary in the first term. To the extent
that they exist at all today, that there are barriers to
accessing USDA programs, for participating as a rancher or a
farmer, no matter what you are producing with USDA programs, we
want to make sure that those barriers are knocked down. I am
committed to that. I am committed to making sure that everyone
can do business with USDA on equal footing, no matter their
race or any other protected characteristic under civil rights
law.
Senator Schiff. Thank you. Mr. Lindberg, I do not know
whether this is going to become necessary. I guess it depends
on how long the tariff fight goes on. Farmers in California,
like I think around the country, would much rather farm and
trade and sell than be reliant on government support. If there
is a fund established to help farmers that are injured by
retaliatory or other tariffs, in the past specialty crop
farmers have really not participated very much, and those in
California even less.
What can you do to make sure that there are resources
available to help make those farmers whole, even as there has
been traditionally been much more attention on the commodity
growers?
Mr. Lindberg. Senator, I believe that there are going to be
a number of new trade deals signed in the not too distant
future, that those programs will not be necessary. Should they
become necessary, I will absolutely commit to make sure that
the specialty crop producers in our country are represented and
have the chance to apply, just like any other farm commodity
groups.
Senator Schiff. That may require some adjustment of how
those programs operate, since the trees have a much longer
life, a much higher investment, and many of the farmers do not
have the same long history of farming the same crops. There are
some artificial barriers, I think, to participation, and I
would like to work with you to overcome them.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Boozman. Thank you. Senator Fischer.
Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Welcome,
gentlemen. Thank you both for putting yourselves forward to
serve this country. I appreciate that.
Mr. Lindberg, it is good to see you, and I appreciated our
conversation about how trade is critical to the agriculture
economy in my State of Nebraska.
The Biden Administration left us with a $49 billion
agricultural trade deficit. I know you and Secretary Rollins
want to tackle this problem head-on. I am excited to see that
Secretary Rollins announced she will be visiting six
international markets in her first six months on the job.
Nebraska's agriculture producers have talked to me about
the opportunities in a number of these markets, such as getting
fair treatment for our pork in Vietnam, securing access for our
biofuels in India and Brazil, and our beef in the U.K. I know
Nebraska's agriculture producers are excited about the
opportunity and focus on opening markets for our agriculture
products.
A couple of weeks ago, I met with Nebraska's pork producers
and discussed what opportunities for export market development
they are hoping for from the Trump Administration, and they
shared excitement about Vietnam, in particular. Other
competitors such as the European Union, Russia, and Canada
already have trade agreements in place with Vietnam that give
them lower tariff rates. With Secretary Rollins planning to
visit Vietnam, it sounds like there is a real opportunity to
ensure that we can compete fairly in that market.
As the Secretary and yourself, if you are confirmed, work
to open markets in new countries, how would you plan to get
input and feedback from our farmers and ranchers about where
they see opportunity or where they have challenges with
exporting to other countries?
Mr. Lindberg. Thank you, Senator. I also enjoyed our
conversation, and want to make mention a friend of mine is here
today, who owns a farm in Nebraska. Bonnie Glick is with us
today. Welcome to Bonnie, and glad to have her, as a Nebraska
farmer, here.
Yes, absolutely. I started my career in consulting so I
think about things in a very straightforward and strategic
manner. I plan to go into my office on day one, should I be
confirmed to this role, and put the number ^$49 billion on the
white board, and begin inviting your Nebraska pork producers,
all of the different commodity groups from around the country
to come in and have conversations with us. This is a
conversation that drives the outcome.
I do not pretend to know all of the things. The actual USTR
comment window that was recently opened on unfair trade
practices was exceedingly helpful, and many groups began this
process for us.
I say we have to get to the $60 billion sales number so
that we get back into surplus, because America has always fed
the world, and right now we are not meeting our mandate there,
and we could be doing better.
It will be a very iterative and consultive process to the
program here.
Senator Fischer. I guess, can you talk a little bit about
how you would coordinate with organizations that receive trade
promotion funding through the USDA?
Mr. Lindberg. Absolutely, I can. In my current capacity as
CEO of South Dakota Trade, our state's international trade
office, we have worked extensively with Food Export Midwest,
which receives USDA Foreign Agricultural Service funding to
help promote our agricultural products overseas. We have co-
worked on trade missions together in the past. I have engaged
their staff in sending them referrals from South Dakota to help
promote products overseas, as well.
It would be very much my pleasure and I think a
continuation of the work I have already been doing to engage
exactly in what you are referring in that question.
Senator Fischer. You know, I know that our farmers and
ranchers are excited about the prospect of opening up new
markets. You know, when we look at the retaliatory tariffs that
are out there, that makes people nervous. Our farmers and
ranchers are also willing to give the President time on this to
be able to expand those markets.
We look at China and what they are doing. They happen to be
a significant market for soybeans, a major crop that we have in
Nebraska. We are facing a duty there from the Chinese of 155
percent. That shuts our farmers out of that market.
Can you talk a little bit about your goals when you look at
China, and what maybe you would see them doing to meet some of
the needs that we have in this country, how we can come
together, what you would tell a soybean farmer in Nebraska who
is feeling anxious about those tariffs? What would you say?
Mr. Lindberg. Sure. One thing I might mention, this morning
Secretary Bessent spoke at the White House, and the quote I
really enjoyed that he said was, ``The aperture of uncertainty
is narrowing.'' I mentioned earlier in this hearing, the data
point that after we signed the China Phase One agreement in the
last Trump Administration, we actually saw a net increase in
exports to China on the agricultural front of 39 percent from
pre-tariff levels.
We know the trade deals work. We are going to get hopefully
trade deals done early in the process, and that is going to
increase those export opportunities readily in the not too
distant future.
I look forward to working with you and all of your
producers to make sure that we can get that message across and
that we are going to be here as a lifeline for them.
Senator Fischer. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thanks,
Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Boozman. The Senator from Georgia, Senator
Warnock.
Senator Warnock. Thank you, Chair Boozman. Congratulations
to both of you for your nominations, and welcome to your
families.
Over the last few months, President Trump has thrown the
global economy and agricultural markets into a tailspin with
uncertainty, caused by his sweeping and chaotic tariffs. I do
not share the Secretary of the Treasury's positive view of
where things are at this point. The President's actions have
created uncertainty, and we see it on the ground. We see it
with Georgia farmers who are worried about affording necessary
inputs like fertilizer, and losing access to critical export
markets.
Mr. Lindberg, if confirmed, you would be responsible for
international agricultural trade at USDA, and I remain
concerned that the President's manufactured trade war will hurt
Georgia farmers, who I am hearing from regularly. I am
concerned that it will push our allies in exactly the wrong
direction, actually toward China. Do you share that concern?
Mr. Lindberg. Senator, thank you for the question, and as a
point of reference, I have been a longtime acquaintance of
former Georgia Agriculture Secretary Gary Black, and we have
discussed trade issues and actually have worked together in the
past. He has spoken at a summit I hosted in South Dakota for
several years.
The short answer is I believe that Georgia's pecan growers
face unfair tariff barriers around the world and non-tariff
barriers on their products. I also believe that Georgia's
shrimping industry is getting decimated unfairly by foreign
imports that are produced in unsanitary conditions. It is time
that we take a stand and we provide better market access that
gives your producers what they deserve, what they have been
promised in many cases, around the world. Also protect our
domestic producers, as well.
Senator Warnock. Are you concerned that these tariffs are
pushing them toward China?
Mr. Lindberg. I believe that----
Senator Warnock. Our allies.
Mr. Lindberg. I believe that the President is going to sign
a number of new trade agreements that will open up market
access for our producers.
Senator Warnock. I have done a lot of work on this issue. I
am well aware of the concerns that Georgia farmers have had
with getting their products, pecans and other products. I have
dealt with the aflatoxin issue with respect to peanuts in
foreign markets. The tariffs is still another issue, and we
have seen this movie before. When it happened during the first
Trump Administration, they were basically subsidized. As I talk
to Georgia farmers, I would submit to you that they want trade.
They do not want aid.
If confirmed, what will you do to combat this isolationist
strategy and open new export markets for Georgia farmers? We
agree that we want to open export markets.
Mr. Lindberg. Absolutely we do, yes. I believe that the
trade agreements that were signed in the first Trump
Administration are examples that we can live by. The USMCA,
which was a bipartisan agreement, provided new market access.
We could replicate agreements like that, successfully, to
increase those market access opportunities around the world for
Georgia producers.
Senator Warnock. I am certainly concerned about the outcome
of these practices. I have not seen much so far that heartens
me. I look forward to working with you in the future to do
everything we can to open international trade markets for
Georgia farmers.
I have spoken many times in this Committee about USDA's
terrible and well-documented record of discrimination against
Black farmers and the importance of federal programs aimed at
addressing past discrimination and uplifting underserved
farmers. I am proud of my and Senator Booker's efforts in the
previous administration to push USDA to break down the
structural and financial barriers erected by the agency that
many underserved farmers face. The work is not over.
Mr. Westhill, good to meet you the other day in my office.
If confirmed, you would be over civil rights at USDA. Do you
agree that USDA has historically engaged in discriminatory
actions that have uniquely harmed Black farmers in their farm
lending programs?
Mr. Westhill. Senator, thank you for the question, and it
was a pleasure to meet with you in your office when we talked
about this, as well. As I have suggested to your colleagues and
to you then, I have read the book on that particular very sad--
--
Senator Warnock. It is a yes-or-no question.
Mr. Westhill. That is a yes.
Senator Warnock. A yes. Thank you. You are aware of the
Pigford case, and are you aware that USDA has agreed to a
consent decree settlement, which a court has blessed, in light
of that history of discrimination?
Mr. Westhill. Yes, Senator, I am aware of Pigford.
Senator Warnock. Okay. Do you acknowledge that according to
an NPR analysis of USDA data as recently as 2022, Black farmers
were still denied USDA loans at higher rates than any other
race?
Mr. Westhill. Senator, I am not aware of that.
Senator Warnock. I want you to become aware of it. I am
going to submit this report. Chair Boozman, I would like to
submit it, this analysis, for the record.
[The document can be found on pages 54-74 in the appendix.]
Senator Warnock. If confirmed, how would you continue the
important work to dismantle these structural barriers and
rebuild trust between the USDA and farmers who previously faced
discrimination?
Mr. Westhill. Senator, I appreciate the question. I really
do appreciate your strong interest in these types of issues. I
think they are very, very important, and it is one of the
reasons why I have dedicated my career to working on them.
What I can commit to is enforcing civil rights at USDA
vigorously. The same thing that we did in the first term when I
headed this office as Deputy Assistant Secretary, we would do
it again. If there are official or arbitrary barriers that are
preventing anyone from doing business with USDA--customers,
employees, or otherwise--we are going to make sure that those
are broken down, and I am committed to that.
Senator Warnock. I am also concerned about this
Administration's attack on programs that fall under the broad
umbrella of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
Following the President's DEI executive order, this
Administration haphazardly and illegally, in my view, froze
funding passed by Congress, on a bipartisan basis, for many
critical programs, causing chaos for the students and
organizations who depend on those funds, including USDA's 1890
National Scholars Program. While I was glad to see that program
unfrozen, it did not happen until some folks made noise. There
was a lot of public outcry, and the recognition that this
should not have happened in the first place.
Mr. Westhill, do you believe that 1890 institutions like
Georgia's Fort Valley State University, are DEI?
Mr. Westhill. Senator, no, I do not. I am very proud of the
work that I did in the first term to support the White House's
initiative on historically Black colleges and universities, and
I look forward to helping with that initiative again if I am
confirmed.
Senator Warnock. Glad to hear of your commitment to these
institutions, recognition that they do critical work. If you
are confirmed, will you commit to ensuring that USDA fully
implements all 1890 programs as required by statute and
intended by Congress?
Mr. Westhill. Senator, anything that is in the law, I would
make sure that if it is under my authority that it would be
enforced. Absolutely.
Senator Warnock. Thank you so very much.
Chairman Boozman. Thank you. Thanks again to Mr. Lindberg
and Mr. Westhill for appearing before the Committee and to our
Committee Members for their participation in today's important
hearing.
The record will remain open for two business days, and with
that we are adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 4:50 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
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DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD
April 29, 2025
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
April 29, 2025
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