[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 30 (Thursday, February 25, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E227-E228]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN RECOGNITION OF KRYSTA HARDEN

                                  _____
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 25, 2016

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor and pleasure to 
extend my congratulations and best wishes to an outstanding leader, 
personal friend, and constituent, Ms. Krysta Harden, Deputy Secretary 
of Agriculture for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Ms. 
Harden has excelled at this position since she took office in August of 
2013. She will be leaving her post at the end of February 2016.
  A Georgia native, Ms. Harden was born and raised in Camilla, Georgia 
and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University 
of Georgia in 1981. Her career began on Capitol Hill, where she worked 
for former Congressman Charles Hatcher as Legislative Director, Press 
Secretary, and Chief of Staff for more than ten years. Ms. Harden went 
on to serve as Staff Director for the Subcommittee on Peanuts and 
Tobacco of the House Committee on Agriculture.
  In 1993, Ms. Harden left the public sector to work for Gordley 
Associates, a government relations firm focused on agricultural policy. 
Ms. Harden left the company in 2004 as Senior Vice President. From 2004 
to 2009, she served as the Chief Executive Officer of the National 
Association of Conservation Districts.
  In 2009, Ms. Harden began her influential career at the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture as the Assistant Secretary for Congressional 
Relations. In this role, Ms. Harden was instrumental in securing 
passage of and implementing the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, 
which increased the nutritional quality of school lunch programs and 
provides access for children of all economic backgrounds.
  In 2011, she was promoted to Chief of Staff of the Department of 
Agriculture. And in 2013,

[[Page E228]]

President Obama nominated Ms. Harden for the position of Deputy 
Secretary of Agriculture. Her nomination was unanimously approved by 
the Senate. Ms. Harden's steadfast leadership led to what Secretary 
Vilsack has called the ``best-implemented Farm Bill in history,'' 
referencing the 2014 Farm Bill in which Ms. Harden led the USDA's 
efforts to work with Congress to see the bill through to completion and 
implementation.
  Ms. Harden has been praised by many for her bipartisan and 
commonsense approach to policies and programs that expand opportunities 
for rural communities. Krysta Harden, a ``Georgia farm girl'' herself, 
has dedicated her career to serving our nation's farmers and promoting 
a thriving bio-based economy.
  As a friend of long standing and someone that I have had the honor to 
work with closely in developing legislative frameworks for farmer 
settlements, I can say with a full heart that I will miss working with 
Krysta in Washington. She has served admirably as Deputy Secretary of 
the USDA and has shown herself to represent the highest standards of 
public service. Ms. Harden has established a legacy of providing 
support for underrepresented groups--particularly women, young people, 
immigrants, disadvantaged producers, and veterans. I am very grateful 
for her tireless advocacy to diversify the nation's agriculture sector 
and her steadfast support for rural America. A woman of great 
integrity, her efforts, her dedication, and her expertise in her field 
are unparalleled and will be greatly missed.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in extending our 
sincerest appreciation and best wishes to Ms. Krysta Harden upon the 
occasion of her departure from an outstanding career at the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture.

                          ____________________