 |
| CLICK HERE TO VIEW CURRENT ISSUE |
 |
| Best of NAMA 2026 |
|
 |
|
MORE ON THE SENATE AG COMMITTEE'S SONNY PERDUE VOTE
Mar. 31, 2017
Agri-Pulse reports:
Sonny Perdue has cleared one hurdle in his road to becoming President Trump's agriculture secretary. The Senate Agriculture Committee easily approved his nomination on a voice vote yesterday, but it could still be several weeks before he can actually take charge at USDA.
His supporters are holding out hope that the Senate could vote on Perdue next week along with Labor nominee Alex Acosta. But Senate aides tell Agri-Pulse that's a long shot. It would require Democrats going along with a quick vote.
If they don't, that means the floor vote could slip to the end of April or even into early May. Congress will be on its two-week Easter recess after next week. When they return to work after that, senators will be faced with passing legislation to keep the government open when a stopgap spending bill expires April 28.
Perdue's 'cactus' problem
Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts didn't hide his frustration with New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand when she voiced the lone "no" vote on Perdue. Roberts believed that a unanimous vote would increase pressure on Democrats to agree to a quick floor vote on Perdue.
Roberts pleaded with Gillibrand not to oppose Perdue in committee. "You can vote against him on the floor," he told her. But she wouldn't relent, saying she was concerned about protecting food stamps.
In his typically dry humor, Roberts later told Agri-Pulse that the prospect of continued delay is symptomatic of how dysfunctional the Senate has become: "Any possible thorny issue turns into a cactus. There is a lot of cactus in the world, but you don't have to sit on every one of them. That's what they (Democrats) are doing."
|
|
|
|
|
