concerning resolution? >> i will try to respond to all three of those questions. on the reprogram we have had over 5000 grants awarded very many of these grants only reduce the cost to a producer or a small business but they also create an income source. what is interesting about this is a rhode island producers basically invested went renewable energy program to where he is selling excess energy of the grid. not only reduces his costs but creates a new income source. we want to see more of that. and again it is voluntary people can apply for and if they wish. and we are excited about the opportunity to see more grants in the future. on healthcare, listen this is basically continuing to invest in our community facility program and our telemedicine program. our ability to basically help and assist small communities equip or build hospital complexes and or provide services -- mike levels of

services through telemedicine's are two very popular programs. the emergency care program was funded to the pandemic assistance to the extent you want that to continue that would require additional appropriation but in the meantime at the very least continue to fund the community facilities program. that is a tremendously flexible opportunity. on the budget i understand i think i'm doing a pretty good job here. on the budget if you cut the budget you have less services you have less people. it's that simple. he didn't expect me too be that quick. [laughter] is the impact of a continuing resolution? ask the problem with the continuing resolution it is essentially the same. because if you get a continuing

resolution based on the debt ceiling deal you are going to see a reduction in the overall budget and so therefore you're going to see a reduction in services and a reduction in people it is just that simple. we are operating right now -- historically receive less nondiscretionary defense spending the many of the other agencies when we receive a reduction or a flat line budget it really stresses. >> a back log on snap applications in georgia on the state is failing to meet the application process and timeliness requirements. can you commit to working with us to try to give states more flexibility such as a limiting face-to-face interviews in the back log making backlog more transparent to the applicant's so they know they may have to wait months in order to get the benefits question. >> a prospectus out the answer.

the answer is not to sacrifice the integrity of the program those face-to-face interviews are very important. it's for george's use the resources they have available to have the staff adequately to run the program and that's what we have asked governor kemp to do. >> thank you mr. secretary break with the gentlest time has expired and now recognize the gentleman from alabama congressman moore for five minutes regards thank you chairman thompson and secretary vilsack it's good to seo for such a thank you for being here today the work the department of agriculture does for farmers, ranchers across america. i am sure you know arm program safety net programs imported to alabama agriculture improvements are a nation's foreign policy and timely reauthorization certainly a top priority of mine the producers i represent in lower alabama. much like my colleagues here today and you as well i look forward to seeing a timely farm bill authorization greasing reference prices sharing programmatic integrity of her snap and other federal assistance programs promoting

what product industries in the reauthorization process and the livelihood of those to represent. question alabama struggled to stay whole after serious drought in recent months. peta producers are feeling a pinch of slimmer than ever margins. and are only met with resistance by her democratic counterparts at any suggestion is made to adjust title i to meet the needs of modern-day production. i think it is disappointing these producers do not feel supported by the current administration we have in place and would rather play favorites and grab every text so they can for snap and pander to radical social environmental with justice agendas. it seems the agency is putting politics before policy and quite frankly our farmers, ranchers, foresters and broken but he beautiescertainly deserve bette. the first question i have is executive action the environmental protection agency the general services administration the department of interior have recently been

announced which are adverse or do not consider the work of your agency and its constituents. secretary vilsack how are you making good faith attempt to give agriculture voice across its executive branch? >> i have an ongoing relationship with each one of those secretaries of each one of those departments we are in constant communication about policies and issues they are adopting that have an impact than agriculture and we provide input i certainly am not going to be in a position to tell them what they should do in their department i do not want them told me what i should do my department. but we do provide input we do provide data do provide the consequences of what they are considering on american agriculture that is our job. once a decision is made by another department to the extent that we can we use the resources of usda to try to mitigate the consequences of the epic works i've heard the most terrifying words we are from the government we're here to help when it listen to u.s. the director of the department head for agriculture the usda it seems

like you're battling the department of labor for production of food are you are battling may be the epa to get them off the backs of local producers? would that be true mr. vilsack probably the most terrifying words you ever hear is we are from the government and we are here to help? >> we say something about that. anything government does help. the crop insurance program see disaster assistance programs, the arc, plc, the wide variety of programs were discussing in the farm bill is government helping. i think the challenge is we want to make sure the government is helping and is efficient. >> into your defense you are trying to do the job sometimes i don't agree the policies are implemented. i'm sorely not a big friend us on the environmental stuff going on. but i think it seems like to be your own government is your biggest issue sometime in trying to actually help producers in america. i appreciate you being a fight for us i hope you will continue that an i'm sure you will print

to me more so when i hear talk about the department of labor, the regulations you have to try to jump to the tubes so we can have food on the table for american consumers. to me i almost start to understand the battle you're in is the same battle in many days is how to stop the bureaucracy and take care of people but i will more question syrup running out of time. this past june the department announced snap air raid measured overpayments it under print this announcement that overpayment rate of 9.54% which amounts to roughly $30 million to date. certainly that will be an insult to our taxpayers. but concrete serious and forward thinking steps are on the horizon? >> states basically administer the program. we are working with state governors to make sure they understand the need to get back to a more disciplined effort in terms of snap. we relax the flexibilities were

created flexibilities during the pandemic we are asking them to go back to the ordinary work of administering snap which involves represent bishops question face-to-face interviews which will be helpful to the store integrity of the program. we are encouraging governors and if the governors failed to respond their sanctions that can essentially be put in place. we are concerned about this and should be progressively do and i yield back. >> of judgment yields back please directness a gentleman from florida for five minutes of questioning. >> thank you, mr. chairman thank you secretary for being here today i know it is been a long morning you are thoughtful in candid answers to an onslaught of questions reminds us american agriculture is in good hands with your leadership. i visited ranchers, growers across central florida with food banks and food pantries they spoke with one voice which is can you please pass the farm

bill? we talked about food inflation is dropped in half and continues to go down. but there is more work that we need to do. is it your opinion we pass the farm bill that would help in continuing to lower food costs t the nation? >> yes unless it involves restricting the credit corporation which is a tool we used to help food banks deal with the increased need that is out there. >> we need to continue to support programs like that and we will continue to see food prices decline for the american consumer? >> that is correct. >> in florida we have hurricanes and ivanka got worse over the years with climate change hurricane ian recently led to over a billion dollars in agricultural losses. we passed out of this house a bipartisan disaster block grant authority this was the top party for florida farm bureau. do you think this would help going part of the senate did not pass it yet especially to help the ranchers and particularly

citrus as we face the increasing storms? >> will be happy to administer it if it gets pass rate that we do not have the authority to do that enough lord is anxious to have it. but that is the wish of congress will certainly follow it and do whatever we can to make sure it's administered properly progress mr. secretary went to give you that authority. also representing cattle country when tripp expressed the importance of continuing invest in the national vaccine bank that has come up several times for several different types of livestock. the largest heard in the nation in a ranch in our area along with many other ranchers and cow/calf operations is really important. i've also visited place like second harvest in central florida are food bank that had spent 2.5 million last year to fill the gap. how critical this feeding america's families is the emergency food assistance program? >> it is essential to an essential tool when it demand goes up or there is a regional tragedy that occurs it is an

opportunity for us to be able to respond quickly to provide the resources for this food banks to meet the need. it is critically important. >> i have seen both the seniors, children, the disabled, our veterans coming to these food banks to get healthy nutritious food and the program has been absolutely critical for us. in addition we are after many years finally turning the corner in florida citrus i appreciate your dedication over the years under the obama administration unknown to the biden administration to work with us on this research and develop funding we are seeing great advancements with new herbicides and pesticides helping out with new trees especially injection. i want to thank you for the waiver you provided that allow these areas to go forward how critical is it for us to continue to make sure we have u.s. grown citrus weathers orange juice from florida or eating the fruit from california

and other areas to protect america's vitamin c source? >> it is connected to the health and welfare of american specifically american children. we are trying to encourage more fruits and vegetable consumption to the extent we do so it would be nice if we could provide them something produced from the u.s. for a quick spray going to try to dig deep to get this done. the last thing i want to talk about in my family state of puerto rico along with others they are under the snap program trying to move to the snap program. first, mr. chen like to introduce a bipartisan letter from representative jennifer gonzales and myself. [inaudible] >> without objection. >> thank you. there's been some debate whether there needs to be legislation or just funding not to convert to snap do you have any opinion on that or advice on how we proceed going forward? >> i think there is legislation required. more importantly is making sure puerto rico in particular is

prepared for that transition is not a simple process to administer the snap program we have been working with officials in puerto rico to get them to a point they are ready, willing, and able to administer the program effectively. so folks will not fall to the crooks are rapidly thrilled and central florida one of four of my constituents are fellow puerto ricans we care deeply about what's happening on the island as well as supporting our local growers, ranchers and cattle, citrus, blueberry and strawberry country because you know central florida family goes hungry. i appreciate your leadership mrr being here. >> a gentleman yields back please to recognize the judgment for minnesota for five minutes of questioning. i'm a proud fourth-generation farmer of southern minnesota i'm proud to be raising the fifth and proctor the fact a very honorable profession that really is called to feed and fuel the

world and to help support our communities, families and really the country as a whole. recent your department released several concerning reports related to the current state of farm economy. as you note usda most recent projections found united states will experience in aji trade deficit of over $30.5 billion this year. last week usda, your economic research services forecasted in 2024 net farm income will drop by almost $40 billion for this is after close to $30 billion decline in 2023. who should i be aware of who's leading the usda glass on the farm income fell two years in a row. as a matter fact you oversaw for consecutive years of decreased farm income from 2012 until 2016. that is quite the resume. as i meet with producers across a 21 counties they represent from southern minnesota they are worried about a repeat performance with multiple years of decreased income.

get today you have downplayed farm income falling by 27%. may but you can stand to lose 27% of your income mr. secretary but the farmers i represent cannot. my producers are doing with compounding effects of increased input costs, interest rates, supply chain challenges and burdensome regulations creating a highly leveraged financial environment farm country. the hypocrisy of this administration knows no bounds a prime examples of shifting positions on the ideal farm size in less than a decade. every one of us that is not a farmer is not a farmer because we have farmers we delegate the responsibility of feeding our families to a relatively small's percentage of this country if you look at 85% of what is grown in this country it is raised by 200 -- 300,000 people that is less than one tenth of 1% of america. those are your words in 2016 mr.

hoadley dismissed the same family farms were the backbone of the rural communities last eight years small number producers you don't demonize are responsible for 80% of the production. all americans and members of congress should want to help small producers. i think you do not have much appreciation for the operations provide a majority of the food in this country with tight margins and greater risk. farmers have continued to produce more is less by adopting innovation and increasing efficiencies not because the government tells us to do it but to remain competitive, to take care of our land and pass our farms down to the next generation. as farmers do everyday for planning purposes did back of the napkin math effective reference prices or photos one separate corn, $9 toy success for soybeans december corn is 4067 since november so 1162.

if we look at that breakeven it is about five 10. does not take a mathematician to figure out reference prices as they stand today are really ill relevance. crop prices were to fall to the level needed to trigger these reference prices and the safety net farmers would be facing bankruptcy. so, due to the fact crop insurance is the number would risk management tool we have for farmers to succeed. from working with their letter to making marketing decisions that really help us plan for farming of the future. fsa loan size limitations have not kept up with rising prices of farmland in the farm inputs. the current cap makes it more difficult for farmers especially beginning farmers to access fsa guaranteed loans or net land purchases and operating expenses. mr. chairman like this a bit into the record october 2023 study prepared by texas a&m examining farm policy and its impact on farm families.

>> without objection. >> mr. secretary, you close your testimony today by saying we can continue on the path that this administration has taken that leads us to an even better and stronger role america. i don't know about you, but collapsing farm incomes, worsening trade deficits, our version of a better and stronger role america most farmers including myself would like to find a different path and quite frankly we call it hogwash. i will probably set up for farmers against a so-called leadership at usd and across a bite administration looking to tear them down. farm and food security is national security and good foreign policy is not written by d.c. bureaucrats for d.c. bureaucrats it's written by farmers and rural america for farmers and rural america. so mr. secretary, actions speak louder than your words in your track record speaks for itself as her chair have no questions and i yield back. >> are judgment yields back a record of judgment from new mexico for five minutes of questioning. >> thank you so much

mr. chairman print secretary vilsack thank you for being here today. and for your testimony thank you for what you and the department do for our farmers, our farmworkers, our ranchers, ranch hands and arrange managers. i just want to make it clear agriculture doesn't happen without the workers and that's not just the owners with the folks working the land. expanding access to nutrition programs in new mexico is one of my top price new mexico has the highest participation in the nation one and 48 mexicans rely on programs to snap, wic, have the basic nutrition to go to work and go to school for children and families are hungry in our state they need food to thrive. the irony in this place that we work hard for to wake up early. we put food on the table for the rest of the nation and yet we are the ones who need food assistance programs the most. we struggle with food insecurity. one of five children my district faces hunger.

without access to critical nutrition parents cannot focus going to work or going to school. i recently heard from sophia who goes to school while working full-time to ensure she can feed her family. expanded snap benefits expired she struggled to feed her family while continuing her education. it's clear to me snap and wic when it comes to the entire equation feeding our nation are critical to strengthen food security for the country and strengthening our families. secretary vilsack what more could we do to make sure families like sophia's who are directly in charge of in the next generation of folks are putting food on our tables can have food security where the or the poorstates in the countr? >> first of all making sure you're adequately funding the wic program you mention to the extent that wic program is underfunded it would meet fewer people would be able to access it. secondly making sure there are not restrictions on the snap

program that would make it more difficult for people to qualify or more difficult for people to get the benefit that they need to provide supplemental assistance. and third making sure states understand the importance of taking steps to ensure those who are qualified for the program actually participate. unfortunately sometimes their circumstances and situations where states do not make a concerted effort to sign people up or get people to participate in the program. and then i would say in addition, making sure the states you are most concerned about are fully and completely focused on implementation of the summer ebt program will provide additional resources to families who are on free and reduced children in school. those are pretty significant opportunities as well per. >> thank you secretary and i will just say one of things i've enjoyed most about serving on this committee along with my colleagues on the other side is

the bipartisan committee we have set up to help modernize the farmworker system that we have for folks in this country of which we should have some recommendations for the rest of our colleagues and for your department and the administration that helps both domestic and immigrant producers and folks who are working at these very hard jobs able to have the opportunity to put food on the table of american so thank you for that. the other question i have is a little bit different. you were recently in my district heward albuquerque south valley we were announcing a monumental investment in broadband for rural communities. $48 million for the state of new mexico. secretary, how could we make sure those dollars are being spent in an efficient way that truly delivers a conductivity rural communities need including small and medium producers that could now take their businesses online and produce niche products that could help support rural economies. what are the plans for the administration in terms