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United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry

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The Committee of Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of all matters relating to the nation's agriculture industry, farming programs, forestry and logging, and legislation relating to nutrition and health.

History

Founded in 1825 the Committee was formed at the request of Senator William Findlay from Pennsylvania. Arguing that agriculture was as important to national progress as commerce and manufacturing, Findlay succeeded in persuading the full Senate to divide the Committee on Commerce and Manufactures into two separate committees. The Committee on Agriculture was formed by resolution on December 9, 1825.

During the first four decades of the existence of this committee, the need for it was repeatedly called into question. At that time in America, nearly ²⁄3 of the population was directly engaged in agriculture. As such, issues related to agriculture overlapped with areas covered by other committees and were often referred to those committees instead of the Agriculture Committee.

Following a debate over the necessity of various committees to have need of the services of a dedicated clerk, a Special Committee was formed to investigate ways to "reduce the number and increase the efficiency of the committees. On February 17, 1857, the Special Committee submitted a plan of reorganization for the committees that did not include the Agriculture Committee. During a special session of the Senate, on March 5, 1857, the Senate approved the Special Committees recommendations and the Committee on Agriculture was dissolved.

In 1862, the country was embroiled in the Civil War, a large influx of immigrants was occurring and the nation was moving towards industrialization. That year, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Organic Act recreating the Department of Agriculture.

It became the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry in 1884, a reflection of the growing importance of forests to the country's needs. It was renamed again to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry in 1977. Nutrition was added to the name after the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 directed the Department of Agriculture to "conduct more human nutrition research, establish a national nutrition education program and develop a system to monitor America's nutritional status".

Members, 110th Congress

The Committee is chaired by Democrat Tom Harkin of Iowa, and the Ranking Minority Member is Republican Saxby Chambliss of Georgia.

Majority
Member State Thomas R. Harkin, Chairman Iowa
Patrick Leahy Vermont
Kent Conrad North Dakota
Max Baucus Montana
Blanche Lincoln Arkansas
Debbie Stabenow Michigan
Ben Nelson Nebraska
Ken Salazar Colorado
Sherrod Brown Ohio
Bob Casey Pennsylvania
Amy Klobuchar Minnesota
Minority
Member State C. Saxby Chambliss, Ranking Member Georgia
Richard Lugar Indiana
Thad Cochran Mississippi
Mitch McConnell Kentucky
Pat Roberts Kansas
Lindsey Graham South Carolina
Norm Coleman Minnesota
Mike Crapo Idaho
John Thune South Dakota
Charles Grassley Iowa

Subcommittees

Subcommittees of the US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
Subcommittee Chair Ranking Minority Member
Nutrition and Food Assistance, Sustainable and Organic Agriculture, and General Legislation Patrick Leahy (D-VT) Norm Coleman (R-MN)
Energy, Science and Technology Kent Conrad (D-ND) John Thune (R-SD)
Domestic and Foreign Marketing, Inspection, and Plant and Animal Health Max Baucus (D-MT) Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Production, Income Protection and Price Support Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) Pat Roberts (R-KS)
Rural Revitalization, Conservation, Forestry and Credit Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) Mike Crapo (R-ID)

Chairmen

Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, 1829-1857

Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, 1863-1884

Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, 1884-1977

Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, 1977-present

References

External links



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Last updated on Thursday March 13, 2008 at 13:32:58 PDT (GMT -0700)
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