Agriculture

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) today helped lead a bipartisan group of colleagues in writing to President Trump, urging the administration to hold Canada accountable for its trade commitments in the dairy sector when renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Canada recently changed its dairy policies making it difficult for U.S. farmers to export a variety of dairy products. The change potentially violates Canada’s existing trade commitments to the United States and re... Read more

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today joined Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) and U.S. Representatives Suzan DelBene (WA-01) and Glenn Thompson (PA-05) to reintroduce the Timber Innovation Act – bipartisan, bicameral legislation that aims to find new and innovative uses for wood as a building material. The legislation will accelerate the research and development of wood for use in construction projects, focusing on the... Read more

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene spent an hour volunteering at the Sky Valley Food Bank in Monroe recently, passing out food during its Wednesday morning distribution service. DelBene has been an advocate for food insecurity programs during her time in Congress. Although committee appointments have not been finalized for the 2017 Congress, DelBene has served on the House Agriculture Committee for four years, including work on the nutrition subcommittee. Food assistance programs like the Supplemental ... Read more

MONROE – Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) today visited a local elementary school classroom, as part of the Choose My Plate program to teach students about the variety of healthy foods grown nearby. DelBene spoke with two fourth grade classrooms about the importance of eating local, healthy foods. “We are fortunate in the First District to have farmers who grow some of the best food in the world. If kids know where their food comes from, they are more likely to be passionate and connected to ... Read more

MOUNT VERNON – Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) today praised the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announcement to award the Northwest Agriculture Business Center a $200,000 Rural Cooperative Development Grant. “I’m pleased to see the Northwest Agriculture Business Center receive this vital funding to help grow the rural economy of Skagit Valley. Our rural communities help create jobs, especially when provided with innovative tools like cooperative development grants,” DelBene said. “C... Read more

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) today highlighted the importance of targeted education for those on nutrition assistance during a House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition hearing examining the success of employment and job-training programs. “Helping people find good-paying, long-term employment in a high-demand industry is the best way to ensure everyone has access to economic opportunities,” DelBene said. “I’m so pleased the pilot programs I authored in the Farm Bill are testing innova... Read more

KIRKLAND – Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) today volunteered with Food Lifeline’s Kids Cafe program to ensure First District children receive nutritious meals even when school breaks for summer. “No child should be forced to skip a meal or go to bed hungry simply because it’s summer,” DelBene said. “While school breaks for the summer, a child’s need for nutritional food does not. Our children are the future of our country and we should work to provide them with all the possible tools for suc... Read more

Reps. Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05), Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (PA-05) and Derek Kilmer (WA-06) today introduced bipartisan legislation that would open up new markets and create jobs for rural economies by providing research, assistance and incentives for the construction of tall wood buildings throughout the United States. The Timber Innovation Act (H.R. 5628) would spur the use of tall wood building construction – those above 85 feet or seven stories – through the use of les... Read more

More than 100 members of the U.S. House have written to the Obama administration in an effort to speed up the processing of foreign guestworker visas. Reps. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash.; Suzan DelBene, D-Wash.; Sanford Bishop Jr., D-Ga.; and Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., led 98 other House members in a bipartisan letter to administration officials urging them to adhere to regulations requiring them to process H-2A-visa foreign guestworker applications in a timely manner. Administrative breakdowns in processi... Read more

Today, Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-GA), Suzan DelBene (D-WA) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) led 98 other Members in a letter to U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez and Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services León Rodriguez regarding the administrative breakdown in the timely processing of H-2A agricultural worker program applications and visa petitions. The administrative breakdown is impacting the ability of American ranchers and growers to hire legal seasonal work... Read more