Secretary Of Agriculture Brooke Rollins Rails Against Biden-Era Trade Deficit During Opening Remarks

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On Wednesday, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins delivered her opening remarks as she testified before the House Appropriations Committee hearing.

Transcript

00:00Until then, thank you, Ms. DeLauro.

00:01Secretary Rollins, without objection, your entire written testimony will be included in the record.

00:06And after your statement, we'll proceed with questions.

00:10As the first reminder, because I'll remind members again before we start questioning,

00:14we have a hard break at noon for the secretary, so we'll have to abide by the five-minute rule for questions.

00:21Secretary Rollins, you're now recognized for your statement.

00:23Thank you, sir.

00:24Chairman Harris, ranking member DeLauro, ranking member Bishop,

00:28and obviously when Chair Cole gets here as well, and distinguished members of this subcommittee.

00:33I am so grateful for the opportunity to be here before you and to share what we've been doing at the USDA

00:40over the last 83 days since I walked in that front door,

00:45and also President Trump's vision over the last 100-plus days.

00:49I look forward to answering your questions.

00:52Many of them have already been outlined as we move over the next few hours and welcome the opportunity to do so.

00:58When farmers prosper, rural America prospers.

01:02And I want to thank all of you for your shared commitment to ensuring our farmers, ranchers, and our rural communities thrive.

01:10During my confirmation testimony, I quoted Thomas Jefferson.

01:14We talk a lot about Thomas Jefferson at the USDA, one of the original American farmers.

01:18His 1787 letter to another original American farmer, George Washington, in which President Jefferson said,

01:27agriculture is our wisest pursuit because it will, in the end, contribute most to real wealth, to good morals, and to happiness.

01:36I have had the distinct privilege of serving American farmers and ranchers for the last 83 days.

01:43And I can tell you that our farmers, and all of you know this as well, you're on this committee,

01:48continue to embody the ideals and the passion for America and our land,

01:53just as Thomas Jefferson described over two centuries ago.

01:57And serving as their champion today continues to be my highest and greatest honor.

02:02As the 33rd Secretary of Agriculture, I have made it my mission to reconstitute, to rebuild, and to revivify

02:10the United States Department of Agriculture.

02:14And that includes a budget that reflects the priorities as mandated by the American people in November of last year.

02:22The President's Fiscal Year 2026 Discretionary Budget identifies the priorities of our administration

02:29and for the Department of Agriculture, that means prioritizing food safety, rooting out wasteful spending,

02:37restoring federalism by empowering the states to best serve their communities,

02:41and above all, putting farmers and ranchers first in America.

02:45Notably, of USDA's $215 billion annual budget,

02:52Today, we are talking about the discretionary part of that budget, which is $30 billion.

02:5814% of the annual budget at USDA is discretionary.

03:02Of that 14% of our annual budget,

03:06the discussion today surrounding around some increase, but mostly decreases,

03:10in that 14% of the discretionary budget,

03:14our cuts suggest about 21% cuts of the 14% of the $230 billion budget.

03:23So, let's just be clear on the numbers.

03:26We at the Department of Agriculture have wasted no time implementing President Trump's bold policy agenda.

03:31I want to touch on a few highlights here,

03:33and I appreciate Chairman Harris, but also Chairman Bishop Sanford, and others mentioning this already.

03:39Upon taking office, I was asked by President Trump to address the avian bird flu

03:45and to lower the cost of eggs in the short term.

03:49In February, at the direction of President Trump, I announced a significant five-point plan.

03:54I think I was on the job about 10 days at that point to meet this challenge head-on.

03:59I am proud to report that since the plan was introduced,

04:02the wholesale price of eggs has decreased 56% with retail following.

04:06In taking on this position, I fully understood that American agriculture is facing

04:13one of the most economically challenging times in our history.

04:17For generations, American producers and consumers enjoyed the fruits of an agricultural trade surplus.

04:25But under the four years, the last four years, of the Biden administration,

04:29our farmers and producers were forced to endure a trade deficit

04:34that, again, when leaving the last White House, which I was a part of with President Trump,

04:38when we walked out, there was a zero-dollar trade deficit.

04:42Today, we are reaching more than $50 billion in trade deficit.

04:46We'll talk about how to fix that today, if question.

04:49President Trump and I know this problem will not solve itself.

04:52He is taking bold action to address our imbalanced trade commitments,

04:56and I am working to promote American agriculture products around the world.

05:02In April, we launched USDA ag trade promotion programs for fiscal year 2026,

05:08and we are currently accepting applications for significant, in fact,

05:12almost more than four export market development programs.

05:16As part of this effort, I will be traveling to seven countries in the next few months,

05:21leaving Sunday for the UK.

05:23I'll be there next week and soon after all over the world, India, East Asia, et cetera,

05:28where I will ensure that our trading partners around this world know

05:33that American agriculture is the crown jewel of all American production.

05:39We are also streamlining unnecessary regulations and cutting red tape

05:43for agricultural producers and industries so they can continue the work they do every day

05:48to feed, to fuel, and to clothe the nation and the world.

05:53To that end, our team has sought to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in all USDA programs,

05:59including SNAP, food stamps, improper payments, fraud,

06:03and programs that fail to fulfill USDA's basic mission of putting farmers first.

06:09Our team is meeting daily with our partners at the Department of Government Efficiency

06:13to ensure we are doing right by the American taxpayer while also protecting critical USDA programs.

06:21Also of paramount importance, Chairman Harris,

06:25is the Department's mission to make America healthy again in partnership across the federal government

06:30and with our partners in the states.

06:32We've been taking major steps to fulfill this mandate by accepting SNAP waivers

06:37and encouraging healthier behaviors and working with governors,

06:41both Republican and Democrat, across this great state.

06:45I'd love to get into that if anyone wants to talk about it.

06:47The Maha movement at USDA has also supported major voluntary changes,

06:53including our friends at the International Dairy Foods Association's most recent announcement

06:58related to dyes in school lunch dairy products.

07:02Finally, I was proud to last week stand with Charles and Heather Mott,

07:06a South Dakota family with a small cattle and hog operation,

07:10fifth generation, who endured a senseless politically motivated prosecution

07:17by the last administration, over 25 acres of forest land

07:22and a fence that had been in place since 1910.

07:26The criminal charges against the family are now dropped,

07:30and to prevent further injustices against American farmers and ranchers,

07:34we have launched a significant effort, including a portal at USDA,

07:38where we have asked similarly situated farmers and ranchers to report similar injustices.

07:45To date, we've received over 100 stories since first announcing last week.

07:50To be clear, the Mott family was charged criminally.

07:53SWAT team appeared at their door.

07:55They were told their children would need to find someone else to raise them

07:58and that they were going to lose everything.

08:00During my first 83 days as Secretary of Agriculture, I have visited 15 states.

08:05If I haven't been to your state yet, I'm coming soon.

08:08I've attended over 100 events, given dozens of keynote speeches all across the country,

08:13talking about the vision and putting farmers and ranchers first.

08:16And I've met with nearly 1,000 agricultural stakeholders,

08:21again, farmers and ranchers and producers,

08:23as we continue to reorient the Department of Agriculture.

08:26American agriculture does not rest, and I can assure you that under my tenure at USDA,

08:33that neither will we.

08:35I'm proud to be at the helm of the People's Department,

08:38as Abraham Lincoln so aptly launched and named it in 1862,

08:43at the table with President Trump and fighting for the most American of all Americans,

08:49our farmers, ranchers and our agriculture communities.

08:52Thank you so much.

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